Climate change

The Global Mangrove Alliance’s recent report on the State of the World’s mangroves served as a call to action for mangrove conservation and restoration projects.  Although many of the trends centered around mangroves have looked bleak, new research shows that these areas are highly restorable meaning quick action can have significant, positive effects.

Global Mangroves

Mangroves are vital ecosystems providing coastal defense against sea level rise and worsening storms, creating critical habitats including nursery and breeding grounds, and can serve as carbon sinks making them a vital link in achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.  It is estimated that nearly 15% of the world’s mangroves can be found between North and South America, mostly within the Caribbean. Unfortunately, many of the world’s mangroves have been lost or are severely degraded due to coastal development, the expansion of shrimp farming and human pollution.

Red Mangrove. Photo credit: Christian König

Luckily the Global Mangrove Alliance has been tracking the state of the world’s mangroves since it’s creation in 2018.  Through influencing local policies and public awareness on the importance of these habitats, there has already been some improvements in trends.  Overall, they found that the rate of mangrove loss has slowed worldwide since 2016. Furthermore, nearly 42% of all remaining mangroves are within protected areas. A number of recent projects have also demonstrated that mangrove area loss is highly restorable, meaning it’s not too late to save these critical ecosystems.

Dutch Caribbean Mangroves

Within the Dutch Caribbean, four of the islands have mangrove forests: St. Maarten, Aruba, Curacao, and Bonaire.  Of these, Bonaire has the largest of the mangrove forests, of which, nearly all fall within the designated National Marine Park. STINAPA along with other local NGOs have been diligently working to restore these mangrove areas. In fact, one of these restoration projects recently received international recognition with an IUCN BEST 2.0+ grant which funds restoration, reforestation, and scientific monitoring efforts on Bonaire through February 2023.  Additionally, groups such as the Mangrove Maniacs dedicate countless volunteer hours maintaining important water circulation channels to ensure the mangroves of Lac Bay stay healthy and thriving.

Call to Action

Red Mangrove. Photo credit: Marjolijn Lopes Cardozo

There is an urgent need to understand the extent of local mangrove areas and preserve and restore where possible. Governments need to include mangrove management into policy and planning. The private sector can benefit by recognizing mangroves as an investment opportunity, through options such as carbon markets, blue bonds and insurance-based investments. NGO’s and local groups can work to increase awareness and spearhead projects.  Academia and research communities can prioritize projects which help improve available data and modeling tools. Lastly, you, the individual can be involved by advocating for mangroves by spreading knowledge and looking for opportunities to get involved.

Want to get involved?

This Sunday, October 3rd, the Mangrove Maniacs of Bonaire will be hosting a mangrove outplanting event.  Volunteers will be planting mangroves along the southern coast to increase the natural mangrove fringing forest of this area.  These fringing forests are vital for minimizing coastal erosion and serving to protect this area from increased storm activity. Learn more by following along on the Mangrove Maniacs’ Facebook page.

You can find a link to the full State of the World’s Mangroves using the DCBD button below.

https://www.dcbd.nl/document/state-worlds-mangroves-2021

Article published in BioNews 47

A recent report released by STINAPA notes the occurrence of coral bleaching on Bonaire between 2016 and 2020.  During this study, coral bleaching was detected every year, highlighting the need for continuous monitoring and rigorous conservation measures to build resilience moving forward.

The beautiful corals of Bonaire are loved for their stunning array of colors, but what many don’t realize is that these colors are not from the coral themselves, but small microscopic alga, referred to as zooxanthellae or symbiodinium, living within them.  This alga and coral have a symbiotic relationship, where the zooxanthellae provide nutrients to the coral in exchange for protection and habitat within the coral’s skeletal structure.  Under normal conditions, this relationship is mutually beneficially, however, if the zooxanthellae become toxic, the coral can evict their partner, leaving behind its colorless abode.

