There is a lot of stress on the marine system, but nothing is truly being done to protect our seas. Previously, nature defenders from Parke Arikok would take action and protest; today they are apparently null in their criticism, why is that really? This fact places a heavy burden on Aruba’s marine ecosystem, where the environment is not favored, making the recovery or development of healthy marine nature very difficult.
The problem of infrastructure and pollution According to ecologist Oreana Wouters, the situation is not just about addressing the laws sitting in a drawer. The lack of attention to these laws clearly shows how Aruba’s infrastructure is put together, and unfortunately, proper attention is not given to nature in Aruba.
A clear example of this is how the previous drainage infrastructure captured rainwater differently:
• Water used to run off the street and go directly into the sea, without staying on land.
• Currently, waste, pollution, and garbage from the neighborhoods are taken directly to the sea.
• This situation puts continuous stress on the marine system and affects corals, hindering growth in an environment that originally favored the island. All the projects that have been done, were they done haphazardly or were they truly made with a purpose that we ourselves do not uphold? Are we working to carry water to the sea?
This same challenge happens in the terrestrial system. If you do not have a law that sets a figure or a certain quality, for example, in soil quality, it is easy to have waste, throw oil on the ground, or garbage around Aruba.
Without an ambition to reach a high quality that sustains life now and in the future for our nature, the paths that exist in conceptual form exist, but are not properly managed.
This is a petition and a direct call to our great politicians and our government to:
• Assume public responsibility for what is in the concept right now.
• Indicate what the next step will be to ensure that we truly start conserving and developing our nature.
• Stop living in a cycle where projects are thought of today, and another government comes after, denies or doesn’t even follow through with the project, without having an ambition to reach something concrete.
• Do not work in vain, but work with vision for Aruba.
• “Government is continuity” is always said, but the acts of project continuity do not take place.
