Fences, grids and corrals: demarcation of protected areas to keep livestock out and animals in is essential to protect sensitive habitats and structures. This includes placing livestock grids and livestock corrals and fencing protected area and fresh water structures for example.
Freshwater structures: although only applicable on Bonaire there are a number of modern and ancient wells and pos di pia which are essential as water supply for flora and fauna.
Mangrove forest: routine maintenance and lateral trimming of the mangroves trees in channels in Ramsar site Lac Bonaire is essential to keep the mangrove channels open.
The tasks on the list of DCNA which we do not recommend to incorporate as core park management tasks are:
International outreach and representation: we consider this primarily a DCNA responsibility. Park managers who are part of the board of DCNA can of course be asked to give presentations and join meetings or debates. We consider participation in (sub)regional activities a legitimate and important part of nature management when joint, larger scale programs require cooperation in regional projects;
Regional and international media strategy: we consider this a DCNA responsibility, as their experience and network is the strength of DCNA and it is better to join forces at regional and global level and benefit from the larger scale of operations;
Membership/sponsorship/appreciation/donor programme: we consider this a DCNA responsibility as well, as this is part of the responsibilities of the trust fund management. The park management organizations can benefit from programs developed through the experience, network and scale of operations of DCNA. Local fundraising and membership programs related to island specific features and issues may currently be necessary to cover financial needs. Once the funding gaps have been addressed, the need for additional fundraising becomes less important, while the need to create a personal link with visitors may become more important.
Application of grants exceeding USD 50.000: we consider this primarily a DCNA responsibility to actively pursue big grants, like was done in 2014 for the National Postcode Lottery grant for shark conservation. Of course, park management organizations should provide input from their island perspective and be keen on funding opportunities if they arise, however the focus should be on implementation of park management tasks.
Advanced training (e.g. dive certification, vocational training, academic programs): we see this as an opportunity to use as fundraising tool (summer school, paid volunteer programs), as the costs need not exceed the income if properly organized, and do not consider this an actual budget requirement;
In-house souvenir shop with complete inventory: souvenirs are nice merchandize and free advertisement, however we mainly see it as a fundraising tool which does not require additional budget, as, if properly organized, the income should exceed costs.
Monitoring and research: we recommend that monitoring and research should focus on collecting essential management data and collaborating with research institutes.
The annual budget requirements of the core tasks for Bonaire, Saba and St. Eustatius are presented in table 3.1: approx. USD 1,461,000 for STINAPA (including an investment of USD 88,000), USD 669,000 for STENAPA and also USD 669,000 for SCF. The precise calculation of the budget requirements – specified at activity level - can be found in Appendix B.
In chapter 4.3 we identified three ‘financial gaps’: 1) the difference in annual budget requirements according to this study and according to the realistic budget estimations we received from DCNA; 2) the difference between the annual budget requirements according to this study and the actual expenses and sustainable income sources; and 3) the financial gap in the DCNA trust fund to start generating returns on investment.
As for the latter financial gap, this is at least 3 million, to raise the endowment trust fund capital to 16.67 million USD and generate returns on investments of 1 million USD per year, of which 800.000 to 850.000 USD should be used to fund five park management organizations. This is barely sufficient to cover the annual financial gap of STENAPA and SCF (see point 2), and leaves only 50.000 to 100.000 USD to fund the financial gaps of nature parks on Curaçao and St. Maarten.
With regards to the first gap, there are substantial deviations in the estimates for STENAPA and SCF only. It requires further study with DCNA (and the park management organizations) to find out why the estimated expenditures are approximately half as much more.
There are financial gaps for SCF and STENAPA between the estimated budget requirements and the actual expenses. When taking into account the sustainability of the actual income the annual financial gap of STENAPA and SCF adds up to USD 740,000 (STENAPA: 470,000; SCF: 270,000) after deducting the USD 100,000 EZ support for the Saba Bank Management Unit as a sustainable income source.
There is a minor financial gap between the estimated budget requirements of STINAPA (Bonaire) and the actual expenses and actual income in the past two years. There may be a small gap of USD 40,000 to finance the overdue mangrove maintenance of USD 88,000 (and invest in more paved roads), if the increase in income in 2013 is not sustained in 2014.
We recommend parties to use the task-based calculation model as designed in this study for future management and fundraising purposes and to plan and justify the activities and budget requirements of the park management organizations. However, the price, cost and activity assumptions made in our calculation model should be validated by a third party and/or by the park management organizations e.g.
through a workshop and regularly updated. we also recommend a sensitivity analysis of minimum and maximum amounts for different scenarios to be included in the calculation model. Furthermore the calculation model is generally applicable and can also be used and adapted to estimate the budget requirements of park management organizations on Curaçao and St. Maarten, and to calculate the appropriate level of the trust fund capital needed to ensure financial sustainability for nature management for the five participating islands.