Coral Reefs: A Reef Resilience Toolkit Module

Bonaire

Location

Bonaire National Marine Park, Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles

Description

Bonaire is situated in the southern Caribbean (12°10'N, 68°15'W) approximately 100 km north of Venezuela. Bonaire is a crescent shaped island, oriented NW-SE, approximately 40 km long by 11 km at its widest point, with a land area of 28,100 ha. The small undeveloped satellite island of Klein Bonaire (“small” Bonaire) is located approximately 750 m off the western shore of Bonaire, and has a land area of approximately 600 ha. Klein Bonaire, along with the areas of Pekelmeer, Saliña Slagbaai, Gotomeer and Lac, are internationally recognized as having wetlands of significance by the RAMSAR Convention on Wetlands1 . Collectively, the island of Bonaire and the RAMSAR areas of Klein Bonaire and Lac form the Bonaire National Marine Park (BNMP). BNMP encompasses all the waters around Bonaire and Klein Bonaire from the water mark to the 200 ft contour including Lac. The park encompasses 2,700 hectares of fringing coral reef, seagrass and mangrove ecosystems (the largest semi-enclosed seagrass and mangrove bay in the Netherlands Antilles), and contains diverse habitats from the shore to intertidal environments, and from coral reefs to deep water environments.

Bleaching and hurricane events have affected this area in the past. Only mild bleaching occurred in association with the 1998 El Niño bleaching event, resulting in good recovery. In 1999, Hurricane Lenny affected the shallow reefs of the leeward side of Bonaire and Klein Bonaire; however recovery was similarly high, with recruitment rates 3.5 times higher than the rest of the Caribbean, and high survival rates. Most recently, the 2005 and 2006 bleaching events resulted in bleaching of approximately 9% and 10%, respectively. However, in both events the recovery rate after the thermal stress subsided was almost 100%. Aside from these natural disturbances, this region is threatened by overfishing, pollution, coastal development, and growth in tourism activities.

Bonaire National Marine Park contains diverse coral reef habitats. Photo © J.P. Carnevale

The mission of the BNMP is to protect and manage the island’s natural, cultural and historical resources, while allowing ecologically sustainable use for the benefit of future generations. The goals are, as follows:

• To maintain and restore ecosystems, biological diversity, and ecological processes.
• To protect and restore the cultural and historical resources of significance.
• To manage the marine park as a regionally and globally significant example of a successful multi-use marine protected area, through education, outreach, research, monitoring, law enforcement, maintenance and administration.
• To allow use of the marine park by promoting non-destructive activities, and by working with stakeholders to establish guidelines and regulations to minimize impacts on the environment.

The BNMP strongly believe that the first step to ensure healthy and resilient corals is to protect water quality and reduce all stresses. Within this framework, the BNMP has been taking different conservation and management actions to address the distinct problems of overfishing, coastal development, pollution, and negative impacts of tourism. To address the documented decline in predator fishes like groupers, grunts and snappers, the BNMP started lobbying the government and different stakeholders in 2004 to create fish protected areas (FPAs). Within this lobbying work, a group of fishermen, dive operators, government officers and others stakeholders from St. Lucia visited Bonaire to explain to their counterparts how FPAs in Bonaire would benefit both fisherman and tourism operators. A few months later a group of fishermen, government officers, BNMP Rangers and tour operators visited St. Lucia with the same purpose. After intensive negotiations, two FPAs were established on the leeward side on Bonaire, encompassing approximately 4 km of a no-take zone.

In addition to fishing pressures, Bonaire is experiencing rapid coastal development. To minimize the impact of construction practices, the BNMP developed an officially approved booklet of Construction Guidelines, together with the Department of Physical Planning, Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, the local waste management company, construction companies, land owners, developers, and local NGOs. The BNMP has also run an intensive nutrient monitoring program during the last two years that covers the entire leeside of Bonaire and all around Klein Bonaire, in cooperation with the Central Government, the Department of Physical Planning of Bonaire and the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution in Florida. Preliminary data show that the levels of dissolved nitrogen are high and that the most probable cause is due to sewage and unsustainable irrigation practices in the coastal zone. To mitigate this sewage water input to the sea, the BNMP is working together with resort operators to establish “water balances,” and to improve fresh water and waste water management.

