STINAPA works hand in hand with the Bonaire government to tackle the issue of increased tourism by managing the coral reefs through regulation and outreach initiatives. The goats are not an easy stressor to tackle because you can’t just go around and shoot all the goats.” “They eat vegetation at a high rate, destabilizing the substrate, so everything gets washed into the water after heavy rains. “It sounds silly, but another major issue is Bonaire’s goats, which reproduce quickly,” Virdis said. Cruise visitors typically don’t contribute enough to the economy to offset the damage to the coral reef from docked ships and overuse of the sewer system. Additionally, Bonaire is a highly sought-after cruise destination, with cruise ship passengers increasing from 40,000 in 2005 to 458,000 in 2019. Increasingly dependent on a tourism economy, Bonaire faces a significant challenge in regulating recreation and urban development. The annual number of tourists increased from 80,000 in 2012 to 157,000 in 2019. It’s a problem we must tackle on several different levels.” Local issues include water quality and runoff, population increase, and tourism growth. “Coral reef degradation is an extremely complex problem that involves multiple actors and stressors globally and locally,” said Francesca Virdis, RRFB’s chief operating officer. Staghorn corals provide habitat for reef fish such as this banded butterflyfish. Biennial monitoring has shown since 2015 an increase in coral cover and density of juvenile corals and a decrease in macroalgal cover, which inhibits coral growth. Eight RRFB nurseries have grown more than 15,000 endangered staghorn and elkhorn corals, and the organization has outplanted more than 34,000 corals back to Bonaire’s reefs. Reef Renewal Foundation Bonaire (RRFB), a nonprofit organization partially financed by local dive operators collecting diver entrance fees, is leading efforts to protect and restore coral reefs in Bonaire. If the conditions are conducive to growth - clean water, an optimal temperature of 73☏ to 84☏, and minimal threats from overfishing, pollution, and coral harvesting - coral can mature in far less time than without restoration efforts. The fact that coral can be restored much quicker than it grows in the wild gives the world much-needed hope. A self-policing system required divers to display a plastic souvenir tag until the process went electronic with a digital tag on your phone. Most income is from a $45 nature entrance fee that divers pay. As a model, BNMP demonstrates that sustained local action and transparent governance can effectively increase coral reef resilience.Īlso unique is that Bonaire’s nature parks are managed and maintained almost entirely with funding and support from its visitors. The park encompasses the reef that surrounds the entire island of Bonaire from the high-tide watermark down to 200 feet in depth. In 1979 it was one of the first places to establish a marine protected area (MPA), and BNMP is one of the oldest and most successful marine reserves. In a 2021 report on worldwide coral status, the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network named the Bonaire National Marine Park (BNMP) one of three successful coral rehabilitation case studies.īonaire has been a pioneer in coral conservation. Bonaire, however, is making huge strides forward in coral restoration. Studies continually show coral reefs trending toward extinction, with about 14 percent of the world’s coral lost in the past decade. Bonaire’s economy is mainly dependent on coral reef tourism, which can be tenuous.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |