Bonaire National Marine Park

Bonaire National Marine Park
Underwater landscape near Klein Bonaire
Coordinates: 12 ° 11 ′ 0 ″  N , 68 ° 20 ′ 0 ″  W.
Location:	Bonaire , Caribbean Netherlands
Next city:	Kralendijk
Surface:	approx. 2700 ha
Founding:	November 1999
Visitors:	28,000
Address:	Barcadera 10 NL-BO Kralendijk
The national park encloses the entire island of Bonaire and also includes the neighboring island of Klein Bonaire

The Bonaire National Marine Park is a maritime national park that extends around the island of Bonaire , one of the Netherlands' special communities in the Caribbean . The area has been comprehensively protected since 1979 and in 1999 received official status as a national park of what was then the Netherlands Antilles .

history

The waters around the island of Bonaire were the target of various nature conservation measures very early on. The sea ​​turtles living in the area have been protected since 1961, while spear fishing was banned in 1971 . The corals of the reefs around Bonaire have been under protection since 1975 , which applies to both living and dead animals.

In 1979, with financial support from the World Wildlife Fund and the Dutch government, today's park was founded as the Bonaire Marine Park . The park was managed by the Stichting Nationale Parken Bonaire (STINAPA for short). This non-governmental organization already managed the Washington Slagbaai National Park , which was founded a decade earlier and is also located on Bonaire.

For the next few years the park was actively managed. For example, various berths for divers' boats were built on the leeward side of the island so that they did not have to drop anchor, and laws were passed to protect the park and especially the coral reefs. In the mid-1980s, however, the park administration ran into serious financial difficulties, which meant that the park only existed on paper for a few years. By 1990, the expanding diving industry and increasing tourism seriously threatened the health of Bonaire's coral reefs. As a result, the Dutch government provided funding of 225,000 Antilles guilders annually over a period of three years, with the condition that the park be self-financed during this period and that a functioning administration be established. Both goals could be achieved in the specified period. In 1992 the Bonaire Marine Park was one of the first diving areas where divers had to pay a fee.

In 1999 the park was officially declared a national park by the central government of the Netherlands Antilles. The name was then changed to today's Bonaire National Marine Park.

On August 17, 2011, the park was added to the Netherlands' national tentative list for possible future UNESCO World Heritage Sites .

geography

Aerial view of Klein Bonaire

The national park covers the waters around Bonaire from the high water mark to a depth of 60 meters. There are also some parts of the coast with mangrove forests , for example in the Lac lagoon . The uninhabited island of Klein Bonaire is also part of the park . The national park also contains several significant wetlands that are specially protected according to the Ramsar Convention .

Flora and fauna

Open water

The wildlife in the open water off the coast of Bonaire has not been particularly well explored. As is typical for the region, the water is quite warm and contains few natural nutrients, but large amounts of phytoplankton live in this area . Examples of large fish that are occasionally seen in this area include tuna , wahoo , marlin, and swordfish . Even whale sharks have been spotted in the waters.

Seabed

On the seabed of the Bonaire National Marine Park there are extensive seagrass meadows, which are dominated by the seaweed species Thalassia testudinum and Syringodium filiforme as well as green algae of the genus Halimeda . For many fish species they are important for laying eggs and rearing their young. Large populations of marine snails also live here .

Squids off Bonaire

Coral reefs

The gorgon head Astrophyton muricatum in the national park

All of Bonaire is surrounded by coral reefs. These consist of around 60 different types of coral, including brain corals , elk antler corals , fire corals and gorgonians . The reefs are home to a wide variety of marine life. Some of the most common fish species are surgeonfish , parrotfish , damselfish, and wrasse . Countless invertebrates such as shrimp , lobster and squid also live here . Bonaire's coral reefs were badly damaged by Hurricane Larry in 1999 . Furthermore, they are threatened by the influence of pollutants and the warming of the sea.

Lac Bay

The only significant concentration of mangroves on Bonaire is in the Lac Bay lagoon. Red , black and white mangroves and button mangroves grow here . The 700 hectare lagoon has been a Ramsar area since 1980 and provides a habitat for the endangered green sea turtle , among other things .

tourism

The diving pioneer Hans Hass visited Bonaire as early as 1939 and reported on the rich underwater world in his books. Bonaire is one of the hotspots for scuba divers in the Caribbean. In addition, various activities such as kite surfing , sailing and windsurfing are offered in the Bonaire National Marine Park area . The park is also known as one of the world's best places for snorkeling. In 2017, Forbes magazine voted it one of the top 10 must-dive destinations in the world.

Web links

Commons : Bonaire National Marine Park  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• The National Park website (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Bonaire National Marine Park - SITE DESCRIPTION. Retrieved June 20, 2018 . 
2. ↑ Bonaire National Marine Park - Bonaire STINAPA . In: Stinapa Bonaire . ( stinapabonaire.org [accessed June 19, 2018]).
3. ^ Bonaire National Marine Park - EXECUTIVE SUMMARY. Accessed June 19, 2018 . 
4. ↑ Bonaire National Marine Park | DCNA. Retrieved June 19, 2018 (American English). 
5. ↑ Kalli De Meyer, Duncan MacRae: Bonaire National Marine Park Management Plan 2006 . Ed .: STINAPA Bonaire. 2006, p. 9 .
6. ^ Bonaire Marine Park. In: unesco.org. Accessed July 19, 2018 . 
7. ↑ Discover the Bonaire National Marine Park - Diving on Bonaire . In: Bon Bini Bonaire . July 20, 2012 ( abc-islands.de [accessed June 19, 2018]).
8. ↑ Ramsar - STINAPA Bonaire . In: Stinapa Bonaire . ( stinapabonaire.org [accessed June 19, 2018]). Ramsar - Stinapa Bonaire ( Memento of the original from June 19, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
9. ↑ Kalli De Meyer, Duncan MacRae: Bonaire National Marine Park Management Plan 2006 . Ed .: STINAPA Bonaire. 2006, p. 29-30 .
10. ↑ Kalli De Meyer, Duncan MacRae: Bonaire National Marine Park Management Plan 2006 . Ed .: STINAPA Bonaire. 2006, p. 32-34 .
11. ↑ Kalli De Meyer, Duncan MacRae: Bonaire National Marine Park Management Plan 2006 . Ed .: STINAPA Bonaire. 2006, p. 35-38 .
12. ↑ Kalli De Meyer, Duncan MacRae: Bonaire National Marine Park Management Plan 2006 . Ed .: STINAPA Bonaire. 2006, p. 41-45 .
13. ^ Lac - Bonaire Official Tourism Site. Accessed June 19, 2018 . 
14. ^ Jung, Michael and Kalli de Meyer: Hans Hass and his Journeys to Bonaire and the The History of the Bonaire Marine Park and the Development of the Diving Industry on Bonaire. Merzig, 1999
15. ↑ Bonaire. In: 100-beste-tauchreviere.de. Retrieved June 19, 2018 . 
16. ^ Bonaire Water Sports in Bonaire - Bonaire Official Tourism Site. Accessed June 19, 2018 . 
17. ↑ Breanna Wilson: 10 Must-Dive Destinations For 2017 . In: Forbes . ( forbes.com [accessed June 19, 2018]).