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Environmental Action: Action Now Needed To Stop the Sewage!
Bonaire Talk: Environmental Action: Archives 2008-2009: Action Now Needed To Stop the Sewage!
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Pauline Kayes (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #180) on Sunday, June 7, 2009 - 2:14 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

The bad news is that the interim sewage plan, which called for a portable sewage processing plant at LVV, is seriously behind schedule (due December 2008; it is now June 2009). Meanwhile, not all resorts are completely and regularly trucking and treating their sewage. As a result, Bonaire's reefs are still being polluted by nutrient-loaded wastewater from shoreline accomodations and being degraded to the "point of no return" (Brian La Pointe, marine biologist).

What all of you on Bonaire Talk can do before making your reservations at your favorite hotel or resort: call or e-mail the manager and inquire what percentage and how frequently they are trucking their sewage away from the sea. An "eco-responsible" hotel or resort will truck the majority of its sewage frequently. An "eco-irresponsible" hotel will truck only some of its sewage only when necessary (i.e. toilets back up). Decide which kind of hotel or resort you want to patronize.

Spread the word before Bonaire's reefs are dead!

SOS Campaign To Save Bonaire's Reefs!
SOSBonaireReef@gmail.com

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mel Briscoe (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #496) on Sunday, June 7, 2009 - 4:13 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

I'd be happy to distribute and use a list of "good guys" and "bad guys," but not one that is based on unknown individuals collecting the info in unknown ways and sending email reports to BT for unknown purposes. However, if such a list had a stamp of authority -- like STINAPA -- on it, I'd be all over it in a heartbeat. Anything less is too prone to error, misinterpretation, and misuse.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Pauline Kayes (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #181) on Sunday, June 7, 2009 - 5:49 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Mel, if tourists call the hotels and resorts themselves and express their concerns, maybe then the hotels and resorts would know that it matters to their customers, and that could be a big motivation to cooperate fully. That is one way to do it without issuing lists.

And, as you know, government bureaucracies (which STINAPA is), do not always release the truth because of the politics of protecting their own jobs.

So, if individual tourists are concerned, the best course of action is to make that concern know to the managers and owners of the shoreline hotels and resorts.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Vince DePietro-www.bonairebeachcondo.com (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #2246) on Sunday, June 7, 2009 - 6:15 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Pauline..Do you have any intelligence as to when the
portable sewage processing plant will be functional?

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Menno (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #246) on Monday, June 8, 2009 - 8:44 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Pauline;

Although I fully agree with you in terms of our government being "somewhat slow" in this (and other) matters (heh, that is very political correct stated if I may say so!) I would like to add to this discussion that it is not really fair to only address hotels/accommodations in this matter. Restaurants have restrooms too and so do diveshops, downtown shops, realestate rental agencies and many others. If you want to make a point in not doing business with companies who, in Pauline's eye's, don't play by "the rules", please do it properly.
FYI: Hotels and other businesses that offer accommodations are amoung the few that collect touristtax for this island......(at least, the legal ones.....but that is just another governmental F.U. (sorry micheal and ronella.)

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Pauline Kayes (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #182) on Monday, June 8, 2009 - 10:43 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Vince, supposedly the portable plant and trucks will be here in Dec. 2009 but don't hold your breath. As to when it will be functional is anyone's guess.

Menno, you are quite correct--every structure on the shoreline contributes to the sewage seeping into the sea. But hotels, resorts, apartments, and condominiums by far produce the most sewage so responsible trucking and treating by them could reduce the sewage quite quickly. It is a shame there isn't a law requiring all on the shoreline to truck their sewage regularly.

If more in the government would realize the reef is on the verge of disaster, maybe they would expedite the shipping and construction of the portable plant by this summer instead of waiting until next year.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Menno (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #247) on Monday, June 8, 2009 - 11:34 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

These shoreline "structures" also produce most income and employment for the whole island. To mention another one; The airport is within the same zone so using the airport should be banned too....???
It is not fair to put it "all" in their lap. Staying somewhere else because that accommodation happens to be outside "the zone" just to make a statement will not have the result you are looking for. It will only result in the loss of a lot jobs and businesses will be forced to cut costs. Guess who will be going to loose their jobs first and where the costs will be cut......

