Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation

Currently in Curaçao, mangroves are not protected by law and are destroyed by human activities such as clearing for land reclamation, tourist resorts, and pollution. This capstone project explores the importance of mangroves, explaining the possible values gained and opportunity costs if the government took advantage of this valuable natural resource (mostly through tourism). Tourism is a major source of revenue for Curaçao, with most people being attracted to Curaçao for their nature and beautiful coral reefs. However, without the mangroves, the reefs would likely suffer, and therefore tourism could also suffer. This report details the definition of mangroves, their global distribution, how they are specially adapted to their unique intertidal habitat, as well as describing the fauna that live there. In addition, the critical ecosystem services that mangroves provide to the island, and the economic benefits of mangroves, are discussed. Recommendations given include: (1) creating legislation that prohibits the damage and destruction of all mangroves on the island (2) expanding eco-tourism to mangroves as well as creating education programs on mangrove ecosystems (3) joining more international treaties, such as the Ramsar Convention, will give the people a sense of pride of being a part of the international community that also protects their nature