Bonaire

Dutch below

The local government of Bonaire, supported by the Dutch government in The Hague, recently announced the acquisition of the former plantation Fontein. With a significant investment of 3.4 million dollars, the government aims to safeguard the area’s natural and cultural significance and ensure continued public access. 

Historical Importance 

Yellow-shouldered Amazon Parrots. Photo credit: Hans Smulders

The name “Fontein” pays homage to the perpetual freshwater source that originates in a reservoir beneath the north-eastern area of Bonaire. This freshwater source has been historically crucial for the island and its inhabitants, dating back to when the indigenous Caquetio people occupied the region, evident in the petroglyphs found on the estate. 

The plantation, a part of Bonaire’s plantation complex, holds intrinsic cultural-historical value. From Spanish rule in 1499 to modern day, Fontein has been a witness to changing economic landscapes on the island.  Despite facing challenges, diligent efforts have been made to maintain, the plantation’s patterns and interactions between nature and culture remain visible, contributing to Bonaire’s identity. 

Natural Value 

Orange fruits of the Strongbark tree. Photo credit: Marjolijn Lopes Cardozo

The area of Fontein contains three freshwater reservoirs, as well as scrubland and introduced fruit trees.  Since freshwater sources on the island are sparse, this area has been identified as an Important Bird and Biodiversity Area by BirdLife International. This area supports various populations of threatened and restricted range birds, such as the yellow-shouldered Amazon parrot (lora). Funding to purchase Fontein was made possible through a Nature and Environmental Policy Plan (NEPP) related project by the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality and Public Entity Bonaire. The goal of this project is to recreate this freshwater paradise for all of the islands’ residents (human and otherwise) to enjoy. 

Heritage 

The government’s acquisition marks a critical step in preserving Bonaire’s heritage. Fontein’s complex history, from indigenous habitation to colonial struggles and post-slavery challenges, reflects the broader Caribbean narrative. The plantation’s value lies in tangible remains—prehistoric paintings, Dutch archaeological remnants, and landscape structures—all witnesses to centuries of habitation. 

Looking Forwards 

The government’s investment in Fontein reaffirms its commitment to valuing and preserving Bonaire’s heritage. The acquisition ensures that this historic plantation remains a living testament to the island’s past, providing a unique space for reflection, education, and community engagement. 

DCNA 

The Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance (DCNA) supports (science) communication and outreach in the Dutch Caribbean region by making nature related scientific information more widely available through amongst others the Dutch Caribbean Biodiversity Database, DCNA’s news platform BioNews and through the press. This article contains the results from several (scientific) projects but the projects themselves are not DCNA projects. No rights can be derived from the content. DCNA is not liable for the content and the in(direct) impacts resulting from publishing this article.   

De lokale overheid van Bonaire, gesteund door de Nederlandse regering in Den Haag, heeft onlangs de overname van de voormalige plantage Fontein aangekondigd. Met een aanzienlijke investering van 3,4 miljoen dollar wil de regering de natuurlijke en culturele betekenis van het gebied veiligstellen en blijvende publieke toegankelijkheid garanderen.

Historisch belang

Geelschouder amazone papegaai. Foto: Hans Smulders

De naam “Fontein” is een eerbetoon aan de zoetwaterbron die zijn oorsprong vindt in een reservoir onder het noordoostelijke deel van Bonaire. Deze zoetwaterbron was van oudsher cruciaal voor het eiland en zijn bewoners en dateert uit de tijd dat de inheemse Caquetio bevolking de regio bezette, dit blijkt uit de rotstekeningen die op het landgoed te vinden zijn.

De plantage, onderdeel van het plantagecomplex van Bonaire, heeft een innerlijke cultuurhistorische waarde. Vanaf de Spaanse overheersing in 1499 is Fontein getuige geweest van veranderende economische landschappen op het eiland. Ondanks de uitdagingen die er zijn, zijn er ijverige inspanningen geleverd om de patronen van de plantage en de interacties tussen natuur en cultuur zichtbaar te houden, wat bijdraagt aan de identiteit van Bonaire.