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Pauline Kayes (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #183) on Monday, June 8, 2009 - 4:25 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Menno, if the reefs die, many more jobs will be lost. Isn't it better to be proactive now than reactive later?

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Menno (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #248) on Monday, June 8, 2009 - 5:27 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

And that is the question indeed........
Our government does not care about the reefs and they don't care about diving these reefs and those kind of activities at all!
They prefer Cruiseships, casino's, golfcourses, souvenir-shops, high-rise hotels and that kind of (mass)tourism. Tourism that does not require a )healthy) reef. All they need is blue water for the postcard's and picture's at sunset.
I think you only help this government by giving the accommodations in and around Kralendijk a bad name for their way of dealing with their sewage. It may result in a decline in number of guests which may result in a bankruptie or a (hostile) take-over. Guess on what kind of tourism the new owner(s) will be focussing on......
I would like the ones we have to stay. I think they all know the need of changing the way sewage is (not) treated now but shipping elsewhere does not safe any jobs except the ones driving the -truck.
It just needs more time..... Hopefully it will be in time..... Please stop pointing your finger to just a few who can't help it either....

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Menno (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #249) on Monday, June 8, 2009 - 5:30 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Hey, I can type red dots without having red dots on my key-board. Wow!

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Marcus L. Barnes (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1132) on Tuesday, June 9, 2009 - 9:20 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

I think its important to understand that alot of us take treating sewage for granted. When you're used to it as standard operating procedure its hard to understand why an island government sitting on top of what used to be an ocean paradise is resistant to something alot of us see as something that you do because to not do it doesn't make any sense at all from many different perspectives. I don't see how you make to the big leagues of tourism when, in 2009, you can't even do something as fundamental as treating your sewage.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Menno (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #250) on Tuesday, June 9, 2009 - 9:30 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

IMO that is exactly why "they" shift to a different "class" of tourist....

((:- In the near future an eco-friendly resort on Bonaire means a resort that does not have any restrooms :-))

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Marcus L. Barnes (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1133) on Tuesday, June 9, 2009 - 10:24 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

OK, start with premise that the government doesn't care about the reefs or diving the reefs. My question is why? I can understand wanting the revenue from tourists other than divers/snorklers, but why give up the revenue from divers/snorklers in the process? How does that make good business sense? If all you have to do is treat the sewage to keep those revenues why resist it?

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Menno (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #251) on Tuesday, June 9, 2009 - 10:49 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

If they cared they would by now having invested in treating the sewage since these facts are known for over 20 years if I am correct.
This government does not sit for that long so the previous one wasn't any better for that matter.....
Sofar Bonaire is very lucky that the health of the reefs at other destinations is even in a worse condition. It seems policy in the caribbean to kill what you have and look for better meanwhile.....
It may sound selfish but I am just enjoying the ride while it lasts. I am so done with answers like 'thanks for your feedback' although it still is a better answer then none at all.

I'm off paying my taxes now which probably supports the construction of the next dolphin. Maybe, just maybe it supports the building of a sewage treatment system.....I like to think it does that..... Time will tell.....

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Marcus L. Barnes (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1134) on Tuesday, June 9, 2009 - 11:21 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

I can understand the policy of a business being kill what you have and look for better mean while but I can't understand that being the government's policy. Once a resort kills reefs and moves on, the government is still sitting there having to answer to the people who just lost the revenue and jobs from the resort. It seems to me that the smart thing for the government to do in their own self interest is to regulate the business in manner that ensures they don't kill the reef. So my next question would be why aren't they doing that? I guess I have to assume that the government on Bonaire has cost/revenue models that project the cost of treating sewage is greater than the loss of revenue from not treating sewage. Otherwise, why would you not treat the sewage? That wouldn't make good business sense. If those models don't exist, then I guess I have to assume the government is clueless when it comes to successful business practices.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By MadMan (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #189) on Tuesday, June 9, 2009 - 12:32 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

The only thing that is of interest to the government is do we have the money to do something now? (No!) Can we get someone to pay for it later on down the line. (Maybe!) How much can we make of it if we're still in power. (A lot!) Just have to find a victim who is willing to fork over the cash, under or above the table,now or later (Rather Now!) Come and live and vote here maybe you can make a difference

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Marcus L. Barnes (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1135) on Tuesday, June 9, 2009 - 1:34 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Whats up MadMan? I thought the EU was putting up 20 million Euro for treating sewage on Bonaire.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By MadMan (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #192) on Wednesday, June 10, 2009 - 12:07 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Yes, when ? Investigating? Corruption or other wrong doings?

