Bonaire National Marine Park

STINAPA report

Mass coral bleaching is becoming more frequent and widespread and poses a major threat to coral reefs worldwide. Mass coral bleaching is a response to thermal stress triggered by high Sea Surface Temperatures (SSTs) or ultraviolet radiation attributed to changing regional and global climate patterns. Since 2016, STINAPA Bonaire has surveyed the severity of coral bleaching in the Bonaire National Marine Park at 10 sites on the leeward coast. Each year, corals exhibited signs of thermal stress including paling, partial bleaching, and fully bleaching, but no mortality. Since 2016, the year with the lowest percentage of corals affected was 2018 (9%) and the year with the highest percent of corals affected was 2020 (61%). Corals deeper in the water column were more susceptible to thermal stress in all years, but susceptibility trends by site were not consistent throughout the study. While addressing the global-scale causes of coral bleaching is daunting, STINAPA Bonaire monitors the severity of coral bleaching and helps develop local management strategies that may improve the resistance and resilience of coral reefs in the Bonaire National Marine Park to climate change.

The Bonaire National Marine Park was first established in 1979. It surrounds the island of Bonaire and includes the satellite island and the waters around Klein Bonaire. Bonaire lies in the Southern Caribbean approximately 100km (60 miles) north of Venezuela and 12’ north of the equator. Bonaire is unusual in that it is a true oceanic island, separated from the South American mainland by a deep water trench. Bonaire is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and is regarded by the European Union as an Overseas Territory. The marine park falls entirely within the territorial waters and jurisdiction of the Island of Bonaire and is protected by the Marine Environment Ordinance (A.B 1991 Nr.8). The marine park was declared a National Park by the Central Government of the Netherlands Antilles in November 1999. For issues related to World Heritage, Ramsar wetlands, threatened and endangered species, migratory species and marine pollution the Central Government Department of Nature and the Environment (MINA) also has jurisdiction.

The marine park includes 2,700 hectares of coral reef, seagrass and mangrove ecosystems and provides habitat for a diverse range of marine species including over 50 species of stony coral and more than 350 species of reef fish. Sea turtles nest on the shores of Klein Bonaire and forage in Lac, a semi enclosed seagrass and mangrove bay located on the islands windward shore. Bottlenose and Spinner dolphin as well as various species of whale can be found seasonally in the seas around Bonaire. Bonaire is regularly visited by migratory birds.

Bonaire has a well deserved international reputation for excellence in the field of SCUBA diving and is routinely listed in the top five destinations for the Caribbean.

The Bonaire National Marine Park consists of the waters around Bonaire from the high water mark to the 200’ (60m) depth contour, the island of Klein Bonaire and its surrounding waters and the mangrove, seagrass and coral reefs of Lac. The park is managed by a local non governmental, not for profit foundation, STINAPA Bonaire which has a co-management structure with stakeholders, conservationists and local interest groups represented on the Board. The day to day management is carried out under the supervision of a Director but the Marine Park manager, Chief Ranger and Rangers employed by STINAPA Bonaire.

The marine park is managed predominately for biodiversity conservation, the promotion of sustainable use and for the protection of cultural and historical sites within the park with the aim of providing protection for the island’s unique marine resources whilst allowing appropriate recreational and commercial use to be made of the park.

This is the first management plan for the Bonaire National Marine Park. Rapid changes in management over the past six years have highlighted the need for a strategic document to guide management decision making and to better define the mission, goals and objective of the park. It is also a prerequisite for Bonaire’s World Heritage Site nomination and essential if the park is going to begin monitoring its own effectiveness.

This document has been prepared in close consultation with STINAPA Bonaire, their management and staff and a considerable number of stakeholders and stakeholder group representatives.

The plan specifies management goals and strategies for the Bonaire National Marine Park related to the park’s mission, which is to conserve and manage the natural, cultural and historical resources within the park, allowing their sustainable use for the benefit of current and future generations. It also identifies the major existing and potential threats and issues facing the park from ecological, social and cultural perspectives and includes substantial input from stakeholders. It is designed to be an adaptive management tool.

