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?
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Protected Areas are specific areas that have special importance for
nature, for example:
 Important Bird Area
 Centre of Plant Diversity
 Key Biodiversity Area
San Nicolas Bay Reef, Aruba
An Important Bird Area (IBA)
for Sandwich Terns
Statia’s Protected Areas
The Quill and Boven National
Parks (est. 1998, 2007):
cover 41% (8.65 km²) of
Statia’s 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
Seabirds
The Quill and Boven
are designated
Important Bird Areas
(IBAs)
Birds of prey
Songbirds
Hummingbirds
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
National Park Regulations
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Do not litter
Stay on the trails
Do not touch or remove plants, trees or
animals
Fires are not permitted anywhere in the
National Park
If in doubt – use a guide
Always carry sufficient water
Why pay to go into a Park?
Who has to pay to enter the Quill?
 Tourists (non-residents)
What is the price?
 $6 per year
Why should I pay?
 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
Historical artefacts
Orchids
STENAPA’s Role on Statia
In order to properly protect an area, we must first
understand what we are protecting….
 Bird
surveys
 Butterfly surveys
 Orchid surveys
 Arachnid collection
 Tropicbird monitoring
 Flora collection
 Weather data
Research projects
What is the status our seabirds?
What is the effect of roaming goats in the parks?
 How are our native plants being pollinated?
 What species exist within the parks?
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Research enables us to better understand our changing
environment so that we can safeguard the future of the island’s
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?
Exists on many
islands; large
numbers
Green Iguana
Lesser Antillean Iguana
Exists on just a
few islands; small
population
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