CARMABI was founded as a marine biological research station in 1955. The late Royal Highness Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands laid the first stone of the institute.

From the start, aside from research, applied nature conservation and education were also important areas of activity brought together in 1962 under the allied National Parks Foundation of the Netherlands Antilles, better known as STINAPA. In 1999 CARMABI and STINAPA merged into one organization, the Caribbean Research and Management of Biodiversity Foundation, better known under the original acronym CARMABI.

CARMABI’s mission is to contribute to the sustainable development and management of the natural resources of the Netherlands Antilles through research, nature management and environmental education.

Scientific research and the results thereof play a central role in all endeavors of CARMABI. Research for instance helps identify conservation priorities and the status of the many endemic species, and may even allow recommendations on how to effectively protect the resources or species in question. The same information is used as a basis for education and consultancies regarding natural resource management, land use planning and conservation legislation.

The University of the Netherlands Antilles (UNA) was formed by a national decree dated 12 January 1979 (O.B. 1979 no. 12). Currently the UNA has four faculties:
The Faculty of Arts, which offers a Second-Degree Teacher Training program Papiamento, Dutch and English;
The Faculty of Law, preparing students for the Master’s exam in Antillean law;
The School of Business, which offers the degree programs Business
Administration and Accounting and prepares students for Bachelor's and Master's exams;
The Faculty of Engineering, which offers the degree programs Architecture and Civil Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Information Engineering and Electrical Systems.

The UNA strives with all its faculties to achieve its legally defined goals that oblige it to provide higher education to: 1) prepare individuals for posts in society, requiring or benefiting from a higher education, 2) provide insight into the relations between the sciences as well as advancing a sense of societal responsibility

Aside from education and research the UNA attempts to achieve these goals by:
· Creating possibilities for research and practical work for students;
· Regularly organizing lectures about societal and scientific issues;
· Providing or having third parties provide courses for those, who wish to improve themselves by attending higher education.