Photo credit: Kai Wulf

Climate  Change

One of the many negative effects of climate change is a slow but steady increase in average Sea Surface Temperatures (SST).  While the exact causes and mechanisms of coral bleaching are still being investigated, one theory that has strong support hypothesizes that bleaching is triggered by the production of excessive abnormal oxygen molecules.  As SSTs rise above normal (even if just for just a few weeks), the zooxanthellae are unable to effectively photosynthesize and begin to produce reactive oxygen which can damage coral tissue.  As a defensive response, the coral sometimes ejects the alga, leaving its white skeletal structure empty giving it the appearance of being “bleached”.

If enough corals eject enough zooxanthellae, this becomes known as a mass coral bleaching event. These events can last anywhere from days to months and, in extreme events, even years. Unfortunately, the coupling of worsening water conditions due to human activity (pollution, overfishing and uncontrolled land development) and stressors due to climate change have led to an increase in the frequency and duration of mass coral bleaching events.  Without the zooxanthellae producing energy, corals are forced to rely on stored energy reserves and feeding directly on zooplankton. Bleaching events can be dangerous for corals even if they do not result in direct mortality as this can leave them more susceptible to disease, decreases coral spawning success and can lead to long term changes within the community composition.

Photo credit: Kai Wulf

Building Resilience

Luckily, not all coral, or zooxanthellae, are the same. In fact, new research has uncovered differences between corals which host a single type of zooxanthellae versus those with a more diverse array, where some may be more tolerable to temperature shifts than others.  A new theory, known as the Adaptive Bleaching Hypotheses, even states that following bleaching events, the make up of zooxanthellae may shift within corals, allowing new, more resilient combinations of zooxanthellae to move in. This creates the opportunity for coral communities to build resilience after particularly destructive years.

Bonaire

Although global bleaching events have been happening regularly since the late 1990s, Bonaire suffered its first significant coral lost due to bleaching in 2010.  During this episode, Bonaire registered nearly 10% coral mortality among populations at 10m depth.  Since 2016, some degree of coral damage, ranging from paling to full bleaching, has occurred on Bonaire’s reefs every year.  Already, even without the official survey for 2021 being completed, divers have reported bleaching at depths of 35m and deeper.

A new report, published by STINAPA, highlights the impact coral bleaching has had within the Bonaire National Marine Park between 2016 and 2020.  Each year, after SST began to drop (usually between November and December), STINAPA surveys ten sites within the park, noting signs of bleaching. These sites included eight locations along the leeward side of the island and two off the coast of Klein Bonaire, Figure 1.  At each location, quadrants were photographed at depths of 10 and 25m, with additional photographs taken at 5m for four sites starting in 2017.

Trouble in the Deep

Over this four-year study, coral bleaching was detected within the photographed quadrants every year, affecting 26% of corals in 2016, 55% in 2017, 9% in 2018, 24% in 2019 and 61% in 2020.  It should be noted that methodology changes in 2018 may have contributed to an underrepresentation of coral bleaching.

STINAPA found that the corals most susceptible to bleaching are those found at deeper depths. Interestingly, when comparing the three depths, there were significant bleaching differences between 25 and 10m, but no significant differences between 10 and 5m.

STINAPA also found that bleaching trends from 2020 indicate that certain species of coral are at higher risk of bleaching than others.  For example, corals such as Orbicella and Agaricia (Boulder, Mountainous star and Lettuce corals) were more often bleached, yet Madracis species (Yellow pencil and Ten-rayed star corals) appear to be more resilient.

Map of the 10 coral bleaching survey sites on the leeward coast of Bonaire and Klein Bonaire. (STINAPA, 2021)

The Future

Protecting these corals will require action at all levels.  Locally, the government can help build resilience through more effective fishery management, wastewater treatment and promote responsible coastal development and sustainable tourism.  Individually we can all help by minimizing our contribution to pollution, avoiding direct contact with the reef while swimming or diving and wearing reef safe sunscreens in the water.

Together, by promoting a nature first attitude towards conservation, we can help build stronger more resilient environments to combat the threats of climate change moving forward.

https://www.dcbd.nl/document/coral-bleaching-bonaire-national-marine-par...