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Pauline Kayes (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #185) on Wednesday, June 10, 2009 - 11:57 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Marcus, yes, the money for the interim plan (i.e. extra poop trucks, portable processing plant, etc.) has been committed and I understand they are taking bids right now. Wish there was a way to massage the bureaucracy into quicker results, like this summer, instead of Dec. 2009. Every day without sewage processing is one more day slowly killing the reef.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Marcus L. Barnes (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1140) on Wednesday, June 10, 2009 - 12:42 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Sooner would be better but at least Dec 2009 means the island won't go through another (entire) high season without some sewage treatment capability. It isn't perfect but I, for one, will take it for now. Kudos to those who are driving the train on this.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By eddie blizzard (BonaireTalker - Post #13) on Wednesday, June 10, 2009 - 6:30 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post



Why is everyone so complacent about this? Maybe Bonaire is too mellow.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mel Briscoe (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #498) on Wednesday, June 10, 2009 - 9:05 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Eddie, what makes you think everyone is complacent?

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Pauline Kayes (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #186) on Wednesday, June 10, 2009 - 9:20 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

It is so ironic that a friend just called me after hearing a big PR piece on National Public Radio in the states about how Bonaire's reefs are "pristine." As long as Bonaire's PR machine keeps repeating what was true 20 years ago, most people will believe it because they don't have the facts about the toll the sewage is taking on the reefs. If these reefs are to be saved, it is time for reality and myth to collide!

After all, Bonaire can only rest on its historic laurels for so long before it becomes obvious to everyone in the dive/snorkel community that the reefs are dying fast.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By eddie blizzard (BonaireTalker - Post #14) on Thursday, June 11, 2009 - 12:53 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

The scuba industry will keep recycling new divers to see the pristine "reefs".

What are other islands doing about these same problems Bonaire faces?

I think having such weak current is really hurting. A place like Cozumel with all the diver traffic it gets will never have to worry about Bonaire's problems because Coz has a current that washes the reef clean (relatively).

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Menno (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #252) on Thursday, June 11, 2009 - 6:49 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

I am not a biologist or scientist but I doubt current solves anything. It sounds to me like solving skin-problems by standing in the wind.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dan Jolly (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1425) on Thursday, June 11, 2009 - 10:31 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Eddie - true about Coz, but the reef is really not that much to see compared to Bonaire, Roatan, Belize and many other Caribbean locales even with the current.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Menno (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #253) on Thursday, June 11, 2009 - 4:25 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Today I saw it again. I have seen it before but lately I see "these" things more and more. I always wondered why "those" divers used "those" things. Most of "these" divers also carry a camera......
You might have guessed it by now -- I am referring to metal sticks, also called "pookie-stick" (??). Some of these sticks come quite fancy with colored handles for a better grip. I always wondered the why of using "these" things because mostly their knees (and many other body parts and equipment items) where all over the reef anyway, but now I think I (finally) got it; The reef is to dirty and to gross to handle with bare hands lately!
The reefs face many challenges and I honestly think that sewage is not the biggest!

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Pietri Hausmann (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #193) on Thursday, June 11, 2009 - 4:36 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

menno ... did you happen to see the article in the Extra last week about a study done at the request of the BMP about the impact of damage to reefs by intentional and unintentional touching of the reef?? while the divers studied on bonaire were 40% better than in other dive destination country's studied .. it was still a depressing report with diver contact with the coral considered one of the major reasons for decline in the reef health .. especially targeted were the underwater photographers as causing significant enough regular damage for the study to recommend bonaire require more control and education from the dive companies.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Menno (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #254) on Thursday, June 11, 2009 - 5:02 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Kind of hard to "control" divers on Bonaire. The biggest draw of diving Bonaire is unlimited shorediving..... After the orientation everybody can go where he (she) wants and do whatever he (she) wants..... Sure diveshops try their very best but, how many times can a diveshop "nag" on a paying guest before he (she) decides to go elsewhere or to go without a guide??
The only way to control this is if the MP start to have rangers checking things under water as well.....
About 2 years ago I met ramon and discussed this and other challenges. Ramon (MP manager) awknowledge this sort of need, but also mentioned that he had no staff enough. I still don't see them underwater so guess things did not change or seem not to be so important afterall.
That makes the research you refer to, how great, how shoking, how disturbing or how bad everybody finds it a waste of effort, a waste of funding and a waste of time. Everybody knows for many years already what goes on "out there" and having no means, no money, no time and/or no whatever, to act on it makes it all somewhat laughable in my eye's. It seems it is all about "neck-tie's" having meetings with some-one who makes minutes.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By JD (BonaireTalker - Post #37) on Thursday, June 11, 2009 - 8:06 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Why is it that there is such a reluctance to say where the sewage is coming from? I would think those resorts with good practices would be bragging about it!

