An official letter sent on June 9, 2026, to Prime Minister Mike Eman by ecologist and Director of IDNOVA, Oriana Wouters MSc., has so far received no response from the leader. In the missive, Wouters launches an urgent and structural appeal to place environmental law, the rights of nature, and the development of local knowledge at the center of Aruba’s environmental policy. Although the Eman Cabinet has been in office for over a year already, concrete steps on a structural legislative level remain absent, raising serious concerns among experts in the sector.
Warning of “Government Negligence”
In the letter, Oriana Wouters expresses her appreciation for the visible projects that Prime Minister Eman has been incorporating, such as the collaboration with Wageningen University & Research (WUR), projects, and the plans for the former refinery grounds. However, she emphasizes that Aruba’s nature cannot rely solely on tree-planting and high-profile projects.
“A minister can plant a tree and transmit hope with it. But that same minister has the duty to ensure that laws are enacted to prevent ecosystems from continuing to disappear,” Wouters formulated in her text. She warns that if existing draft laws remain unapproved, it can no longer be viewed as a simple delay, but rather as a form of government negligence (bestuurlijke nalatigheid) against Aruba’s nature and its future generations.
Lack of Legal Foundation and Modernization
According to the director of IDNOVA, Aruba completely lacks a solid legal and democratic foundation for environmental protection. The currently applicable laws, such as the 1995 Natuurbeschermingsverordening (Nature Conservation Ordinance) and the 2017 Beschermde soortenlijst (Protected Species List), are outdated and no longer align with modern international management models, such as those of the IUCN.
Currently, quality standards for our water, land, air, coastal zones, and marine ecosystems are structurally missing. Wouters underscores that unregulated pressure from recreation, boat traffic, and land sales, combined with the serious sewage water (afvalwater) problem and weak enforcement (zwakke handhaving), is directly impacting vulnerable areas like Mangel Halto, Baby Beach, and parts of the west coast.
The ecologist reminds Prime Minister Eman that several crucial draft laws have been gathering dust in drawers for years:
- Wet milieubeheer (Environmental Management Act – since 2012)
- Waterwet (Water Act – since 2017)
- Afvalverordening (Waste Ordinance – since 2019)
- MER-verordening (EIA Ordinance – since 2019)
Furthermore, the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, along with the rights of nature itself, must be anchored in our Constitution (Grondwet) as a fundamental human right under the ECHR (EVRM).
Three Key Questions Unanswered
In her letter, Wouters demanded that Prime Minister Mike Eman provide public clarity on three central points before this governing term ends (and within a maximum timeframe of two years):
- Which of the existing draft laws (for environmental management, water, waste, sewage, hazardous substances, and EIA) will be updated and formally presented to the Parliament of Aruba during this cabinet?
- What is the status of the proposal to anchor the rights of nature and the right to a healthy environment in the Constitution (Grondwet), and will the current government proceed with this process?
- How will the government guarantee that environmental policy—including the 30×30 target, collaboration with WUR, coral restoration, and possible oil and gas exploration—will be based on reliable local data and the strengthening of Aruban knowledge institutions?
A Call for Leadership
The letter concludes by indicating that, while the AVP-FUTURO Cabinet cannot be held responsible for all the failures and lack of progress over the past decades, it is responsible if it chooses to continue maintaining the exact same unchanged situation.
Considering that this could be Prime Minister Mike Eman’s final term as Prime Minister of Aruba, IDNOVA asks the leader to demonstrate a leadership that does not merely “inspire,” but one that “structures” and leaves behind a compatible legal legacy for the country. Up until the publication of this article, the Prime Minister’s office has not issued any structural official reaction regarding this legal and ecological request. The letter sent to them remains unanswered.
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