Article published in BioNews 44

On January 7th Minister van Engelshoven of Education, Culture and Science of The Netherlands announced that the project Island(er)s at the Helm: Co-creating sustainable and inclusive solutions for social adaptation to climate challenges in the (Dutch) Caribbean is one of two projects awarded with funding from the NWO Caribbean Research programme.

A large part of the Island(er)s at the Helm group at the National Archaeological Museum Aruba. Fltr top: Liliane de Geus (UNESCO workgroup Bonaire), Antonio Carmona Báez (USM), Francio Guadeloupe (UvA, KITLV), Corinne Hofman (LU, KITLV), Ergün Erkoçu (UoC), Ellen van Bueren (TU Delft). Fltr bottom: Harold Kelly (NAMA), Menno Hoogland (KITLV), Sharelly Emanuelson (Uniarte), Tibisay Sankatsing Nava (KITLV)(photo: Tibisay Sankatsing Nava).

The Island(er)s at the Helm project is chaired by Dr. Francio Guadeloupe (University of Amsterdam/KITLV), with co-applicants Prof. dr. Corinne L. Hofman (Leiden University/KITLV), Dr. Antonio Carmona Báez (University of St. Martin), and Prof. dr. ir. Filomeno A. (Boey) Marchena (University of Curaçao).

Since the first occupation of the islands, hurricanes and the devastation of coastal areas have significant ecological and social implications for the (Dutch) Caribbean. These are deeply impacting the basic living conditions (water, food, shelter) and heritage of the island inhabitants. This requires immediate action! Island(er)s at the Helm brings together researchers and societal partners to combine technical, traditional, and contemporary knowledge practices to co-create sustainable and inclusive strategies for social adaptation to these climatic challenges. A trans-Atlantic academic platform will be developed fostering research-based education on climate challenges for the six islands. Moreover, a regional expertise center on climate challenges, where the Dutch Caribbean researchers can find employ, is one of the end objectives of this programme. This center will be jointly managed by the University of St. Martin, University of Curacao, University of Aruba (Dr. Eric Mijts of the SISSTEM project), and the Caribbean Netherlands Science Institute. These institutions have committed to working towards this integration by offering joint courses in cooperation with institutes in the region and the wider Kingdom of the Netherlands.

From 2 to 13 March 2020, a team of researchers and societal partners travelled to the six Dutch Caribbean islands to organize outreach seminars and bring together researchers and local stakeholders to discuss the initial ideas and set-up of the NWO programme Island(er)s at the Helm. The main objective of the seminars was to discuss the climate change challenges that face the Caribbean island(er)s; to define common goals of interest towards social adaptation to climate change; to broaden and consolidate the prospective network of partnerships; and to start off discussions to co-create questions and approaches to shape the full proposal. These conversations contributed to the final Island(er)s at the Helm programme.

One of many co-development meetings organized in March 2020, this one at St. John’s School in Saba. During these meetings, ideas were presented to, and discussed with, local stakeholders and community members in preparation of the full scientific proposal of Island(er)s at the Helm for NWO (photo: Menno Hoogland).

The emphasis within this NWO programme is on the structural strengthening of the knowledge system and the embedding of scientific research in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. NWO wants to achieve this goal by means of two large multidisciplinary research programs that are carried out and anchored in the region itself. The research programs focus on issues of great social and scientific importance to the Caribbean region and promote the transfer of knowledge through education and outreach. Never before has NWO funded programs of this size in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom.

“This project is about NWO truly investing in research that benefits our islands. Climate change is real. We know this from Irma and the rise of the frequency of hurricanes in our region. We know this from the heavy rainfall and droughts on the ABC islands. We know this from the rise in earthquakes and now a volcano waking up in the wider Caribbean. There is absolutely no time to waste on cooperating Kingdom-wide, even if some of us rightly attend to the colonial past. That righteous attention must not deter us from recognizing that by paying their taxes, the hardworking Caribbean diaspora in the Netherlands have partially contributed to the funding of this programme”, said Guadeloupe, who also recognized the hard work of those who inside NWO pushed for a fair distribution of funds among kingdom partners (stmaartenagriculture.com).