Natuurlijke waarde

Oranje fruit van de Watakeli boom. Foto: Marjolijn Lopes Cardozo

Het gebied van Fontein bevat drie zoetwaterreservoirs, evenals kreupelhout en geïntroduceerde fruitbomen. Omdat zoetwaterbronnen op het eiland schaars zijn, is dit gebied door BirdLife International aangemerkt als een belangrijk vogel- en biodiversiteitsgebied. Dit gebied herbergt verschillende populaties van bedreigde vogels en vogels met een beperkt verspreidingsgebied, zoals de geelschouder amazone papegaai (Lora). De financiering voor de aankoop van Fontein is mogelijk gemaakt via een Nature and Environmental Policy Plan (NEPP) gerelateerd project van het Ministerie van Landbouw, Natuur en Voedselkwaliteit en Openbaar Lichaam Bonaire. Het doel van dit project is om dit zoetwaterparadijs opnieuw te creëren zodat alle bewoners van het eiland (menselijk en anderszins) er van kunnen genieten.

Erfgoed

De overname door de overheid markeert een cruciale stap in het behoud van het erfgoed van Bonaire. De complexe geschiedenis van Fontein, van inheemse bewoning tot koloniale strijd en uitdagingen na de slavernij, weerspiegelt de Caribische geschiedenis. De waarde van de plantage ligt in tastbare overblijfselen zoals prehistorische schilderingen, Nederlandse archeologische overblijfselen en landschapsstructuren die allemaal getuigen van eeuwenlange bewoning.

Vooruitblik

De investering van de overheid in Fontein bevestigt opnieuw haar inzet voor het waarderen en behouden van het erfgoed van Bonaire. De aankoop zorgt ervoor dat deze historische plantage een levend bewijs blijft van het verleden van het eiland en biedt een unieke ruimte voor reflectie, educatie en betrokkenheid van de gemeenschap.

DCNA

De Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance (DCNA)ondersteunt (wetenschaps) communicatie en outreach in de Nederlandse Caribische regio door natuurgerelateerde wetenschappelijke informatie breder beschikbaar te maken via onder meer de Dutch Caribbean Biodiversity Database, DCNA’s nieuwsplatform BioNews en de pers. Dit artikel bevat de resultaten van verschillende (wetenschappelijke) projecten, maar de projecten zelf zijn geen DCNA-projecten. Aan de inhoud kunnen geen rechten worden ontleend. DCNA is niet aansprakelijk voor de inhoud en de indirecte gevolgen die voortvloeien uit het publiceren van dit artikel.

Published in BioNews 69

This research was conducted as part of my bachelor internship for the Tropical Forestry specialization of the forest and nature management studies at Van Hall Larenstein, University of Applied Sciences. The internship was conducted at Mangrove Maniacs, an Bonaire based NGO that mainly works to restore the mangrove forests on the island. Field work was conducted between May and July 2022.

ABSTRACT  Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are globally underfunded. We present a five-step framework that can help practitioners prioritize actions that may improve financial sustainability, which was applied to six MPAs in Colombia, Bonaire, and Belize. Limited funds were found to directly undermine effectiveness towards conservation goals for five sites, with these impacts particularly significant for four. Annual budgets required increases from 6 % to 141 % to meet financial needs. Two sites had significant underlying weaknesses in their financial strategies that could lead to direct impacts if not addressed, with an additional three sites having more minor, but still observable, weaknesses in this manner. Staff salaries were the largest expense for all MPAs examined and also most frequently in need of additional funds. Opportunities to potentially eliminate these funding gaps were identified for all six MPAs through reallocating existing resources (n =2), improving in-place mechanisms (n = 6), or implementing one or more alternative mechanisms (n =6). Among several findings, some MPAs had the potential to increase tourism-based income by several million dollars per year, which would well exceed local financial requirements and could have substantial financial benefits on a network-wide scale. Some MPAs, including those with lower budgets, effectively leveraged partnerships and inter-institutional coordination to expand management capacity. Among alternative mechanisms that could be implemented, opportunities to leverage private-sector investments were especially common. Other MPAs around the world could likewise improve financial sustainability through analysis, evaluation, and execution of the full suite of options described herein.   

