Bonaire, or Boneiru in the native language of Papiamentu, is one of the Leeward Antilles in the Caribbean Sea, approximately 55 miles off the coast of Venezuela. It is known for preserving its ecology much better than the neighboring islands of Aruba and Curaçao, and it has seen much less degradation to its marine ecology compared to much of the Caribbean.
The island and the native indigenous people have seen an extensive history of changing occupation dating back to the 16th century, which ironically has contributed to its unique culture. It is a delicate fusion of many different influences. To Bonaire’s credit, its local population maintained a degree of cultural and ecological autonomy arguably until the 1990’s. However, its development towards a tourist economy was a central factor leading to the unraveling of this unique socio-ecology landscape. Today, there are 230,000 tourists for a local population of under 20,000, and, even then, many of those 20,000 are newly arrived Netherland immigrants, as the island has become a colony again.
In 2010 through 2012, our work was to address this problem. Our first phase was grounded in extensive research: One part was looking into the connection of ecology and historical agriculture, and the other part was examining the socio, ecological, and economic consequences of neo-colonialism from both tourism and Dutch influence. Our second phase initiated dialogue, meetings, and presentations with Boneirus and long-time Dutch residents to build relationships and develop potential ideas for the island. Our final phase was to work with the Partido Demokrátiko Boneriano in concept and project development towards the aim of building a successful long-term plan towards economic and cultural independence.
Ultimately, Bonaire in our estimation is a global focal point on pushing – perhaps fighting – for generating healthy diversity in every dimension of our existence. This is a critical need if we want to survive.