Corinne Hofman, co-applicant and professor of Caribbean Archaeology at Leiden University and senior researcher at the KITLV: “It is fantastic to be part of this transdisciplinary programme, which will study social adaptation to climate challenges from a long-term perspective, bridging the past and the present. Culture and climate adaptation are inextricably and indispensably connected to each other and we will focus on how heritage can contribute to resolve societally relevant questions, in this case how to approach and adapt to climate challenges, thereby strengthening cultural identity and a sense of belonging. I am particularly looking forward to the collaborations in the trans-Atlantic academic platform. This platform is one of many ways in which stakeholders (GOs, NGOs, local communities, and researchers) across the Kingdom will connect, undoubtedly resulting in successful and sustainable embedding and implementation of the project’s results in local and regional education.”

Part of the Island(er)s at the Helm team working on incorporating feedback and ideas from the co-development meetings organized in March 2020 into the full scientific proposal of the project for NWO. Here, the team was at the University of Curaçao (photo: Ergün Erkoçu).

President of the University of Sint Martin and co-applicant of the project Antonio Carmona Báez also made public his remarks: “This is the most significant thing that has ever happened to USM, we can now become a full-fledged developmental university sponsoring research-based teaching that is essential to the sustainable progress of our Caribbean people. Together with other institutions of higher education in our region and our brothers and sisters in the diaspora, we can move forward by putting knowledge at the service of our islands. By co-creating solutions with historians, artists, archaeologists, anthropologists, urban engineers, farmers and students we can start to build that sustainable future looking inside and around us. No longer will research agendas be dictated from abroad and from now on the results of research that is conducted in our region will serve the people of the six Caribbean islands. This is about emancipation and empowerment.”, Carmona said (stmaartenagriculture.com).

Prof. dr. ir. Filomeno (Boey) Marchena, co-applicant and Head of the UNESCO Chair on Sustainable Water Technology and Management at the University of Curaçao: “This major research program is great news for the Caribbean. We are really looking forward to collaborate with the research team crossing the boundaries between the social sciences, humanities, technological sciences and the natural sciences. We can further strengthen the collaboration between the Caribbean islands and The Netherlands and focus on Caribbean-research and research-talents. This in co-development with GOs, NGOs, grassroots organizations, and local communities of the Dutch Leeward and Windward islands. Using innovative tools and practices in the critical areas of integrated water resource management, foodways, and architectural practices. These innovative tools and practices will contribute toward sustainable living that may reduce fossil-based energy use. Alternative designs and models of the water, food, shelter nexus (WFS-nexus) will be created by engineers who will be working with students and staff from the universities of The Kingdom. These designs and models will include the desires and needs of local populations, as well as mitigate the ideological reservations of decision makers on the islands regarding sustainable urban planning and design. It will therefore have big societal impact, like the improvement of life quality through creation of more livable communities and positive environmental impact”; a sustainable added value to our Caribbean communities.

Dr. Charissa Granger (University of the West Indies) says: “Island(er)s at the Helm reframes climate change research in the (Dutch-) Caribbean for the way it engages transdisciplinarity and especially the space it offers for thinking sustainability and knowledge through visual and performing arts. In so doing, this project shifts the axis of climate change studies to acknowledge the critical need for cultural practices. Such a research endeavor invites us to not only see, but feel; revealing an entirely new avenue for approaching water management, thinking of the water, food, and shelter-nexus, and making sense of the relationship between cultural heritage and the social adaptation of the island(er)s to climate challenges and catastrophes. The provocatively rich role aesthetics plays in a comprehensive understanding and awareness of climate challenges and ways to mitigate these throughout the (Dutch) Caribbean, moves us to consider and imagine other possibilities for responding to climate challenges, for thinking at the intersection of sustainability, heritage, and traditional knowledge practice. We are hereby invited to stretch our imagination to grapple with the audacious resources, available to us within the Caribbean, with the island(er)s at the helm.”

For questions, please contact Emma de Mooij (demooij@kitlv.nl).

