Bonaire

Abstract

Small Islands (SIs) often have a small capacity to resist or recover from the increasing impacts of climate change and, therefore, increasing climate resilience is necessary. However, knowledge and research on climate resilience, especially in the context of (Caribbean) SIs are limited in number and quality, although imperative for increasing it. Additionally, research, while proven beneficial, often overlooks the household-level. Therefore, this study researched household climate resilience (HCR) in Caribbean SI-context –in this case Bonaire. Since the aspects determining HCR depend on geographic context, this contextwas first studied for Bonaire. Through 13 key-informant interviews, complemented by desk research, the main climate vulnerabilities, their impact on Bonaire and its households, and the aspects making Bonairean households resilient for these were identified. These aspects were used as indicators to form a composite score measuring HCR through online household surveys. Hereby, the barriers to HCR and differences in HCR between socio-demographic groups were identified. Results showed an average HCR-score for the sample (N=183) of .455 out of 1 (SD=.11) –indicating HCR is not low, but also not high. The following aspects negatively contributed to HCR: expected damage to homes, amount of savings, insurance covering damage from climate change (vulnerabilities), incomes, dependent income sources, vulnerable neighbourhoods, alternatives to electricity, water, and food, social resilience, community response, government response, awareness of climate change, information and education on climate change impacts, and steps to prepare for this. Furthermore, the following households are less inclined to be climate resilient: bigger households, households with high kid ratios, households with younger household heads, households speaking fewer languages, households not fluently speaking English, and households with a higher level of obtained education.This study knows limitations that possibly impacted these results, like the limited representativeness of the household sample. Although this study adds to the knowledge base of SI-context HCR, additional research is beneficial. Therefore, recommendations forfurther research are provided. The same goes for policy recommendations.

For more information, please contact Nina Zander nina.p.zander@gmail.com.

Please also see:

DCNA Policy Brief https://www.dcbd.nl/document/small-islands-%E2%80%93-large-climate-chang...
Raw data set https://www.dcbd.nl/document/household-resilience-climate-change-vulnera...

Summary

Imagination is understood as a vital element of transformations towards sustainable human societies. This study explores scientific foresights and their relationship to ambiguity in the context of the kunuku landscape on Bonaire. This research constitutes out of four research activities. Firstly, six objects of ambiguity as well as four subjects with converging stakeholder frames were identified through a thematic analysis. Secondly, a stakeholder-driven stakeholder categorisation was conducted to portray the societal network connected to the kunuku landscape. Subsequently, three pathways – consisting out of 58 specific actions – towards a sustainable kunuku landscape in 2050 were co-created within a participatory backcast. Lastly, a novel analytical framework for foresight processes was applied to scrutinise the backcasting and its preceding visioning process.  Based on its findings, this study concludes by recommending a pluralistic, ‘opening-up’ approach towards anticipatory governance and by supporting calls for theory-backed, transdisciplinary foresight processes. 

Abstract

Bonaire is a Caribbean Island that is part of the Dutch Kingdom. The island is currently facing serious challenges. One of the defined issues is the lack of local food production which leads to expensive fruit and vegetables in the supermarket. This results in unhealthy diets of the citizens which leads to 60% of overweighted inhabitants in Bonaire (Verweij et al., 2020). To fight this problem, the local government of Bonaire is starting agricultural projects such as community gardens. However, there is a need for examples and knowledge on how to set up successful agricultural projects. This information is currently missing in Bonaire, which makes providing guidance in such projects the main aim of this thesis.

To achieve this goal, I in my role as a researcher, became a member of an ongoing communal food initiative project in the agricultural department of Bonaire called “Nos mes por”. My integration into the community created a unique opportunity to gain real-world experiences by using participatory action research (PAR) as a methodology. In short, there are two objectives namely (1) implementing actions for “Nos mes por” (gaining action) while also (2) generating information for the process and product design of community gardens in Bonaire (gaining knowledge).

This research methodology in this dissertation is compiled by using interviews, observations, and focus groups as research methods. This study resulted in both real-world actions which are applied in “Nos mes por” and specific guide-lines defined by the members of the community garden to make the project successful. Moreover, strategies to set up and design communal urban agriculture initiatives in Bonaire specifically and SIDS generally are developed. However, future research in Bonaire and SIDS should test the guidelines to see how they work in practice.