Abstract:

On October 14 and 15, 2008 Tropical Storm Omar reached Bonaire. Wind speed averaging 18 to 20 knots from SW started at 3 am on October 14 and lasted for 48 hours. The minimum distance between the center of the storm and Bonaire was 200 km in a NW direction and the maximum wind speed at that moment was 32 to 33 knots. 

A total of 27 sites were surveyed. In the West, from Karpata to Vista Blue on the leeward side of Bonaire (20 sites) and around Klein Bonaire (7 sites). 

Het Bonaire National Marine Park (BNMP) staat sinds 2011 op de Nederlandse Voorlopige lijst van het Werelderfgoed. Dit betekent dat een nominatie kan worden ingediend om als natuurlijk werelderfgoed erkend te worden. In dit rapport wordt beschreven welke stappen nodig zijn om tot een nominatie voor de status van werelderfgoed te komen.

De ‘Outstanding Universal Value’ (datgene wat het gebied wereldwijd uniek maakt) moet worden aangetoond. Hierbij zijn drie aspecten van belang:

1. Het gebied moet voldoen aan minimaal één van de vier door UNESCO gestelde criteria voor natuurlijke werelderfgoederen;
2. Het gebied moet voldoen aan condities voor integriteit;
3. Het beheer van het gebied moet voldoende zijn om de kwaliteit van het ecosysteem van het BNMP veilig te stellen voor de komende generaties.

Verder moet het gebied en haar OUV worden vergeleken met vergelijkbare werelderfgoed gebieden en met vergelijkbare gebieden elders in de wereld door middel van een Comparative Analysis.

De hele procedure is in dit rapport samengevat in een schematisch stappenplan. Omdat er zware eisen gesteld worden aan de nominatie zijn in dit stappenplan ook beslismomenten aangegeven waarop aan bepaalde voorwaarden voldaan moet zijn om verder te gaan met de aanvraag (zogenaamde ‘go/no-go’ momenten).

Aangezien de hele procedure de nodige financiële middelen vraagt, moet min of meer zeker zijn dat de nominatie haalbaar lijkt voordat aan de verschillende onderdelen van de nominatie begonnen wordt. 

Abstract:

Although Bonaire’s coral reefs remain among the healthiest and most resilient in the Caribbean, this IUCN report based on the IUCN Resilience Assessment of Coral Reefs highlights some of the threats that exist to Bonaire’s coral reefs, and which could have serious implications for resilience to future climate change and other threats. The report identified recommendations for addressing the current threats, as well as high and low resilience sites.

The threats and recommendations identified include:

Coastal development and artificial beaches.
Recommendation: All coastal construction on Bonaire should be strictly regulated and follow the construction guidelines. The guidelines should become law in order to be enforced appropriately.

Leaching from septic tanks.
Recommendation: It is strongly recommended that Bonaire invest in appropriate sewage treatment facilities to improve water quality and increase the resilience of its valuable coral reefs. It is also recommended that a water quality monitoring program be set up and sustained.

Increasing damselfish populations.
Recommendation: It is recommended that the fishing of predatory fish species on Bonaire’s coral reefs be controlled and managed to a sustainable level to prevent population explosions of prey fish capable of modifying the reef habitat.

Trididemnum and Lobophora.
Recommendation: It is recommended that the populations of Trididemnum and Lobophora are closely monitored and the factors contributing to the unnatural abun- dance of these coral-overgrowing organisms should be studied and then eliminated.

Due to a variety of factors affecting resilience which were assessed using the IUCN methodology, sites were also ranked according to their overall resilience: 

It is noteworthy that sites with lowest resilience ratings (e.g. Chachácha) are those most impacted by coastal development, while sites with highest resilience ratings (e.g. Marine Reserve North, Playa Frans, Karpata, Margate Bay, Vista Blue and South Bay) are those furthest away and least impacted by coastal development.