“Bonaire is the first Dutch municipality to notice the consequences of climate change”

• Dick Drayer

  Correspondent Curaçao

The first Dutch municipality to be partially submerged is not in the Netherlands but in the Caribbean Sea. A fifth of Bonaire could disappear underwater within this century. This is what emerges from a recent study by the Free University. Outline the possible effects of global warming on island life.

Not only infrastructure and the economy will be affected, but cultural heritage as well. Most of Bonaire’s material cultural heritage is found on the coast and is therefore vulnerable to flooding from rising sea levels and storms.

In all climate scenarios, all cultural heritage in southern Bonaire will disappear underwater if no action is taken, such as restoring mangrove forests. The faster the earth warms up, the more the heritage is threatened.

The rising sea level first affects the famous slave houses since 1850. They are made of coral limestone, are just two meters high and have a window and a small entrance through which one cannot stand. A door is missing and not even the window can be closed.

“The houses were built by the Dutch to show the world how well slaves were treated in Bonaire. But nothing could be further from the truth,” says Boi Antoin. He is perhaps the most famous man on the island fighting for the preservation of cultural heritage.

“Only thirty slave houses were built, while about four hundred slaves worked in the salt mine. Most slaves slept in the open air, but for propaganda purposes sixty of them could sleep in slave houses, two per cottage.” .

Boi is shocked by the news. “The disappearance of this piece of cultural heritage would be very serious. I can’t think of any other object on Bonaire that makes slavery as visible as these slave houses. This is the heart of our slavery story. Here you can read see with. your eyes”.

Other assets are also under pressure, in part due to extreme weather conditions and increased heat, according to researchers in the climate report. These are issues that give islanders a sense of identity and continuity, like fishing.

Climate activist Meralney Bomba is often found in the nature reserve near La Gai. This is also an area that will fall prey to the sea this century if nothing happens. In addition to mangrove forests, the largest in the kingdom, corals are also at risk of getting lost underwater.

“Healthy coral is very important for fishing as it is an important refuge and breeding ground for most fish,” says Bomba. Coral threatens to become extinct en masse around Bonaire. If the fishermen disappear from La Gai, the locals will not come here and neither will the tourists. “

She is angry that the Netherlands has adopted a climate law that stipulates that measures must be taken to combat climate change and its consequences, but the three Dutch municipalities Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius have been excluded, she says. “Although we have been part of the Netherlands as a municipality since 2010, we are the first municipality in the Netherlands to notice the consequences of climate change.”

“I joined Greenpeace and I am taking the Dutch state to court to include the islands in the climate plans in the Netherlands.” What stings Bomba is that Bonaire is not responsible for global warming, greenhouse gases and CO2 emissions, but it is suffering the consequences.

“We are the victims and it is not fair. I fight so that my children can enjoy this beautiful and precious area, but due to climate change they may not experience it anymore.