Abstract

The island of Bonaire is a nesting location for at least four tern species: a subspecies of the Least Tern (Sternula antillarum
antillarum), the Common Tern (Sterna hirundo), the Royal Tern (Thalasseus maximus), and a subspecies of the Sandwich
Tern (Thalasseus sandvicensis eurygnathus). The island is also a significant nesting site for the Caribbean Least Tern (Sternula
antillarum) population. Our main objectives were to: a) measure and compare breeding success at five known nesting sites on
northern Bonaire, b) document and compare the impact of natural and introduced predators on each site, and c) give management
recommendations for increasing breeding success based on our results. Our nest counts from 2014 indicate a significant
decline in nest abundance compared to historical observations from the 1950s, matching previous studies and observations
from the last two decades. Among the five nesting sites in our study, terns at the two island sites had the largest number of
breeding pairs and achieved the greatest success, fledging a maximum of ~0.8 chicks per nest, compared to all other sites which
were connected to the shoreline. We recorded rats and cats as predators at the peninsula site and field observations suggested
that predation by Laughing Gulls (Leucophaeus atricilla) might also be occurring at two sites. Both natural and artificial islands
on hypersaline lagoons provide good nesting sites for terns on Bonaire as they are protected from mammalian predators. However,
recreational disturbance remains the single most serious and pervasive threat to the future of seabird nesting on Bonaire
and requires concerted action. We propose a list of management actions to increase the numbers of nesting terns throughout
the sites studied. Increasing protection from predators and human disturbance by making artificial nesting islands will provide
the potential for Bonaire, and its sister islands, to become major refuges for southern Caribbean metapopulations of these four
tern species.

In 1983, when the second edition of ‘Birds of The Netherlands Antilles’ by Dr. K.H. Voous was published, the number of birds recorded on Bonaire stood at 181. Since then, this number has grown steadily to 237, averaging three new birds reported every two years. This has accelerated recently, with 15 new birds confirmed in the last five years alone.

Annual updates to the local bird records have been published in the Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance’s  (DCNA’s) free newsletter BioNews issues 11 (2017), 19 (2018) and 31 (2020).  Between 2016 and 2019, Peter-Paul Schets has provided annual updates to the bird species lists on Bonaire, which included a brief overview of each new species.  In 2020, two new birds were added to this list.

Common swift (Apus apus)

Common swift Photo credit © Steve Schnoll

In May of 2020, local birders Spike Stapert and Steve Schnoll spotted and photographed a unique swift. With the help of several experts, including Peter-Paul Schets (reviewer for eBird-Bonaire) this individual was identified as a Common swift, common and widespread in Europe, but rare in the Caribbean.  There has only ever been one other confirmed sighting in the area, a record from Suriname dating back to 2012.  Not only was this a new species for Bonaire, but for ABC islands and for the Caribbean as well!

Common swifts breed throughout almost all Europe and Asia. It is a well-known summer visitor to cities in western Europe, where they arrive from their wintering ground by the end of April and leave by mid-summer. They are known to spend the winters in Africa, south of the equator. It is a strong flyer and is known to spend most of its life in flight.

White-winged tern (Chlidonias leucopterus)

White-winged tern Photo credit © Steve Schnoll

Steve Schnoll was birding at Bonaire Sewage Works (LVV) on the early morning of June 12th 2020 when he noticed an unfamiliar small tern which was hovering over the main pond. This tern was mainly black with a black bill, red legs, mostly white wings and a white tail. Thanks to some well shot photographs, this bird was later identified as a White-winged tern in breeding plumage, a first for Bonaire as well for ABC islands. It stayed for a week at the same location, enabling a few other lucky birders to observe this graceful and delicate bird.

White-winged terns are known to breed between central Europe and eastern Asia. Every spring it is seen in small numbers in The Netherlands. This species winters mainly in Africa and southeast Asia, Australia and even as far as New Zealand. Like Common swifts, this tern is a recognized vagrant to North America.

This tern represents species number 237 for Bonaire. Interestingly, of the 15 new species found on Bonaire since 2016, seven were found at LVV ponds, three of which were new for ABC islands. Thanks to these freshwater ponds, this area seems to be a magnet for rare birds.

