Hi everyone,

As many of you already know from reading the thread "Wastewater on Bonaire - It's a BAD Situation", there has been a lively discussion prompted by the posting of the Youtube.com video documenting sewage dumping on the island (if you haven't watched it yet, I strongly urge you to- the link is part of that thread). It is clear that this practice threatens the health of the reefs. Many people from the BT community have expressed concern and asked about ways to help.

Since I began that thread I have heard from a lot of people with suggestions, advice, and proposals. Some excellent advice was to work with the local agencies to try and effect any changes. That makes total sense as it is the local residents who are in charge of the island and what happens there.

This is a critical time when many important decisions are being made that will effect the island for years to come. There are two positive ways for people to get involved and make a difference!

The first way is to write a letter - snail mail is more effective than email - to the Island Council, the main governing body of Bonaire. The government has the funding and law making powers; they are the ones who will decide how best to decide the island's future, and they need to hear from everyone concerned about the health of the reefs. Letters can be brief. Here is a sample letter, you can use it as a template for your own letter if you wish:

Island Council
Kralendijk,
Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles

Dear Island Council Members,

As a regular visitor to the island I am distressed by the dumping of raw sewage into the ground on Bonaire. Such disregard for the environment seems out of character for a lovely island that has an economy based on the health and beauty of its reefs. As an outsider, I am hopeful that strong action to correct the problem will be taken soon. I hope to find construction on a proper sewage treatment facility started by my next visit, or I may have to consider a different destination.

Thank you for your consideration of this matter.

Sincerely,



The second way we can help will be a fundraising effort within the BT community (and anyone else who wishes to participate) to supply STINAPA and the BNMP with the money to purchase additional sensor sets in order to expand the important research being done to monitor water quality (see Tom Reynolds' posts on the "BAD Situation" thread). The fundraising effort is set to launch next week after STINAPA formally approves this proposal and lets me know the best way for everyone to send contributions to them that will be specifically earmarked for this project.

In the next day or so I will be posting more information on this fundraising effort, including a description of the research that Burt Jones and Tom Reynolds of USC are doing in concert with STINAPA and the BNMP, and how we can help expand the sensor program, which is something that will really help convince the Island Council that there is, indeed, a problem.

Thanks and stay tuned!

I have several divers here locally who want to send letters to the island council reference sewage treatment as discussed above. Will the address above get the letters there?

Marcus, Yes I believe that address will work - it was given to me by a Bonaire resident. Thanks to everyone who is going to write a letter!

Mine went out last week.

Okay. Thanks Blue. Our letters will be going out shortly!!

One more thing Blue. How confident do you feel about the financial contributions being earmarked for the sensor program actually being used for that? I want to contribute but want to feel fairly certain the money will be used specifically for the sensor program

Marcus, Fantastic! I am so glad you are thinking of contributing. You bring up an excellent point: I hope that the STINAPA board will make sure that donations sent to them specifically to be used for the sensor program will in fact be dedicated to the program. Of course as an outsider I can not guarantee that this will be the case. The BNMP knows that this fundraising effort is in place and will be working with STINAPA to put the expanded sensor program into action. When the STINAPA board gets back to me about the arrangements, I will bring this matter up with them and see what assurances they can give to prospective donors.

Sounds good Blue.

I am new to this site, and I am here due to a customer of mine who is looking to build in Bonaire. He is native to the island with family still present. I installed and operate his onsite wastewater treatment system on his current residence in the Chicago area. Until this point I was not aware of sewage treatment conditions on the island, or lack of it, and find it disturbing that there is so little being done in such an environmentally sensitive area. Especially when there are onsite solutions available to treat wastewater and disperse it safely. At this point I am trying to locate the government entities that have jurisdiction on matters of wastewater treatment for new construction on the island. After looking through this message board I have found some good information, but if anybody can give me more I would appreciate it.

Hi everyone,

STINAPA has just launched their new website! That is great news. There is a lot of good information about them and their programs. Particularly relevant to this thread is that their Annual Reports will be available online so it's now possible for anyone to see how they are funded and how the money is spent. It's also clear that they do get donations from individuals, not just organisations, and I feel positive that any donations from the BT community for the Sensor Program will be earmarked and used accordingly. Check it out at:

www.stinapa.org

I have not yet heard details from STINAPA about how best to proceed, but I expect to in the very near future, and will post as soon as I do.

Hi again everyone,

Yesterday I met with Tom Reynolds and Burt Jones of USC about their extremely impressive, cutting-edge ocean monitoring research here in the Southern California coastal shelf areas, and also learned a lot about what they are doing in Bonaire already and their vision for future research in collaboration with the BNMP. We brainstormed about the expanded sensor program and there are some terrific ideas in development. There are still a number of details to be worked out regarding scope of the project and fundraising, and it will take several more weeks at least before things can really get underway in terms of donating to this incredibly exciting and useful water monitoring sensor program. But please stay tuned for more information as it becomes available because this project IS going to happen! And by the way, money is not the only thing that the sensor program is going to need - volunteers on island who would like to assist the BNMP in maintaining the sensors and collecting data are going to be a crucial part of the program, so there are many ways to get involved and make a real difference on this important issue!

Hi everyone,

The Sensor Program has finally been launched! It's very exciting to finally be getting underway! I am going to start a new thread under the "Diving" topic, because I think perhaps that is where the most people are going to see it. All the information about what the Sensor Program is and how YOU can participate will be on that thread. Please go to Diving Bonaire and click on "Help the Reef: The Light and Motion Sensor Program".

If you have any questions send me a private post via BT and I will do my best to answer them. Thanks!

The link to the Light and Motion Sensor Program is:

www.oldbonairetalk.com/newsgroup/messages/30/324363.html?1184247703

Thanks!