I haven't seen the report about divers being the major threat to reefs, but I would love to if someone could post a link or something. Frankly I doubt that to be the case, and suspect it is simply easier to blame "those irresponsible divers" than blame local businesses. I also doubt that Bonaire has some sort of unique diving population, that doesn't travel elsewhere, so why would the Bonaire divers be 40% better?

How could anyone study diver behavior on Bonaire without the divers knowing they are being watched? I am pretty sure I would have noticed some one following me on my dives.

But, I will keep an open mind and would love to see the study. If the report is valid and divers are the major cause of reef degradation, and it is not just a piece of PR, then clearly, Bonaire should immediately begin requiring all dives to be guided by licensed guides. Anything less would be irresponsible. As much as I would hate to see it, cameras should be banned if, indeed, photographers are the main culprits. The preservation of the reef should take precedence over dive tourism dollars. After all, Bonaire prides itself on being a leader in this area.

Would someone please post the study or a link?

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By a retired Grunt (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #818) on Thursday, June 11, 2009 - 8:55 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post


quote:

I would think those resorts with good practices would be bragging about it!




I for one also wonder why are they not doing so.

IF any specific resort is doing the right thing, maybe a thread could be created to give credit to that business.

Is there any way to factually determine this?

It would give concerned customers a choice of where to stay.

I have not considered this in the past, but will in the future.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mel Briscoe (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #500) on Thursday, June 11, 2009 - 9:00 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

A literature review is at
http://www.dep.state.fl.us/coastal/programs/coral/reports/FDOU/FDOU_Project_19_PhaseI.pdf
See pages 6-9, especially.

A Masters Thesis specifically on live-aboard divers is at
http://www.diverdavid.co.uk/Project%20final.pdf.

Some other reports and reference lists are attached.

damage1

damage2

damage3

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mel Briscoe (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #501) on Thursday, June 11, 2009 - 9:09 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

A literature review on damage to reefs (by divers and other sources) is at
http://www.dep.state.fl.us/coastal/programs/coral/reports/FDOU/FDOU_Project_19_PhaseI.pdf
See pages 6-9, especially.

A Masters Thesis specifically on live-aboard divers is at
http://www.diverdavid.co.uk/Project%20final.pdf.

I'll be happy send some papers and ppts directly to anyone interested; they are too large to attach here.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Menno (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #255) on Friday, June 12, 2009 - 7:56 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Trucking it out means nothing more then replacing it.
Bragging about polluting somewhere else (replacing it) instead over keeping it on the hotels own grounds should be seen as good PR???? Aiaiaiaiai.......

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Iris (BonaireTalker - Post #18) on Friday, June 12, 2009 - 10:04 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Link of the article in Extra that Pietri Hausmann refered to http://www.extrabon.com/edishon/extra2009-06-03.pdf page 10

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By JD (BonaireTalker - Post #38) on Friday, June 12, 2009 - 12:16 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Thank you for the information. I am going to print out and read the two papers I am able to read. I might like to read the others as well, but let me get through these first.

