KRALENDIJK – Reducing grazing by goats and other animals can significantly help Bonaire’s tropical dry forests recover, according to the results of a 15-year study involving Wageningen University & Research, STINAPA Bonaire, Echo Foundation and BonBèrdè.
Researchers studied fenced areas where grazing animals were excluded, grazer management in Washington Slagbaai National Park and areas where native trees were planted. They found that natural regeneration increased substantially when grazing pressure was removed. More young tree seedlings appeared, particularly following wetter years.
Recovery, however, is slow. Researchers found it could take as long as 15 years before a clear increase in larger young and adult trees became visible. Only about one third of Bonaire’s dry-forest tree species returned naturally, suggesting that planting native species can complement natural regeneration.
Similar results have been seen elsewhere in the Caribbean. In Curaçao’s Christoffelpark, the number of adult native Sabal palms increased from 323 in 1979 to more than 1,000 in 2018 after goats were removed or excluded. On Saba, where more than 90 percent of free-roaming livestock has been removed since 2020, grasses and shrubs are returning and young trees are increasingly surviving.
Prevent excessive grazing
The researchers stress that the objective is not to eliminate livestock farming, which has a longstanding cultural and economic role on the islands, but to prevent excessive grazing in natural areas. Healthy vegetation helps retain soil and moisture and reduces erosion, while providing habitat for native wildlife.
