Pekelmeer

Het Ketelmeer

Pekelmeer

  • Country: 
    Netherlands (Kingdom of the)
  • Site number: 
    200
  • Area: 
    1,612 ha
  • Designation date: 
    23-05-1980
  • Coordinates: 
    12°02'N 68°15'W
Materials presented on this website, particularly maps and territorial information, are as-is and as-available based on available data and do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

Overview

Het Pekelmeer is part of a saltwater lake (“pekelmeer” in Dutch) situated on Bonaire Island in the Dutch Caribbean. It includes a shallow hypersaline lagoon with saltpans and dikes, beaches and reefs separating the lagoon from the ocean. The sparsely vegetated Site hosts one of the most important nesting colonies of Caribbean flamingo. It also provides important nesting areas for the critically endangered hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) and the endangered loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta). In 2019, the Site was extended to include a 500-metre buffer zone, which covers part of the fringing reefs of Bonaire, one of the most biodiverse reefs in the region that provides refuge to several threatened species of fish and coral. The lionfish, an invasive species, has a potentially high impact on the Site, but its population has been kept under control thanks to the efforts of volunteers and the Bonaire National Marine Park.

Administrative region: 
Bonaire

  • National legal designation: 
    • none
  • Last publication date: 
    30-09-2021

Downloads

Ramsar Information Sheet (RIS)