BonBèrdè

This document can act as a guideline in the field. It can be used to check back on the exact methodology for each of the measurements. It is a part of the monitoring protocol developed by BonBèrdè for STINAPA. All necessary information to perform the fieldwork should be here. It is therefore advised to bring this document in the field every time while conducting the fieldwork. This field guide contains different steps, alongside other necessary information. Step A-B includes the activities for setting up the sample plots in the field. As the sample plots for this monitoring study are permanent, meaning they will be visited repeatedly, these steps do not have to be included in any consecutive years of monitoring. Steps 1-3 consist of the steps taken in regard to the measurements of the different factors. These steps are the actual data collection and form the main part of the monitoring. This monitoring location is in the Washington Slagbaai National Park (WSNP).

This document contains the written guidelines of the monitoring project in the Washington-Slagbaai National park of Bonaire. These monitoring guidelines are a product of BonBèrdè, an independent consultancy business focussed on nature conservation on the island of Bonaire. This document is requested by and written for STINAPA. The monitoring protocol will consist of a background information paper that includes all general information about the protocol as well as factors to be studied in the field. This is the Monitoring protocol. In addition to this document, a field guide is provided. The Field guide can act as a quick check in the field which will provide fast guidelines to the exact measurements of the monitoring itself.

As STINAPA is currently aiming to remove invasive herbivores from the Washington-Slagbaai National park, the goal of the monitoring project is to assess the current state of the ecosystem inside the park and keep measuring the possible changes over time, following the gradual removal of these animals. With the removal of invasive herbivores, the ecosystem viability is expected to increase and result in a positive succession and regeneration of native trees. However, these expectations will have to be measured in order to prove the necessity of invasive species management. The monitoring protocol can provide STINAPA with the tools to measure the changes in the park over time, using indicators of the possible regeneration. These indicators include:

• Vegetation
• Soil
• Fauna

The monitoring protocol will include the exact indicators and factors that can be measured to assess the ecosystem's succession over time. Furthermore, the field guide will provide STINAPA with the manual on how to execute the monitoring in the field. All the methods and proposed actions in these documents are focused to achieve the best results while taking into account that the methods should be practical to implement and replicate by STINAPA personnel.