Article published in BioNews 42

Healthy mangroves act as carbon sinks, storing a variety of greenhouse gases.  As mangroves degrade this ability is lost, but to what extend is still unknown. A 2019 study of Bonaire’s mangroves worked to analyze the differences between intact and degraded mangroves’ ability to store carbon. This work proved that preserving healthy wetlands is crucial in the fight against climate change.

Greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4), play an important role in accelerating global warming, worsening the conditions of climate change. When in balance, there are environmental systems in place which can trap greenhouse gases and allow an equilibrium to be reached.  Wetlands serve as a prime example of areas where productive plant communities are capable of storing and using large amounts of carbon through decomposition and photosynthesis.

Blue Carbon

Carbon which is stored within coastal environments has become known as “blue carbon” and could become key in building resilience against climate change moving forward. Of these blue carbon areas, mangroves are some of the most carbon-rich ecosystems on earth.  Through their dense leaf canopies and complex root systems, it is estimated that they are able to store carbon at a rate of 50 times higher thantropical rainforests.

Unfortunately, these areas are under threat.  Recent estimates have found that nearly one-third of these forests have been removed due to coastal development and land conversion.  In the Caribbean alone, nearly 24% of mangrove area was lost between 1980 and 2005.  When these areas are destroyed, not only do we lose the benefits of future carbon storage, but we begin adding carbon to the atmosphere that had been previously trapped in the sediment.

Scientists are just beginning to understand the importance of these ecosystems.  New policies are being drafted to advocate for these areas as important carbon sinks and policymakers are working to imbed these concepts into future climate change mitigation strategies.  Although the differences between healthy and clear-cut mangrove forests have already been studied, there is still a lack of information concerning forests which slowly degrade.  This slow degradation is generally the result of deteriorating environmental conditions, which causes trees to gradually die off.  As climate conditions continue to harshen, it can be expected that the remaining mangrove forests could see an increase in gradual die off, so understanding how this impacts their ability to function as a carbon sink will become critical.

Lac Bay

This is the case on Bonaire, where the mangrove forests around Lac Bay have been in gradual decline for decades.  A recent study conducted by the University of Bremen and the Leibniz Center for Marine Tropical Research and STINAPA Bonaire worked to understand these differences by quantifying the carbon sink capabilities of healthy and gradually degrading mangrove areas.

The area which was studied experience high sediment run off, as overgrazing and urban development have removed ground vegetation which would normally minimized erosion.  This high sediment run off has caused infilling within the mangrove forest, minimizing water circulation and creating areas of stagnant and hypersaline waters.  These conditions have led to the gradual die back of mangroves.  The presence of healthy and degraded mangroves within the same forest made Bonaire the perfect location to study the differences in these environments to better understand the carbon dynamics of these areas.

The Study

Measurements were taken between January and March of 2019.  17 plots of intact mangroves and 15 plots of degraded mangroves were selected.  In the end, a striking difference was found between these two areas.  Healthy, intact mangroves were seen to have larger amounts of both above ground (leaves, branches, trunks) and below ground (roots, sediment) biomass than those in degraded areas.  Degraded areas had very little aboveground biomass, resulting in less photosynthesis, less sedimentation and more erosion, chemical weathering and higher rates of decomposition within the sediment.  This complete loss of aboveground carbon capture and erosion of sediment meant that these areas could no longer be considered a carbon sink, but in fact act more as a carbon source, allowing previously trapped carbon to reenter the atmosphere or neighboring waters.

The Future of Mangroves

Interestingly, this study found that carbon left the slowly degrading areas slower than in forests where mangroves were intentionally cleared.  This could be important for future climate change mitigation plans as scientists believe that climate change will increase aridity in parts of the Caribbean, Central and South America and South Asia altering hydrology and causing seasonal hypersalinity which will lead to the gradual die off of large amounts of remaining forests. Understanding these differences will be key in forecasting the ability for natural areas to serve as carbon sinks in the future. This study proved that slowly degrading mangroves are no longer functioning as carbon sinks and efforts must be made to keep the remaining forests intact and healthy if we hope to find more natural solutions to minimizing our carbon footprint.

https://www.dcbd.nl/document/impacts-wetland-dieback-carbon-dynamics-com...

