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Good practice Imported

Bonaire National Marine Park: Diver-Fee Self-Financing for Reef Conservation

Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba · Kralendijk · See the Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba profile

Evidence: Observational / pre–post Top 41% 47/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Bonaire's 2,700ha marine park has run on diver-paid fees since 1992, after subsidies collapsed — one of the Caribbean's first self-financing MPAs, still funding 57+ coral and 350+ fish species three decades on.

$40 per visitor
Diver/snorkeler nature fee
57+
Recorded coral species
350+
Recorded fish species
86
Public dive sites monitored
Bonaire National Marine Park: Diver-Fee Self-Financing for Reef Conservation

Details

Maturity
Established
Promoter
STINAPA Bonaire (Stichting Nationale Parken Bonaire)
Period
1979-2026
Keywords
marine conservation, tourism, protected-area management

Context

Bonaire National Marine Park, established in 1979, encircles the whole island from the high-water line to 60m depth (~2,700 ha of reef, seagrass and mangrove habitat). By 1984 government subsidies had dried up and ranger patrols and buoy maintenance were collapsing.

Objectives

In 1992 park foundation STINAPA introduced a mandatory nature fee for every diver and snorkeler, aiming to fund park management without government budgets or donor grants.

Activities

STINAPA now charges $40 per visitor, also covering Washington-Slagbaai National Park, and states it receives no government subsidy; the fee funds ranger patrols, buoy maintenance and monitoring across 86 public dive sites.

Results

A peer-reviewed 2009 Marine Policy study describes Bonaire as the Caribbean's first marine protected area to fully self-finance through user fees. Three decades on, park records document more than 57 coral species and over 350 fish species across the park.

Conclusions

Stable, subsidy-free financing has sustained park operations for over 30 years, but does not by itself prevent all threats: stony coral tissue disease has forced closures at Klein Bonaire, and warming seas and past storm damage remain acknowledged pressures even in the park's own materials.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Low (< €50k) — Self-financed via a $40 per-visitor nature fee; no government subsidy reported.
Time to results
Long (> 3 years) — Fee model has run continuously since 1992 (park established 1979).
Staffing & skills
STINAPA Bonaire (Stichting Nationale Parken Bonaire) — park rangers, buoy maintenance

Conditions for success

  • A mandatory, universally enforced visitor fee covering both marine and terrestrial parks
  • Sufficient dive-tourism volume to sustain revenue without government subsidy
  • Ongoing monitoring across dive sites to track ecological status

Common failure modes

  • Fee revenue alone does not prevent disease outbreaks (e.g. stony coral tissue disease closures at Klein Bonaire) or storm/warming impacts

Where it fits

Governance type
parastatal park foundation, self-financing
Scale
island-wide marine park (~2,700 ha)
Income level
high-income

Commonly funded by

Own resources / municipal budget

Indicative funding routes for practices of this type — always check each programme's current calls and eligibility rules.

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Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

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