Thanks for the link to the story in the Extra. It had not occurred to me that it might not be in English. Kind of a stupid oversight on my part, but in any event, I guess that one I won't read.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bart Snelder (BonaireTalker - Post #45) on Friday, June 12, 2009 - 5:46 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

What baffles me is the negativity in all of these threads, be it environment, crime, or what ever. This particular thread speaks of "they do not care" "boycot them" and whatnot. Allow me to counter for a while please. Bonaire is one of the most environmentally conscious places in the world, setting standards that are taken as example globally (as proven by a conference, of Caribbean Marine Park managers, I was invited to partake in yesterday, held here). Fully one fifth of its entire territory is park, and much more is protected in some way or another. Its entire surrounding sea to a depth of 200 ft is park. And this backed by law and legislation. In two years a full fifty percent of its power needs will be generated by renewable energy. All of this has been achieved by cooperation between public and private sectors and could not have been achieved otherwise. Even our island guests can be counted upon, to be environmentally conscious. It truly is an exceptional achievement by an island, its people, its government, its businesses and its guests, ie everybody.
Perfect? Far and far from it. As a (board)member of: Bonhata (hotel association), CURO (dive operator association), FPKB(foundation preservation klein Bonaire), gov. committee urban planning, gov. committee nature ordinances, and involvement in several other NGO's, I spend hours and hours daily, of grinding meetings, talking with all parties involved. I assure you that not one single time, the environment is not a topic on the agenda. This in my role as helping to protect the environment. I also have a diveshop, a hotel and a bar. (oh and a family HA!!)This in my role as the damager of the environment. This list just to show my own vested interest. I frankly do not know of any entity or person who is not involved in some way or struggles with the issues at hand, logical in such a small community. Now then, as an island having tackled so many environmental issues already, there are two major and daunting problems left, that we have to solve on Bonaire: our sewage and our garbage which might be an even greater damaging factor to the environment in the long run.
The cost of doing this properly, is unbelievably high. To clean up an entire garbage dump from decades of all imaginable waste (heavy metals, poison, asbestos, oils, just to name a few problems, and then tons upon tons of them) was quoted to me to be more than 75 million euro, which did not include an infrastructure to avoid to create another dump. The other effective sewage treatment. The lowest figure I heard: 40 million euro's which offered nothing but treatment for near coastal produced sewage. Since the island is more poreus than swiss cheese not good enough. We don't want a half a%& solution (trucking, partial island connection to sewage, partial treatment and such), so the cost maybe an x factor higher. Never mind building codes, never mind other issues, never mind that at least half of the pollution of our environment comes from 'outre mer'.
Now Bonaire is a bankrupt island, and part of a bankrupt country. There is no way the island or the Netherlands Antilles can come up with anything like such amounts. So the only chance Bonaire (Netherlands Antilles) has, to solve this is to ask, no beg, for financial assistance from other countries, ie other countries' taxpayers, such as from the Netherlands, or the EU. But that would be the same as to ask Britain to foot the bill to clean up the mess from the oil sands in Canada. Same connection, constitutionally. Maybe not impossible, but bloody well nigh near it. As imperfect as it is, we do what we can.

My point is this: faced with such daunting tasks, with awareness complete and tools for solutions to the problems so exceptionally complex, demands will be met with a blank stare. Threads to boycot will only lead to boycot you and your goals, negativity to frustration, fingerpointing to anger.
There are better ways to approach these issues.
Minimize your own footprint, try to assist if possible, and stay involved. Feel good about your efforts. Bonaire will be grateful.
M2C (excuse me M12C :-))

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By *Freddie* (BonaireTalk Deity - Post #12195) on Friday, June 12, 2009 - 5:54 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Thank you Bart!!!! that was the best post I have seen in years.. thank you :-):-)

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By eddie blizzard (BonaireTalker - Post #17) on Friday, June 12, 2009 - 5:59 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

If by best you mean most depressing. Why is Bonaire broke?

(Message edited by diver reefer on June 12, 2009)

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bart Snelder (BonaireTalker - Post #46) on Friday, June 12, 2009 - 6:19 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Freddie: You Betcha!! Eddie: different topic, different thread :-)

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Vince DePietro-www.bonairebeachcondo.com (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #2254) on Friday, June 12, 2009 - 6:27 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Great post Bart..For some reason there are some folks who just LOVE to knock Bonaire. This is even more pronounced on other diving oriented boards which I don't feel the need to name. Others think they know much better how to manage things than the folks who actually live on the island.

Bonaire is truly one of the ecological leaders in the Caribbean. Your efforts are greatly appreciated!