Article publish in Bionews 41

ABSTRACT:

In the last decade, Caribbean shores have been inundated with a floating seaweed known as Sargassum. In large amounts, Sargassum threatens biodiversity by suffocating nearshore ecosystems and decreases tourism levels due to its nauseating smell, putting small island environments and economies at risk. With little to no research conducted on the monitoring and cleanup opportunities of Sargassum in Aruba, I aimed to fill that gap with this thesis by identifying susceptible influx areas and potential impacts. In collecting both quantitative data using geographic information systems (GIS) and Sargassum specific monitoring software, as well as qualitative data through interviews, my research has explored the potential social, economic, and environmental consequences or opportunities that Aruba may face. I used this data to further visualize the spatial distribution and impacts of Sargassum such that my research findings could be applied within the larger Caribbean context

Tijdschrift Milieu

Volgens het laatste IPCC-rappor t zijn de effecten van klimaatverandering onomkeer-  baar en zullen we moeten inzetten op adaptatie. Maar dit betekent niet dat we de handdoek in de ring kunnen gooien voor de 1,5 gradensamenleving. Integendeel: des te urgenter is het om het CO2-overschot uit de atmosfeer te ver wijderen. Kust- en oceaansystemen bieden hier voor een omvangrijk potentieel, maar dat is nog amper bekend. Hoe bieden we deze ‘blue carbon’ oplossingen het podium dat ze verdienen?

Introductie

De eerste effecten van de klimaatcrisis zijn nu al zichtbaar in het Caribische gebied en de verwachting is dat dit in de komende jaren exponentieel zal toenemen. In het onlangs verschenen zesde assessment rapport van het Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), waarschuwen deskundigen dat we nog maar tien jaar de tijd hebben om de ergste klimaateffecten af te wenden. Dit vereist echter daadkrachtige keuzes, zowel op het vlak van adaptatie- als mitigatiestrategieën. De eilanden in het Caribisch deel van het Koninkrijk zijn bijzonder kwetsbaar voor de gevolgen van klimaatverandering. Het dagelijks leven en de meeste economische activiteiten spelen zich af aan de kust. De unieke natuur van het gebied staat onder druk door menselijke activiteiten. De kwetsbaarheid wordt nog versterkt door het feit dat, vanwege het kleine oppervlak van het eiland en de beperkte menselijke capaciteit, de veerkracht om te herstellen van rampzalige gebeurtenissen laag is. De parken verenigd in de Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance (DCNA) ervaren als beschermers van de natuur op de Nederlands Caribische eilanden aan den lijve hoe het veranderende klimaat de eilanden nu al beïnvloedt.

Also available in English: https://www.dcbd.nl/document/dutch-caribbean-climate-action-plan

Introduction

Caribbean islands are at the forefront of the climate crisis, with effects already starting to become noticeable in the region. Experts have warned, including in the recently released IPCC Sixth Assessment Report, that we have just ten years left to avert the worst climate impacts but that this will require decisive action, both in terms of adaptation and mitigation strategies. The Dutch Caribbean islands are particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts. People’s lives and livelihoods as well as most economic activities are located near coastal areas while the region’s unique nature is already under pressure from human impacts. This is compounded by the fact that, due to the island’s small geographic area and limited human capacity, the resilience to recover from disastrous events is low. As stewards of nature in the Dutch Caribbean the parks united in the DCNA see first hand how the changing climate is already affecting the islands.

Also available in Dutch: https://www.dcbd.nl/document/klimaat-actieplan-voor-het-nederlands-carib...

Bonaire or Boneiru, as it is known in Papiamentu, is a Dutch Caribbean island. An island full of heritage, gorgeous sunset views and a place that thousands of people call home.

Bonaire is located in the Leeward Antilles in the Caribbean Sea, 80 kilometers off the coast of Venezuela. The distance between Bonaire and Amsterdam, the capital city of the Netherlands, is roughly 7800 kilometers. Bonaire is 288 square kilometers. If you have never been to Bonaire, imagine an island half the size of the Dutch island of Terschelling or the same size as Ameland.