Constructing the wastewater treatment plant. Photos © Jan Jaap van Almenkerk

With over two years of nutrient monitoring data indicating high levels of nutrients in the area, a wastewater treatment facility is under construction. The facility is designed to move wastewater away from the shoreline and is anticipated to be in operation by late Spring 2011.

In 2010, legislation was passed to improve environmental protection. The legislation includes protection of identified resilience factors like: full protection of herbivorous fishes, full protection of many carnivorous fishes, and stronger rules and regulations on fisheries. The new legislation also includes improvements in procedures for coastal construction and more stringent construction guidelines.

Bonaire National Marine Park's coral reef habitats are threatened by over-fishing, pollution, coastal development, tourism, and bleaching events. Photo © BNMP

As coral reefs are faced with increasing pressure from human impacts such as sedimentation, nutrient enrichment, and global effects of climate change, it is imperative that impacts snorkelers, scuba divers and other watersport enthusiasts have on the region’s fragile coral reefs are kept to a minimum. BNMP recognized that dive operators and divers can be natural ambassadors for coral reef conservation since they have a vested interest in maintaining healthy and diverse marine ecosystems. Dive tourism is an essential component of the economy of Bonaire, generating significant income and creating employment, and it is vital that dive operators and their clients are well educated about potential negative impacts and means of reducing them. In 2008, the BNMP developed a “Reef Ranger” course. The goal of this program is to maximize active support for coral reef conservation by providing standardized training for dive staff, tailored to local circumstances.

Effective communication is also a fundamental goal of Stichting Nationale Pareken (STINAPA) Bonaire, which successfully manages two nature parks of Bonaire National Marine Park and Washington Slagbaai National Park. Communication with the general public and stakeholder groups is a main priority for the BNMP, prompted by a group of residents who indicated a decrease of awareness and involvement, and no sense of ownership of the BNMP. As a result, a five-year communication campaign titled “Nature is our livelihood,” was developed to provide knowledge and change attitudes about conservation issues. Providing adequate information concerning the importance of nature conservation and the sustainable development of Bonaire was considered of utmost importance.

Lessons Learned

• Involvement of key stakeholders is critical. No conservation plan will succeed long term without complete support of interested parties.
• Involve all stakeholders from the beginning; demonstrate that what you want to implement (with their help) has unique value, and that they are the beneficiaries of this plan/action.
• Set up an implementation plan (simple is better), discuss it with the stakeholders when ready make it public, and follow it step-by-step with little improvisation.
• Once the plan is implemented, inform stakeholders about news of progress as well as failures. Transparency is critical!
• Create clear rules, laws and procedures. People are more willing to support what they understand and trust.
• Communication campaigns can help provide updated information to the general public and government officers.
• The development of Integrated Coastal Zone management can reduce the amount of stressors on the reef to improve resilience to future climate change.
• The development of a course similar to the “Reef Ranger” program can improve the sustainable practices of reef divers and other water sport practitioners.

Funding Summary

• Nutrients Monitoring program funded by NFWF
• Reef Ranger Course funded by DCNA (Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance)
• Communication Campaign “Nature is our Livelihood” Funded by WWF and local sponsors

Lead Organization

Bonaire National Marine Park
P.O. Box 368
Kralendijk, Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles

Partners

• MINA
• DROB—NMB (Local environmental planning department)
• STCB—Sea Turtle Conservation of Bonaire
• CURO—Council of Underwater Resource Operators
• The Nature Conservancy
• IUCN

Documents

Bonaire construction guidelines formulated by the BNMP, Department of Physical Planning, Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, the local waste management company, construction companies, land owners, developers, and local NGOs.

Results of the nutrient monitoring program, conducted in cooperation with the Central Government, the Department of Physical Planning of Bonaire, and Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution.

Additional information regarding the communication campaign

Coral Reef Resilience Assessment of the Bonaire National Marine Park, Netherlands Antilles (download pdf, 11,732k)

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