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By eddie blizzard (BonaireTalker - Post #20) on Friday, June 12, 2009 - 7:03 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

"and stay involved. Feel good about your efforts. Bonaire will be grateful."

The above statement is more important than the one below. Boycott is a possible tool to achieve what the above statement stands for.

"Threads to boycot will only lead to boycot you and your goals"

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Marcus L. Barnes (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1141) on Friday, June 12, 2009 - 9:09 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

So, Bart, its all about the money then. The government truly cares but doesn't have the money to do anything about it. I guess that answers my questions which is all I was after in the first place from a knowledgeable source. I'm glad an insider came on line to clear this up for me. This is one of those time I am happy to be wrong. Didn't mean to come off as negative. Off to Scuba Board. See ya.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By eddie blizzard (BonaireTalker - Post #22) on Saturday, June 13, 2009 - 3:45 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Well it's not necessarily all about the money.

I wonder how much profit the hotel owners make. Or I should re-phrase that. I wonder how much of a loss in profit the owners can afford in order to make the reefs a little safer?

The question remains ...

Which hotels/resorts are doing what they can and which are not.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By *Freddie* (BonaireTalk Deity - Post #12202) on Saturday, June 13, 2009 - 5:55 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

eddie why not write to each hotel/resort and ask them.. Then come back with your findings...

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Pauline Kayes (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #187) on Saturday, June 13, 2009 - 7:30 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Bart, all your history leaves out the fact that many of the hotels, BONHATA, the Tourist Board, etc. have fought the sewage solution for almost 20 years, which is why it has gotten to this "point of no return" for the reefs. Many have resisted paying any extra money to have their sewage trucked or processed even though they make their money from tourism on the reef (diving and snorkeling).

In addition so much money was wasted by paying Dorsch consultants fee after fee for a plan that is both economically and environmentally ineffectual (i.e. digging up the island, installing sewage pipes as if Bonaire were Chicago). Detlef Schwager, a German sanitation engineer, who worked on this project, has proposed an alternative plan that would be cheaper, quicker, and more effective (regional sewage processing treatment and wetlands more appropriate for the island). But because of the money wasted on Dorsch, the government still sticks to the "white elephant" plan even though Ramon de Leon of the Marine Park issued a statement saying the reefs can not wait until 2013 when the "white elephant" is operational (if even then)

Now the reefs are on the verge of death, and the impact on Bonaire's dive tourist economy will be immense. Why don't all the hotels, the tourist board, BONHATA, etc. make sewage their #1 priority? If all the businesses, resorts, hotels, etc. pressured the government to address sewage now instead of resisting, perhaps Bonaire's reefs might make it.

p.s. tourists can have an impact by investigating which hotels, resorts, dive shops, etc. are "green" and which are not and determining where to spend their money. that is not a boycott but using consumer dollars to influence businesses into environmental responsibility.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mel Briscoe (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #504) on Saturday, June 13, 2009 - 8:58 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Bart, tell us what Wannadive does with its sewage.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Menno (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #256) on Saturday, June 13, 2009 - 1:04 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Information about what a business does with the sewage can damage or benefit that business unjust so an official poop-repport should be provided to the mods to ensure a truthful posting...... :-))

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Tom Reynolds (BonaireTalker - Post #23) on Monday, June 15, 2009 - 7:48 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Bart-

Bonaire can get the money. The Bonaire resorts can get the money.

In the entire world Bonaire is unique because varied, diving exists from the shore. No other place can support the number of tourist/divers without resorting to boats.

Or, in other words you tell me where I can dive for a week using Nitrox for $125USD and split a truck four ways for another about $125USD. That's about $250 per diver, per week or about what the average boat-based Caribbean Resort suggest as a tip!

You could raise the park entrance fee to $125 and nobody would decide not to come. (They'd but they'd still come.)

Multiply a hundred bucks by the number of tourist divers per year and see how many sewage truck you can buy!