This study aims to provide historical information on key environmental parameters and describe the current trends of coral growth in Bonaire. In particular, we aim to reconstruct changes in terrestrial runoff and bleaching stress events and establish their effects on the calcification rates for Siderastrea spp corals around Bonaire over multiple decades. For this coral cores of Siderastrea sppcorals will be used to reconstruct the changes in calcification and environmental parameters along a gradient of terrestrial influence and anthropogenic activity. During March 2023 15 coral cores were collected from Siderastrea spp colonies at four locations around the west coast of Bonaire.

Abstract: The economies of small tropical islands often benefit from large-scale tourism, attracted by
the guarantee of beach facilities, sun and warmth, landscape beauty, and cultural and underwater
life. While these are highly valued assets, it is unclear how local communities benefit from tourism,
or how they perceive their natural environment, which has been the basis for their rich cultural
history. Against this background, the main aim of this article is to investigate inhabitants’ perceptions
about locals’ inclusiveness in tourism and recreation on a small island called Bonaire. A total of
400 households were interviewed during the period November 2021–February 2022. Inclusiveness in
tourism and the welfare it brings are judged as low, based on the findings in this study. With a share
of around 40% of the population of Dutch Caribbean islanders living in poverty, the challenge of
inequality is urgent. While environmental degradation contributes to inequality, inequality can also
contribute to environmental degradation. To reduce inequalities, while ensuring life below water and
life on land, the handling of poverty is one of the most critical bottlenecks in this society.

Abstract: Over the past decades coastal ecosystems have been increasingly threatened and have been reducing at alarming rates. Similar is happening on Bonaire, where increased sediment transport and decrease in the freshwater inflow is responsible for high mortality of the mangrove forest in Lac Bay. Factors, such as Bonaire’s arid climate, past deforestation and overgrazing by feral animals have left the island bare which furtherly increases erosion and sediment rich runoff towards the bay. To come up with interventions to reduce mangrove mortality quantitative and qualitative data on the erosion potential and on the rainfall runoff relationship is required. This research provides information on spatial distribution of potential erosion rates in the catchment of Lac Bay, using the RUSLE equation. Moreover, a portable mini rainfall simulator is used to estimate the surface runoff coefficient and to validate RUSLEs potential erosion rates. Unfortunately, no correlation has been found between the measured data and the estimated soil erosion rates. Median annual potential soil loss is 19,3 t ha1 corresponding to annual soil loss of 41678 t. Spatial variation of potential erosion rates is homogeneous, implying catchment wide conservation measures. Measures such as reduced grazing could decrease the potential erosion rates in Lac Bay up to 5%, by increasing vegetation cover in the catchment. Structural measures such as earth dams could furtherly reduce sedimentation at the point of deposition, however before implementation further research needs to be conducted on the impact of such structures on freshwater inflow to the bay. The median runoff coefficient is 0,24 with 76% of the catchment having runoff coefficients between 0,16 and 0,33.

Summary The Government of Bonaire has requested Wageningen Marine Research (WMR) to research the composition of the sand used to construct the artificial beach of the Chogogo Beach and Dive Resort. The major concern regarding the artificial sand was to evaluate whether the sand used could harm the marine park corals. The sand of the beach of Chogogo was sampled on the 10th of May 2022 and analyzed at the Netherlands Institute of Sea Research (NIOZ) for grain size and organic matter content. Additionally, the natural sand in front of Chogogo and several other places was sampled to better compare the sand that naturally occurs around Bonaire to the artificial sand. The results of the analysis and expert evaluation have provided the following responses to specific questions that have been raised.  