Report your sightings

Have you observed birds? Report your nature sightings and photos on the website DutchCaribbean.Observation.org or download the free apps (iPhone (iObs) & Android (ObsMapp)).

Species reports by local communities and tourists are invaluable for nature conservation efforts to help increase public awareness and overall species protection. Besides, DCNA, Observation International and Naturalis Biodiversity Center are working together to develop on automated species identification app for your phone. Your uploaded photos are of great value to make this possible. For questions, please contact research@DCNAnature.org

Acknowledgement

We would like to thank Peter-Paul Schets for writing this article and Steve Schnoll for sharing his records and for providing pictures of both species.

Article published in BioNews 43

Abstract: Coral reefs in the Caribbean are known to be affected by many coral diseases, yet the ecology and etiology of most diseases remain understudied. The Caribbean ciliate infection (CCI) caused by ciliates belonging to the genus Halofolliculina is a common disease on Caribbean reefs, with direct contact considered the most likely way through which the ciliates can be transmitted between infected and healthy colonies. Here we report an observation regarding a Coralliophila sp. snail feeding in proximity to a cluster of ciliates forming the typical disease band of CCI. The result of this observation is twofold. The feeding behavior of the snail may allow the passive attachment of ciliates on the body or shell of the snail resulting in indirect transport of the ciliates among colonies, which makes it eligible as a possible disease vector. Alternatively, the lesions created from snail feeding may enhance the progression of the ciliates already present on the coral as well as promoting additional infections allowing pathogens to enter through the feeding scar

Abstract:

There is much documentation about seahorses (Hippocampus spp.) being threatened by habitat degradation and overfishing, but relatively few published studies mention their natural predators. The present study documents three cases in which seahorses are being caught by octopuses. In one case, the seahorse was partly consumed. These observations made at Bonaire (Caribbean Netherlands) and New South Wales (Australia) suggest that predation on seahorses by octopuses may be more widespread and common than previously thought.

Jr Ranger presentation about the importance of mangroves and seagrasses.

Bonaire Mangrove Restoration Overview

Presented in 2021 Mangrove Restoration Workshop

Abstract

Carbonate clinoforms are often challenging to characterize and model due to their complex geometries and additional heterogeneity introduced by diagenetic processes. Dolomitization can influence petrophysical properties resulting in either an increase or reduction in porosity and permeability of the host rock and forms geobodies of varied shapes depending on pre-dolomitization permeability patterns and dolomitization mechanism. Therefore, in partially or fully dolomitized successions, the prediction of fluid flow behavior is not trivial. This study uses a well-studied outcrop analogue of Mio-Pliocene partially dolomitized clinoforms at Seru Grandi (Bonaire) to better understand fluid flow in different dolomitization scenarios. Clinothems consist of heterogeneous coralline algal facies overlying bioclastic facies, with dolomite geobodies truncated on their upper and lower bounds by clinoform surfaces. Digital outcrop models were used to characterize geometry and spatial relationship of facies and heterogeneity, such as clinoform dip, length, height, and spacing. Multiple realizations of clinoform and dolomite body geometries are modelled using a surface-based modelling (SBM) approach coupled with an unstructured mesh flow simulator (IC-FERST). Two scenarios are considered, in which dolomitization has resulted in either a decrease in porosity and permeability as observed in outcrop, or a relative increase of porosity and permeability values as a potential subsurface scenario. Flow simulation results reveal an exponential relationship between water breakthrough times and flow rates versus dolomite proportions. Additionally, the arrangement of the dolomite bodies (aligned vs. disjoined) exhibits very similar fluid flow behavior across a wide range of dolomite proportions. Sensitivity of flow behavior to the geological models is strongly dependent on dolomite permeability relative to precursor limestone. Dolomite body arrangement is more important for flow behavior at high dolomite proportions for low permeability dolomite, or at low dolomite proportions for high permeability dolomite. This study emphasizes the significance of having a good understanding of the dolomitization mechanism and dolomite body geometries, reducing uncertainty in dolomite distribution, petrophysical properties, and, therefore, fluid flow behavior.

Find the full article here.