However, a lot more people live on Bonaire. According to CBS, in 2022, there were almost 23,000 people living on Bonaire1 - compared to 4,000 on Ameland. This is growing rapidly because Bonaire is becoming increasingly more popular, with tourists and people from the Dutch mainland and the United States moving to the island. When you drive around Bonaire, you experience this immediately. There are lots of construction sites and the roads are busy. Everywhere you go, you see more houses, hotels and resorts being built.

There are two cities on Bonaire. Kralendijk, which is the capital city, and the village of Rincón. The essential infrastructure of the Island is there to not only support the more than 20,000 people living on the island, but also to accommodate all the tourists coming to the island and enable them to enjoy the beautiful nature of Bonaire. As well as the Flamingo Airport in Kralendijk, there is a large pier that allows cargo ships and cruise ships to dock. The island also has its own waste processing, and energy and water infrastructure. A lot is taking place on this small island.

Nowadays, tourism is a huge part of Bonaire’s economy, whereas in the past salt production was elemental to the island. This is a big part of Bonaire’s colonial history, and when slavery was prohibited, the salt mining was too. However, the production in the salt pans was started back up again in 1966, when it was sold to an American company. Currently, the salt industry is in the hands of Cargill, a Canadian Company. In 2016, over 40 people were working for Cargill on Bonaire2 .

From 1954 until 2010, Bonaire was part of the Netherlands Antilles, a country in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. In 2010, the Netherlands Antilles were dissolved. Bonaire, together with the islands Saba and Sint Eustatius, became special municipalities of the Netherlands. Since then, the national government of Bonaire has been the Dutch government in the Hague. As a special municipality, there are a number of things that make Bonaire different from an ordinary municipality, let’s say like Volendam. The most obvious one is that Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius, nowadays referred to as the Caribbean Netherlands, do not belong to one of the twelve Dutch provinces or to one of the socalled waterschappen, the regional authorities in the Netherlands that are in charge of water management.

Even though there might be differences in the way Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius are governed, the inhabitants of the three islands have the same human rights as all Dutch citizens. The Dutch government needs to guarantee and protect, for example, Bonairians’ right to life and family life. These rights are defined by the European Convention on Human Rights3 .

Climate change is a danger to human rights all over the world. This begs the question: is the Dutch government taking sufficient action to prevent the worst impacts of climate change on the Caribbean Netherlands? And does it give equal protection from the impacts of global warming to the citizens of the Caribbean Netherlands as it does to the citizens of the European Netherlands?

Abstract

This study addresses the governance around climate change policies in two small islands in the Southern Caribbean. Like many other small islands across the world it is becoming increasingly clear that they are the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change like the increase in sea level rise, longer dry periods, loss of biodiversity, more extreme weather events (flooding and hurricanes) and increased fresh water demands (IPCC, 2014). To address such issues climate change adaptation policies will be necessary. The geographical focus of this research is the Southern Caribbean, specifically the islands of Curaçao and Bonaire. This study investigated what climate change adaptation policies are in place and could the policies be characterized as good governance? Policy documents were studied, and 22 semi-structured interviews were held with policy-makers and NGOs. First, a literature review of the concept of good governance was carried out to develop an analytical framework with principles and corresponding indicators for good governance. Second, the framework was applied to assess good governance in key climate policy documents of both islands. And third, the indicators of the framework were also used in the interviews with governmental stakeholders and NGOs, to assess from their perspectives good governance in climate policies. Curaçao and Bonaire have different jurisdictions, respectively an autonomous country in the Kingdom of the Netherlands and a Dutch municipality. Therefore, from a governance perspective it seemed interesting to compare both islands whether one jurisdiction is doing better than the other. The aims of the research are to reduce the knowledge gap on climate change adaptation in the Southern Caribbean, to develop a good governance framework, to assess good governance in climate change adaptation policies on both islands and to compare them. The last aim is what recommendations of enhancing good governance practices could be given. Results are that the developed analytical framework worked rather well and that the governance principles Transparency, Inclusiveness and Connectivity are relatively better in place than Accountability and Government Effectiveness. There are some differences between the islands but not striking.