What are the potential effects on marine life, specifically corals, in relation to the constructed beach?  There is already sand being transported into the adjacent sea. Corals may already be affected. If so, then stress on corals will be increased. This will affect their metabolism, influencing coral growth and health. Furthermore, a higher sediment load will lead to a higher cover of the bottom by sand and prevent coral recruits from settling. In the longer term, corals more sensitive to sediment will disappear from the location which may be exchanged for more stress-tolerant corals. Generally, these species are less important for maintaining the reef. However, if the sediment load is high (permanently or incidentally), the sea floor may become fully covered by sand, and all corals may disappear. Thus, it is important to monitor artificial beaches for breaks in the retention walls, accumulation of sand along the walls, and make adjustments when necessary. It is important to note that since corals are long-lived organisms, a short-term assessment, as presented within this report, can barely unravel the longterm quantitative impacts on the health of adjacent corals. Thus, long-term monitoring of the coral communities in front of and up-current from (as control) the artificial beach should be favored.  

What are the potential effects on the health of the corals under normal weather conditions? Currently, the sand is already moving towards the sea, and it cannot be excluded that there are no negative effects. Potentially, visibility is already lower, and sedimentation has increased. In addition to the recommendations under question 3, we recommend installing (natural) windbreakers to decrease the wind-funneling effect between the resort's buildings in order to decrease wind effects on the sand.

What are the potential effects on the health of the corals during a storm or wind reversal? During a wind reversal or a storm, there is a high chance that waves will reach the retention wall and wash over it. Consequently, large amounts of sand could suddenly be transported onto the reef and cause massive mortality of corals by burial. The fine sand is likely to be transported downstream (generally in a northerly direction) and may lead to decreased light levels, increased sedimentation, and possibly mortality of corals. The exact transport of the sand is very difficult to predict without extensive measurements of current patterns at the location. We recommend that the retention wall be raised to the prescribed height. It may also be an option to put additional structures in place that can be deployed during wind reversals or storms to prevent sand from being washed away.

How important is the origin of the sand, the kind of sand (river or carbonate sand), the quantity of sand, the layout of the beach, and the constructed wall for the effects? The origin of the sand is very important. Since the sand is not carbonated, it will probably not be processed similarly to carbonated sand. It may be less likely to be cemented into the reef. Compared with natural sand in front of the artificial beach, the grain size distribution is much finer, indicating that the sand, once it travels over the retaining wall, is likely to be washed away by waves and currents. Once the sand washes away, all the negative effects of increased sediment load and sedimentation may occur. The exact location of the beach and the layout, as well as the buildings around the beach, influence the wind erosion of the beach. In this case, local wind conditions transport the sand toward the sea. Even if the retention wall is raised, the sand will continue to be piled up at the downwind side of the beach and will probably need to be redistributed regularly to not end up in the sea. We recommend periodical reinspection and redistribution to ensure that sand is not transported over the retention wall.

Overall, local wind, waves, and current conditions play a major role in the fate of artificial and natural beaches. Since all artificial beaches are on the island’s leeward side, the prevailing wind always blows the sand seaward. Increasing wall height and constructing wind blockers upwind of the beach may provide extra protection against the sand being blown away. Very high waves can accompany wind reversals. This may lead to massive sand transport onto the reef, consequently smothering and killing coral colonies. A general recommendation is to re-evaluate all artificial beaches given the expected consequences of climate change, such as sea level rise and an increase in the frequency of tropical storms, as this may have strong negative consequences for the reef. Current requirements for artificial beaches may have to be reconsidered.  

Summary

Over the last 10 years, the Caribbean Netherlands fisheries on Saba and St. Eustatius have been monitored and multiple assessment reports have been made by Wageningen Marine Research (WMR) in collaboration with local Data Monitoring Officers (DMOs). However, due to challenges in collecting the necessary data, there are gaps in the data which can lead to large uncertainties in the current stock assessments and make it difficult to deliver a more detailed assessment of the fisheries and the state of the stocks.

The specific objectives of this report were to present the data challenges and provide recommendations to address the shortcomings in the current data collection. By addressing these and providing solutions, improvements of the Caribbean Netherlands fisheries monitoring program can be made.

