Welcome > Conservation Within the Dutch Caribbean there are five terrestrial and five marine protected areas namely:   TERRESTRIAL MARINE Aruba Parke Nacional Arikok   Bonaire Washington Slagbaai Park Bonaire National Marine Park Curaçao Christoffel Park Curaçao Underwater Park Saba Mt Scenery Park Saba National Marine Park St Eustatius Quill Boven National Park Statia Marine Park St Maarten   St Maarten Marine Park Park Management Organisations Each of the Parks of the Dutch Caribbean is managed by a not for profit non governmental organization or foundation which has a co-management arrangement with stakeholders   Management organisation Aruba Fundashon Parke Nacional Arikok Bonaire STINAPA Bonaire Curaçao CARMABI St Maarten Nature Foundation Saba Saba Conservation Foundation St Eustatius STENAPA History Nature conservation is nothing new to the Dutch Caribbean. The first land park was established on Bonaire over thirty five years ago in 9th May 1969. Called the Washington Slagbaai Park after the names of the former plantations which it encompasses, it protects over 17% of the total land area of the island and includes two RAMSAR sites, Gotomeer and the hypersaline lake, Salina Slagbaai. Both are important stop over sites for migratory birds as well as providing nesting and foraging areas for the Southern Flamingo. The sandy beaches within the park offer superb nesting areas for globally endangered sea turtles, including Bonaire’s only known nesting area for endangered leatherbacks. Within the Park boundaries are found last remnant of Bonaire’s native vegetation and safe havens for both the island’s endemic parrot, the lora, as well as the common iguana which is considered a local delicacy. The park proved successful and was followed in 1978 with the Christoffel Park on Curaçao, and in 1979 by the creation of the very first marine protected area in the Dutch Caribbean, the now famous Bonaire Marine Park. Not only did the establishment of this Marine Park begin to break down some ingrained concepts about the responsibility for protecting marine resources it was also decades ahead of its time in adopting a holistic approach to conservation and including all the waters round the island within the Marine Park boundaries. In total the Bonaire National Marine Park protects 2,700 hectares of magnificent coral reefs, seagrass beds and mangroves ecosystems and is considered a model of marine protected area management. Other islands quickly followed suit and have tried to create at least one land and one marine park on each island with the goal of protecting and preserving the island’s natural heritage whilst allowing wise and sustainable use of these valuable resources, particularly by tourism. It is Tom van’t Hof (Golden ark laureate of the WWF) who deserves credit for the timely establishment of marine protected areas throughout the Dutch Antilles. Tom began by setting up the very first Marine Park on Bonaire, he continued on to Curaçao, prepared the first management plan for the St. Eustatius Marine Park, and finally set up the park in which he takes the most pride: the Saba National Marine Park on his adopted island home. Common threats to the parks include limited and at times unreliable government support, escalating pressure to develop, particularly tourism related construction within the coastal zone. There are entrenched local issues over land tenure, persistent over harvesting of marine resources such as grouper, snapper, grunt, lobster and conch as well as overgrazing by free roaming goats, sheep, cattle and donkeys.