Bonaire's problem is simple and not unique to Bonaire. The residents want someone else to pay the tab.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By a retired Grunt (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #822) on Monday, June 15, 2009 - 8:44 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Tom, I agree 100%.
I would pay more if I knew the money was going to a sewage treatment plant.
The degradation of the reefs is noticeable and has been an ongoing problem.
The quality of the reefs and "diving freedom" are the BIG reasons that next year will be out tenth consecutive visit for Bonaire diving.
If the reefs decline too far we will vote with our wallets.
We come as a group of ten to twelve, so someone in government need to do the math.
Maybe cruisers will make up the many $$ we spend on our annual three week visit.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By YucatanPat (Sand$ Condo) (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #336) on Monday, June 15, 2009 - 10:56 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

I recently returned from my 6th trip to Bonaire in less then two years. My wife and I always brought home our large used plastic and metal bottles/cans to recycle locally. This time I started a waste plastic bag and put in ever scrap of plastic we generated during our three weeks. I was shocked that we ended up with a FULL normal sized home depot type bag of waste plastic. It came home with the four soda and milk bottles and a few metal cans. I ask others to do the same, remove the plastic and metal from the landfill, every bit helps.

With regard to Sand Dollar and sewage, I spoke directly with our hotel manager about the issue. The honey truck now comes when the tanks are half to three-quarters full. Unfortunately the waste water is still taken to the leach pits as the island has no current alternative. Sand Dollar has not for quite a while used brown water to irrigate the property and we as owners pay for the water to irrigate the plants, Sand Dollar does not water the lawn. For this reason the grounds at Sand Dollar take some hits on the various message boards. If you stay at a lush property on Bonaire I would question the water practices of the resort.

As a condo owner we provide guests in our condo with reusable fabric and insulated bags to take to the food stores. Sand Dollar will also take used batteries from guests who do not want to carry them home and see that they are taken off the island and do not end up in the dump. These are small steps but all help. I refuse to be part of the finger pointing, but part of the solution.

Just my thoughts for what its worth.

Patrick

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By eddie blizzard (BonaireTalker - Post #31) on Tuesday, June 16, 2009 - 12:40 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

"Sand Dollar does not water the lawn. For this reason the grounds at Sand Dollar take some hits on the various message boards. If you stay at a lush property on Bonaire I would question the water practices of the resort."


Good job Sand Dollar. Excellent point about watering the properties. Something else to think about.




(Message edited by diver reefer on June 16, 2009)

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Pauline Kayes (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #188) on Tuesday, June 16, 2009 - 11:56 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

The problem is not the money. In fact in the last year, money was allocated by the Dutch government to purchase both the portable sewage processing plant to be placed at LVV to process all that sludge being dumped there and the additional trucks to move out all that sewage on a regular basis so it doesn't continue seeping onto the reef. This is known as the interim sewage plan. The "white elephant" plan funded by the EU for 20 million Euros involves digging up the island, putting in sewer pipes, constructing a permanent plant,etc. This is the "long term" plan scheduled to begin further down the road and may not be operational until 2013 (reefs dead by then!).

The problem is moving the bureaucracy more quickly to get the portable plant and additional poop trucks here this summer instead of December. Perhaps if the hotel and resort owners lobbied the government for quicker action (because the sewage was impacting their business) it might happen since government seems to listen to business folks more than regular folks. If BONHATA and the Tourism Corporation made sewage their #1 priority and truly saw it as compromising both short-term and long-term dive tourism on the island, they could make it happen. Instead the Tourism corporation focuses on more cruise ships, bringing in more people, more sewage when there is no sewage infrastructure to support these people. Look at all the algae at Lac Bay that has resulted from all the cruise folks spending the day there and leaving their excrement in the inadequate septic systems there that just leak right into the bay.

Soon the entire oceanfront from Hato to Punt Vierkant will resemble Lac Bay's algae bloom. How many dive and snorkel tourists are going to want to dive in then?

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Menno (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #257) on Friday, June 19, 2009 - 4:33 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Quoted from Page 14, the Bonaire Reporter, Volume 16 Issue 13. Here they "look" back to the year 1999.
March 19, 1999;
Installation of a sewage system for Bonaire bogged down in the approval cycle. A reliable source says, "The way the paper is moving it will be at least three years before the first shovel hits the dirt"

Of topic maybe but it just fits the same neck-tie blablabla so bieb well.....
February 26, 1999;
- 183-foot-long mini-ship, Canadian-American Cruise lines 'Grande Mariner' makes first call to Bonaire. Lt. Gov. Hart, aboard, says, "We like small cruise ships. If you grow too fast you can ruin everything under the sea, and we don't want that to happen."



 


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