The decision by the Central Government's Council of Ministers to grant American Eagle rights to fly the Puerto Rico-Aruba-Bonaire route has shaken the country's government and generated the first whispers of Bonaire's rejection of years of domination by Curaçao. 
As reported in last week's edition of The Reporter, Maurice Adriaens, Minister of Transport and Communication, gave the OK for American Eagle to fly to Bonaire. Bonaire's Commissioner of Tourism, Ramoncito Booi, and others had been working since early December, 2000, to increase air service between Aruba and Bonaire. ALM showed no interest in expanding its schedule of three daily flights which take from 1½ to 5 hours (for a normal flight time of 30 minutes) because of a stop in Curaçao. American Eagle, however, agreed to provide non-stop service and a connection to San Juan, Puerto Rico. The concept of dual destination tourism would blend the nightlife and contrived entertainment of Aruba with the tranquility and unspoiled nature of Bonaire.
Air ALM management objected to this foreign infringement on what they consider a protected route. In addition, Minister Adriaens' political party, the Curaçao FOL, did not support that decision. Adriaens then resigned his position. The country lost a capable minister and a man of character. The vacancy could leave the decision open to change.
Commissioner Booi, however, said that he would withdraw his party from the Central Government coalition if the decision were reversed. When asked by The Reporter about this "hardball" tactic, the Commissioner said he was "only trying to protect the interests of Bonaire."
The Bonaire Government convened an information meeting in the Island Council Chambers for businessmen, tour operators, taxi drivers, labor unions, tourist bureau, hotel and hospitality associations, travel agents and others. Commissioner Booi explained the background leading to the decision to have American Eagle fly to Bonaire and requested their support. Bonaire, seeing its tourism figures dwindle, hopes American Eagle will help to reverse that trend. ALM has let the island down too often, he argued. The future of the tourism industry has first priority.
The political stakes, however, remain high. Reversing the decision will cause Bonaire to leave the coalition. For the Pourier Government to stick to its guns may mean instant death because losing support of FOL (Adriaens' party) and possibly the MAN party, would fracture the coalition government.
For Bonaire, having American Eagle fly to the island means more frequent and easier connections to the USA and provides an alternative to ALM and Air Jamaica's twice weekly flights. It was announced that American Eagle's Bonaire flights would begin on April 1, 2001. No joke.GD.

All around the world coral reefs are disappearing. Is it a "canary in the mine warning" for the planet's health? Last week a workshop to discuss ways to slow or even reverse this decline in the five islands of the Netherlands Antilles was held at Captain Don's Habitat.  Jointly sponsored by the Central Government, the U.N. Environmental Program (UNEP), Captain Don's Habitat and ReefCare, Curaçao, the event brought together people who are on the front lines in the battle to protect the country's coral reef systems:  marine park managers, nature oriented NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations), scientists, government officials and concerned citizens. The workshop was moderated by Tom van t' Hof, one of the individuals responsible for the foundation of the Bonaire Marine Park (BMP).
Keynote speaker Toon Abraham, Minister of Health and the Environment, set the theme of the meeting by saying, "The importance of coral reefs is beyond question.  They are under attack all over the world. Here in the Netherlands Antilles we want to avoid this."  The objective of the workshop was to begin drafting a Reef Management Plan for the entire Netherlands Antilles.
Support for urgency of the plan was provided by  Alessandra Vanzella-Khouri  of UNEP. She reported that one- third of the Caribbean's reefs are under a severe threat of extinction and two-thirds under medium threat.  There was an area wide outbreak of coral diseases from 1997-1999 caused by  unprecedented high sea surface temperatures. Corals suffered badly from hurricanes as well. She said experts predict that a third of the corals will be gone in 20 years unless something is done.
Former BMP manager, Kalli DeMeyer, painted a bleaker picture but also offered a spark of hope While the Caribbean may have problems, for the planet as a whole things are even worse: 58% of the corals are at risk, 80% of them in Asia.  The primary reason is that the activities of man are killing the reefs.  And it's important that man must take action to conserve the reefs now. It can be done if people are convinced that reef conservation is important. Kalli thinks it can be done. "Reefs are sexy," she said. "If you can sell people on the value of damp, bug infested rain forests, then reefs are easy."
Catriona Glendinning, manager of the BMP, led off the presentations by the marine park managers. While Bonaire is quite advanced in protection of its underwater environment, she said there was a need for relief from sewage and irrigation intrusion into the sea. She warned that development in the coastal zone can cause erosion and sedimentation which smothers the coral.
Leon Pors of Curaçao reported that formation of new coral off his island's shores was only a fraction of previous years. There was heavy use of the water by fishing and commercial interests who acknowledge that the resources are in decline, are willing to invest in improvement, but lack the legislation to make it happen.
Even tiny Saba has concerns about pollution, reported David Kooistra. Nearby St. Eustatius (Statia) has serious problems stemming from commercial shipping and lack of money and resources for enforcement, said park manager Gershon Lopes.  St. Marteen  has the least protective legislation and problems from sewage, ship groundings, hurricanes, ballast water discharge and anchoring, said St. Martin Park Manager Andy Caballero. The financial situation is so bad on the last two islands that park operations there may soon cease.
While each island has unique problems in protecting their reefs, they also have common problems that were addressed by the participants in the workshop.  The afternoon sessions were devoted to discussions of ways to approach solutions. The Reporter will

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