I just finished reading the latest Bonaire Newsgroup Newsletter and was terribly disturbed by the article discussing the possibility of a new airport being built on Venezuela which would directly interfere with the path of the breeding Flamingos from Bonaire.

It sounds to me that the Naturalist groups just might have to get directly involved in this matter if no agreement can be amicably be reached between Bonaire and Venezuela.

It might sound extreme, but this sounds as if it will entail extreme measures to protect this delicate situation.

I have yet to visit Bonaire....this September will be our first trip. I am becoming more and more concerned with the "development" of the island and its surrounding areas. I am grateful we are going to visit Bonaire now, while it is still basically pristine.

I would hope to be able to return to Bonaire in the future without concerns of major development and destruction of the naturalness of this little piece of heaven on earth.

How do we "join together" to stop this nonsense??

Is anyone else out there concerned with these matters?

Once it is "destroyed", there is no bringing it back to where it once was......let's help out now. Carole Baker

The article Carole is referring to is below:

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Flamingo Feeding Grounds Threatened

Local government is worried about advanced plans in Venezuela to construct an airport close to the area known as "The Cuare Fauna Refuge". This area is important to our Bonaire flamingos since they flies to Cuare in search of food, which they then bring back to their young ones here in Bonaire's flamingo breeding grounds. If the airport construction goes ahead as planned, it is believed that Bonaire will be left with only one quarter of the number of flamingos it has now.

The Bonaire Island Government has sent a letter voicing its worries to the Ambassador of the Netherlands in Caracas, Niek P. v. Zutphen, and in response, the Ambassador wrote the Venezuelan Government, expressing his concern for the future of the flamingos that breed in Bonaire.

These birds share both Venezuela and Bonaire as their home and use the Cuare area as a transit during their trip from the northern coat of South America on their way to our island. The trip takes less than two hours for the birds, and some flamingos make the roundtrip daily.

On Bonaire, legislation prohibits craft from occupying air space to the south of the flamingos’ breeding area in the salt pans. As the birds fly into the island from Venezuela at the southern tip of Bonaire, they experience very little hinderance from our airport, even though it is still close to their habitat. At Cuare it would not easy to build an airport with the runways out of the way of the flamingos due to the direction the winds blow, according to the Bonairean Government.

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Copyright (c) 1999 by the Bonaire E-News

I am new to the newsgroup and just happened across Carole Baker's message of June 17, 1999. A good part of the charm of Bonaire is the spectacle of colorful and shy flamingos. The amazing journey they make every morning and every evening should not be disrupted in favor of a new air route/airport. Hasn't mankind as a whole already intruded upon and altered Nature enough? Please let me know if I can, in any way, however small, help.

Carolyn,

The last I heard, the governor of the state in Venezuela where the airport being expanded is in denial that the construction will damage the Flamingo feeding grounds.

If you want to help I suggest writing a letter to the Venezuelan government care of the nearest Venezuelan Embassy voicing your objections.

Every little bit helps!

Jake