The Uniek Curaçao Foundation follows certain work ethics and principles when using the nature and recreational areas. This is based on the ‘Leave no trace’ and ‘Tread lightly’ principles. The Foundation also complies with the Ramsar Convention and the CITES. We ask visitors to apply these principles as well.
Always walk with at least one other person. Make sure you have a charged phone and credit. Have a map of the area. Take at least 1.5 liters of drinking water with you, and make sure you have suitable, covering clothing and footwear. Do not take any stones, flowers, or other "souvenirs" home with you. Do not carve your name on a tree. It is impressive when you encounter wild animals. Admire the animals from a distance, do not scare them. You are in their territory, not the other way around.
The Ramsar Convention is an international agreement on wetlands of international importance, particularly habitats for waterfowl. The agreement is named after the city of Ramsar in Iran, where the ‘International Conference on Wetlands and Waterfowl’ took place and this agreement was signed in early 1971. It is the oldest international, multilateral environmental protection agreement.
The purpose of this convention is to protect certain areas through local, regional, and national actions and international cooperation as a contribution to achieve sustainable development around the world.
In 2012, four areas were nominated by the Curaçao government to become Ramsar areas: Malpais/Sint Michiel, Muizenberg, the northwest coast (from Ascencion to Shete Boka), and Rif Sint Marie. In 2018 Klein Curaçao, was nominated and added as a protected area. In addition to preserving local biodiversity, these areas represent a high local value in terms of the international reputation of Curaçao, which is comparable to the UNESCO World Heritage List.
CITES stands for Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. It is an international agreement on the trade in animals and plants.
The purpose of the convention is to map the trade in protected animal and plant species. This is done by a system of import and export licenses. The convention was drafted in 1975 and signed in 2016 by 183 countries. In 1999, the Netherlands (and the Caribbean) signed. The convention recognizes different levels of protection for the species:
1. No more species are taken from the wild for export if the species is threatened with extinction; e.g., whales and dolphins, elephants, rhinoceroses, many species of monkeys, tigers, many species of parrots, turtles, lizards and the plants Agave parviflora, Aloe rauhii, and Vanda coerulea.
2. Many species may be exported only if a CITES license has been granted for this. This concerns, for example, predators and crocodiles, all giant snakes, a number of shellfish, many types of coral and the succulents Didierea madagascariensis and Didierea trollii from Madagascar. Scientists regularly check whether permits can still be granted.
3. The third group includes species found in countries that consider it important to monitor exports and ask for the help of other countries.
The Ministry of GMN is the authority in charge of license applications and monitoring compliance with the convention in Curaçao. For an extensive overview of the appendices, click here to the informative website of the National Office of the Caribbean Netherlands. hier naar de informatieve website van de Rijksdienst Caribisch Nederland.
