SAVING THE MANGROVES
of BONAIRE

LEARN, ENGAGE, ACT

Bonaire hosts the largest mangrove forest within all of the Dutch Caribbean. These forests provide immense biological, economical and cultural value to the island. The iconic mangroves of Bonaire are under threat due to over development and increased pressures of climate change. The Mangrove Maniacs are dedicated to protecting these areas through building resilience to ensure the mangroves are around for future generations to enjoy.

The importance of mangroves

Mangroves provide a wide variety of ecosystem services such as:

  • Improved Biodiversity 
  • Improved Water Quality
  • Provide Coastal Defense against storms and beach erosion
  • Carbon Sequestration
  • Economic Value through tourism and fishing
  • Cultural Value

The Kingdom of the Netherlands has a legal obligation to provide periodic reporting on the status of these vital ecosystems and dependent species.  To find out how the Mangrove Maniacs contribute to these reports, please click the button below.

Find out more

Our mission

Through research and monitoring we are able to provide real time feedback to conversationalists, governmental policy makers or any interested stakeholder to capture any changes in the well being of this critical habitat.

Our plan

By combining research, monitoring and physical labor, we are working to better understand these complex environments and help return the mangroves to their previous natural glory.

Our values

We believe cultivating a sense of ownership among residents and visitors alike will be key in protecting the mangroves into the future.

Volunteer

Research and Monitoring

Community Outreach

Maniacs in the spotlight

The Mangrove Maniacs have been fortunate enough to receive quite a bit of media attention over the last few years.  From Taiwan to Germany, we’ve been making international headlines.  We are always proud to show off all the hard work our volunteers and supporters have put into our projects.

See Media

What's new with the Maniacs?

Sentinel-2 imagery helps Bonaire identify influx of Sargassum
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By Willy Tjiong and Sander Mücher An abnormal amount of Sargassum brown seaweed invaded the Caribbean islands in the summer of 2011 [1]. Masses of Sargassum mats piled up on beaches trapping sea turtles and releasing harmful hydrogen sulfide gas when it decays [2]. The rotting seaweed repels tourists and have led to temporarily closure…

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Tropical Nursery Research during Lockdown
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Besides the obvious complications of coronavirus, the inability to travel to conduct research has led for the need for researchers to get creative over the past year.  Typically, researchers are able to visit Bonaire, bringing international expertise right to the source. Unfortunately, travel restrictions have made this nearly impossible.  This was the perfect opportunity for…

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Go with the Flo
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Written by  Flo Senger, 2021 I was always fascinated by the ocean and its coasts and when I was studying marine sciences the things about to discover seemed to be infinite. Back in 2019 I found a master´s project on investigating the carbon cycle in mangroves in the Dutch Caribbean I thought: That sounds interesting!…

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