People and the Parks Hannah Madden National Park Ranger/Education Officer St. Eustatius National Parks Foundation (STENAPA) September 2012
Why are National Parks important?
What is a Protected Area? n Protected Areas are specific areas that have special importance for nature, for example: u Important Bird Area u Centre of Plant Diversity u Key Biodiversity Area San Nicolas Bay Reef, Aruba An Important Bird Area (IBA) for Sandwich Terns
Statias Protected Areas The Quill and Boven National Parks (est. 1998, 2007): cover 41% (8.65 km²) of Statias land area Statia National Marine Park (est. 1996): 27.5 km² from the high-tide mark to a depth of 30m around the entire island
Important Bird Areas on Statia The Quill and Boven are designated Important Bird Areas (IBAs) Birds of prey Songbirds Hummingbirds Seabirds
Why create a protected area? Across the Caribbean, vast areas of natural beauty have been destroyed to make way for development. For this reason, governments decided to preserve certain areas for wildlife and habitat preservation Aruba
Local Legislation -The Executive Committee establishes a five-year Island Nature Plan, which is approved by the Island Council -Stenapa is mandated by the Island Council to execute its obligations with regard to nature conservation -The National Parks fall under the Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife (SPAW) Protocol (2000)
The Quill
Hiking trails in the Quill
Everything above 250m is protected
n Do not litter n Stay on the trails n Do not touch or remove plants, trees or animals n Fires are not permitted anywhere in the National Park n If in doubt – use a guide n Always carry sufficient water National Park Regulations
Who has to pay to enter the Quill? u u Tourists (non-residents) Why pay to go into a Park? What is the price? u $6 per year Why should I pay? u The fees we collect go towards the costs of maintaining hiking trails and installing information boards for visitors
Hiking trails in the Northern Hills
Everything above 50m is protected Orchids Historical artefacts
STENAPAs Role on Statia In order to properly protect an area, we must first understand what we are protecting…. F F Bird surveys F F Butterfly surveys F F Orchid surveys F F Arachnid collection F F Tropicbird monitoring F F Flora collection F F Weather data
Research projects n n What is the status our seabirds? n n What is the effect of roaming goats in the parks? n n How are our native plants being pollinated? n n What species exist within the parks? Research enables us to better understand our changing environment so that we can safeguard the future of the islands native species
Pollination study Endemic bee
Arachnid collection
Education
Frequently Asked Questions -Why can't we hunt iguanas? -Can I cut down/plant trees in the Quill? -Can we control some species by introducing others? -Do we really need snakes, bats, spiders etc?
Why is it Illegal to Kill Iguanas? Lesser Antillean Iguana Green Iguana Exists on just a few islands; small population Exists on many islands; large numbers
Cutting down/planting trees in Quill National parks are areas of natural beauty; the native flora species found within are preserved for that reason. Cutting down trees removes native flora and runs the risk of allowing non-native (invasive) flora to flourish. If a plan exists to reforest an area, care should be taken to plant species that naturally occur there.
Introducing Species The Mongoose -First introduced with the aim of reducing rodent numbers -Rats and mice are nocturnal; mongooses are diurnal -Instead of controlling the rat population, the hungry mongoose devastated native reptile species such as snakes and iguanas
The Importance of Biodiversity Everything is connected
Thank you for listening