The Million-Dollar Question: How Many More Master Plans Does Bonaire Need?

Bonaire does not have a shortage of plans. If plans alone could solve problems, by now Bonaire should be one of the best-planned islands in the Caribbean. Since 2010, governments, ministries and consultants have produced strategies covering land, tourism, nature, sustainability, economic development and carrying capacity.

The names change. The consultants change. The terminology becomes more impressive. The timelines stretch further into the future. But one question remains: Where are the measurable results of the previous plans?

And another uncomfortable question deserves to be asked: Are all these expensive studies really about solving Bonaire's problems, or has the consulting and planning process itself become an industry, one that conveniently provides contracts, assignments and perhaps political favors while the next study replaces the last?

ROB 2010 — Now Another Vision to 2050

The Ruimtelijk Ontwikkelingsplan Bonaire (ROB) was introduced in 2010 as Bonaire's formal spatial planning framework. It regulated land use, development and protection of designated areas.

The ROB was later revised and updated. Now Bonaire is developing the Spatial Development Vision Bonaire 2050 (Structuurvisie Bonaire 2050). Apparently, when yesterday's plan has not delivered enough visible results, the solution is to plan another 24 years ahead.

Before moving toward 2050, the public deserves a clear evaluation of the previous framework. What worked? What did not? What was never implemented? And importantly: How much did it cost?

Tourism: Plan After Plan

Tourism provides another example. Bonaire had the Tourism Master Plan 2014–2017. That was followed by the Strategic Tourism Master Plan 2017–2027. Now comes the Tourism Vision 2027–2037. At this pace, perhaps we should reserve a title now for the Tourism Vision 2037–2047.

Before starting another decade of planning, government should publish the results of 2017–2027: objectives completed, objectives missed, money spent and measurable outcomes. Otherwise, how can anyone determine whether these plans are instruments for development or simply recurring consulting exercises?

Nature: Another Series of Plans

The same pattern exists with nature and environmental policy. There was the Nature Policy Plan Caribbean Netherlands 2013–2017. Then came the Nature and Environmental Policy Plan Caribbean Netherlands 2020–2030 (NEPP). The NEPP covers biodiversity, environmental management, sustainable land use and other major environmental objectives. We are already more than halfway through its ten-year period.

Where is the public scorecard? Residents should be able to see which targets have been completed, which remain unfinished, how much has been spent and what measurable improvements resulted. A ten-year plan should not approach its final years only to disappear quietly while another plan takes its place.

Bonaire at the Limit: How Much Growth Can the Island Sustain? How Many Studies Does It Take?

Bonaire has also invested in carrying-capacity research examining pressures from tourism, population, infrastructure and development. The principle is not complicated: an island has limits. Research is valuable. But eventually somebody has to implement what the research recommends.

If studies repeatedly identify the same pressures and another study is needed to study what previous studies already studied, the problem is no longer a shortage of information.

It is a shortage of implementation.

Blue Destination: Beautiful Words Need Results

Bonaire has also promoted Blue Destination, connecting tourism with sustainability, conservation, culture and responsible development. It sounds excellent in presentations. But branding is not implementation.

What changed because of it? Which measurable targets were achieved? Which were missed? How much public money was invested?

A slogan cannot become a substitute for results.

BONóstiko, KOMBO and More Information

More recently came tools such as BONóstiko and KOMBO, designed to strengthen economic analysis and government decision-making.

Better information is useful. But Bonaire already has demographic statistics, tourism statistics, economic studies, environmental research, spatial plans, carrying-capacity studies and long-term forecasts. At some point, perhaps we can officially conclude that Bonaire has been studied.

The next revolutionary idea might simply be implementation.

From 2010 to 2050

Consider the list:

• ROB 2010
• Nature Policy Plan 2013–2017
• Tourism Master Plan 2014–2017
• Strategic Tourism Master Plan 2017–2027
• Nature and Environmental Policy Plan 2020–2030
• Carrying Capacity Studies
• Blue Destination
• Tourism Vision 2027–2037
• Spatial Development Vision 2050

That is a considerable planning industry for one small island. Which raises another legitimate accountability question: Who receives these consulting contracts, how are they awarded, what do they cost, and are appointments always based strictly on expertise and value for money, or do political relationships ever play a role?

The public should not have to speculate. Transparency can answer those questions.

The Million-Dollar Question

Nobody is arguing that Bonaire should stop planning. But planning should not become an expensive substitute for governing.

Before approving the next study, government should publish what previous studies cost, who received the contracts, what they recommended and what was actually implemented.

Because after all these plans, perhaps the most important study Bonaire needs is a very short one: What happened to all the other studies?

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