The Destruction of a Salina 'wetland' on Bonaire

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• published: 29 May 2010
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Vital nature habitat being destroyed at this moment! Naturalist Jerry Ligon a long time resident of Bonaire explains you our first concerns and observations of the wrongdoing of Harbour Village Marina Bonaire. This weeks activities conducted without an impact study in -- and around the Salina opposite of Harbour Village by Harbour Village already resulted in the destruction of: a) a nesting colony of least terns ((Sternula Antillarum). 12 nests in total were destroyed by bulldozer, of a bird species officially protected under Antillean Law. With a global population size of 67,550, this bird species has been given an endangered / threatened status by the National Audubon Society with a code red on the watch list. The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) has this bird species on their 2010 red list of threatened species. (Nests of 3 other bird species were destroyed in the same area: 1. Wilson's Plover, Snowy Plover and Black-necked Stilt) b) an area around 400 m2 inside the north side of the salina was covered with diabaas on the inside of the high tide line, covering shoreline with vegetation and destroying 30 % of intertidal mudflat of unique fiddler crab habitat resulting in loss of a.o : - Crab habitat in general (attachment of listing of crabs will follow) - Vital feeding grounds for a large number of bird species (see attachment: combined listing of birds) and - a loss of the crab larvae, ( important part planktonic basis of the food chain) an essential factor in the marine ecosystem on Bonaire's lee side of the island and contributing factor to the unique and very high fish diversity of the 2 dive sites located close to the left and right of the Marina, known to be the dive sites with the highest fish diversity on Bonaire and the Caribbean: Something Special ( www.reef.org, 340 species) and Bari Reef (www.reef.org, 388 species) (a unique quality and important element in promoting diving on Bonaire as a dive destination) c) an area around 25 m2 inside the north west side of the body of water closest to the main road was covered with blocks and chunks of limestone destroying an intertidal piece of mudflat home to a species of fiddler crab (as far as known the only place on Bonaire) that could not be identified by experts (maybe a new species or subspecies!) Further activities included preventing the flow of seawater with the tides into the salina by placing boarding and wooden beams into the intertidal mudflat and dumping top soil, limestone blocks and chunks into the tidal creek on the left side between the body of water and the salina itself. And placing a plastic tarp in the entrance of the canal leading to the Marina to avoid sediments of activities to enter the Marina and reef. It's my personal opinion that the continuation of the activities with the goal to make the salina a permanently wet area without an impartial and solid impact study at all is irresponsible and could confront Bonaire with unforeseen consequences that my impact Bonaire's nature in a negative way Sipke Stapert, concerned resident of Bonaire 7172019 e-mail: tortugos_99@yahoo.com