The main gaps identified in the data are:

- Limited coverage by the logbook data, especially the case in St. Eustatius. This implies that large raising factors are applied when estimating total effort and landing estimates, which leads to more uncertain estimates.

- Landings not reported by species (at least for the main species) and port sampling for species composition not frequent enough to be able to produce landing estimates and abundance indices at the species level (instead of species groups). For instance in Saba, the number of trips sampled to estimate the length-composition of the landings was on average 60 per year (excluding 2011), with mainly lobster and redfish trips being sampled. On average, around 40 trips per year were sampled for species composition, taken representatively from the different fishing methods. This is less than one catch sampled per week. This is too low and needs to be intensified if data availability and quality are to improve.

- While some species are over-sampled for length-composition, others are not sampled enough to be able to compute reliable length-based indicators.

Our key recommendations are:

o Port sampling and biological data collection-frequency must be stepped up to meet minimum targets.

o Going along with fishers on the vessels, in order to measure catches on location. (Then fishermen won’t have to wait at the harbor for the DMOs work to be done.)

o Facilitate working in morning/midday/evening shifts. This enables data collection after regular working hours, e.g. when fishers come home late in the day (5-6pm).

o Set quantitative targets for data collection. We suggest targeting for a minimum of 70% logbook declarations, activity surveys, catch species composition and weight data (tonnes), while doubling the effort on selected species of importance

o Data collection will now need to include exact biometric data to establish length-weight and fecundity curves, sex ratios and reproductive seasons for individual species, as well as the collection of otoliths from a range of sizes for each species as a basis for age and growth studies by the WMR otolith lab.

o Have DMOs sit in a workspace with a clear view of the harbor where fishers arrive with their catches, so they can immediately act when boats arrive with their catches. This is mainly an issue for the St. Eustatius DMO.

o For bycatch measurements photographing the fish on a cm grid surface can save measuring time in port or on vessels. o Increase willingness of fishers to participate in data collection. o Incentivize fishers to participate by organizing regular (bimonthly or quarterly) gettogethers where the DMOs update fishers on some monitoring results, providing snacks and drinks.

o Provide dedicated freezer storage space for fishers at the harbor, enabling DMOs more time for the port sampling. Fishers willingness to wait for port sampling is understandably limited. By providing dedicated freezer storage facility, the DMOs can take extra time needed for sufficient biological sampling (i.e. species composition, length, sex) while the catch of the fishers stays fresh. The same can be done for lobster catches if a port-based holding area is provided. 

o Provide modern technologies to the fishers and/or DMOs, e.g. Electronic Reporting Systems (ERS) such as electronic logbooks, and GPS systems such as the Vessel Monitoring System (VMS).

o Arrange for closer involvement of WMR in work planning for the island DMO’s

ABSTRACT There is a lack of information on presence of vibrios in the marine environment in the Caribbean. The aim of this study was to determine the occurrence of Vibrios in the coastal waters of Bonaire. Fifty samples of marine water collected at different depths from various sources around Bonaire were examined for the presence of vibrios. Species identification was confirmed by KB007 HiVibrioTM, Identification Kit and TOFEL-MALDI. Forty of the samples contained Vibrio alginolyticus, 33 yielded V. parahaemolyticus and 29 showed presence of V. vulnificus / V. cholerae. Regarding total colony counts in the sample, 47.4% of the colonies were V. alginolyticus, 35.2% were V. parahaemolyticus, and 17.4% represented V. vulnificus /V. cholerae. Further, of the 25 surface samples from various sites, 14 had a colony count percentage of 50% or greater number of V. alginolyticus. Another 10 sites had a colony count percentage of 50% or greater for V. parahaemolyticus; three of them had a colony count percentage of 50% or greater for V. vulnificus / V. cholerae. The present study constitutes the first study of its kind providing evidence of the prevalence of pathogenic Vibrio species, viz. V. alginolyticus, V. parahaemolyticus, and V. vulnificus / V. cholerae in marine water from the Dutch Caribbean.