SXMElections.com

~ Free-for-all in designated reserves ~

By Suzanne Koelega

THE HAGUE--The St. Eustatius National Marine Park has been reduced by a near 50 per cent through a decision of the St. Eustatius Government. Without the necessary control it basically means the end of the park which will now only consist of the Atlantic side of the island and the reserve at Gallows Bay to make way for the harbour. And, in absence of a legal status, local fishermen have started fishing in the reserves.

The Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance (DCNA) and affiliated nature organisations are extremely disappointed and had asked National Government Representative Gilbert Isabella earlier this week to annul the amendment to the local Maritime Environment Ordinance.

The reduction of the St. Eustatius Maritime Park, established in 1996 and managed by the St. Eustatius National Parks Foundation STENAPA, is the direct result of the new Harbour Fees Ordinance, recently approved by the St. Eustatius Island Council and which went into effect on June 1, 2015. The Marine Environment Ordinance needed to be adapted in order to allocate a section for the harbour.

Until now, there had been no specific harbour zone because the marine park surrounds the entire island. The amended ordinance defines the area for the harbour, but at the same time takes away this area from the marine park. There will effectively be no marine park and no conservation of the marine environment on the majority of Statia’s western side. The Atlantic side of the park is too rough for regular patrols, regular research and monitoring.

According to the law’s Explanatory Note, the past ordinance didn’t take into account that the harbour required an area to execute its tasks. The amended law seeks to correct this situation. STENAPA has repeatedly objected to these developments.

There are two reserves within the Marine Park and the harbour zone: Gallows Bay and Jenkins Bay. The marine park contains two actively managed reserves, the northern reserve (Jenkins Bay) and the southern reserve (Gallows Bay) where fishing and anchoring are prohibited.

The reserves together cover an area of 489 hectares (4.9 km2). The new ordinance limits the marine park to the east, Atlantic side of the island which is barely accessible, and the two marine reserves. However, without proper legal protection the reserves are basically a free-for-all.

Proper governance

According to the DCNA and affiliated nature organisations, including STENAPA, the amended maritime ordinance doesn’t comply with the requirements of proper governance. DCNA Chairman Glenn Thodé stated in a letter to Isabella dated June 10, 2015, that the ordinance was deemed in violation of the law and the general interest, and as such it should be annulled.

In his letter, Thodé stated that the ordinance reduces the marine park by some 40 per cent and that there basically will be no control in the remaining part. “In essence this means that the marine park ceases to exist,” he stated in the letter. The DCNA demanded that the former situation regarding the borders of the marine park be restored.

The DCNA accused the St. Eustatius Government of acting incorrectly, being careless and unprepared in taking the decision in question and “randomly just doing something.” Government also violated the principle of trust because stakeholders should be able to trust that a park is not suddenly cut in half.

Besides that, Government didn’t sufficiently motivate its decision. Thodé said that he saw no motivation at all to reduce the park to half its original size. The decision to change the ordinance was “disproportionate” because there were other ways to increase the revenues from the harbour fees than to drastically reduce the marine park.

According to the DCNA, Government also didn’t stick to the fair play principle by not taking the necessary openness and fairness into account, and to take a rapid, unmotivated decision on the matter at hand. Copies of the letter were sent, among others, to the Dutch Parliament, the Ministry of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations, and Statia’s Government.

STENAPA protest

STENAPA has vehemently protested against amending the Maritime Environment Ordinance and the drastic reduction of the marine park. The organisation made an official complaint on April 25, 2015, by means of a 13-page letter. STENAPA says it has not been consulted in the process of drafting the new Harbour Ordinance.

STENAPA has questioned the reason for largely increasing the harbour zone which now stretches to the northernmost tip of the island and several kilometres westward. “We understand that the harbour ordinance will bring much needed revenue to the island and that harbour fees needed to be increased,” Marine Park Manager Jessica Berkel said on Friday.

“However, for the government to dissolve such a large part of the marine park without any consultation with stakeholders or the realisation of the consequences for the environment is very disappointing. Besides the oil terminal and the government apparatus, (dive) tourism and its related services is the largest income provider for the island and the sector that has the most potential for sustainable growth. For this reason the protection of the island’s nature is paramount,” Berkel said.

STENAPA has offered an alternative plan which takes into account sensitive wrecks, protected sea turtle habitat, valuable sea grass beds which serve as nurseries for many juvenile species, historical wrecks and artefacts and fishing areas.

Protected area

STENAPA pointed out in its April 25 letter that the St. Eustatius National Marine Park is a protected area under the international Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife SPAW protocol. The park’s status as a protected area of regional importance was ratified in December last year.

According to the terms of the SPAW, the Dutch Government and the public entity St. Eustatius must take every measure to protect, preserve and sustainably manage the areas that need protecting and endangered animal and plant species on their territories.

Even though the boundaries of the two reserves have been designated in the new Harbour Ordinance, the reserves, which are crucial in maintaining biodiversity and serving as a refuge for species, protecting important habitats from poor fishing practices and other harmful human activities, are still not afforded any protected status within the law.

In the opinion of STENAPA, the new ordinance overlooked the opportunity to assign protection to these valuable areas. “This will mean that the marine park will be drastically reduced in size and additionally that the fishermen can utilise the reserves. The reserves should be officially designated as strict no-take, no-anchor zones,” it was stated in the STENAPA letter.

Adding further pressure to an already fragile situation is the fact that some Statia fishermen have resorted to fishing in the reserves. On top of that, a group of eleven fishermen are taking the local government to court over lost earnings because they were not allowed to fish in the closed reserves for the past years. The fishermen were only prevented from fishing in the reserves which cover 20 per cent of the park, and they had access to the remaining 80 per cent.

STENAPA reported that as of last month the fishermen have been dropping fish traps on the reefs in the reserves. STENAPA can do nothing about it because of the lack of an official protected status. The fishermen have been observed spear fishing and taking lobster from the reserves. The nature organisation has tried to inform the government of the urgency of the situation and the free-for-all actions which are damaging the fragile reefs’ eco-system.

The St. Eustatius National Marine Park is one of the top five sites in the Caribbean for healthy coral and fish populations and one of the world’s 25 areas with the highest biodiversity. It is a major attraction for tourists who come to the island to dive. The reefs around St. Eustatius were valued at US $12 million in a 2010 economic valuation study.

Aside from STENAPA and now also the DCNA, the Statia Government has received protest letters from the two local dive shops, the National Parks Foundation STINAPA Bonaire and the World Wildlife Fund Netherlands WNF.