Green Antilles

The second Green Aruba conference recently came to a close, with a keynote speech from His Royal Highness, Prince Willem-Alexander:

“It is wonderful to see how a small country can sometimes be great,” His Royal Highness began, “to realize that no dream is unattainable, if you really believe in it…it is only recently that the Aruban government decided to go all out to become a leading regional player in free, sustainable energy.”

He mentioned the ambitious energy policy put forward at the first Green Energy Conference one year ago by PM Eman and Minister of Finance, Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy, Mike de Meza, and, most importantly, it was well attended by official and important business people from all over the Caribbean. They “were inspired by your enthusiasm, vision and leadership. In short, Aruba made a fine start in the policy area, for there are few issues that combine so many topical developments as the question of how we will obtain our energy in say…2050.”

Read more about the Prince’s speech in this report from Aruba.com.

In addition:

[T]he Aruba Green Energy Conference 2011 – “The Green Gateway”- came to a close with the historic signing of the agreement between the Aruban Government and TNO (Netherlands Organization Applied Scientific Research), for the establishment of the Caribbean Sustainable Research Institute (CSRI) with TNO CEO Jan Mengelers.

See this CaribSeek article for more information about what the CSRI will be doing in Aruba:

TNO will begin offering Summer courses on a high academic level, and will be organizing seminars and conferences in Aruba. They will set up a center of education geared to students in the region offering technical education. Aruba will serve as a “living lab” where investigations will be conducted under ideal conditions which could be later exported to other markets.

They will also do testing and certifications here. This means that companies building apparatus for the energy market can have their products tested here quickly and efficiently to determine whether they comply with recognized standards.

The government of Aruba is partnering with the New America Foundation to advance Aruba’s sustainable development:

Aruban Prime Minister Michiel “Mike” Eman and the New America Foundation’s Patrick Doherty, director of the Smart Strategy Initiative, finalized a partnership agreement on Wednesday to pursue a national roadmap to sustainability, integrating renewable energy, smart growth, and new approaches to sustainable tourism for the island nation of 101,000 people.

“Aruba has great potential to be a leader among Island nations,” said Doherty, “as they make the transition to green, healthy and prosperous islander communities that can support a more diverse economy while re-branding Aruba as one of the leading destinations for sustainable tourism.”

Under the leadership of Eman, Aruba has already begun the transition, with wind turbines producing over 20 percent of the island’s power and confirmed plans to add turbines to produce a total of 40 percent of Aruba’s electricity; a major urban renewal project with the world’s longest linear park; the creation of a renewable energy institute with leading American and European universities and research organizations; and significant further carbon reductions planned in the energy and water sectors.

Wednesday’s agreement signals the next phase of that work, which will consult widely with stakeholders on the island to integrate development plans to achieve what Doherty terms “broad-spectrum sustainability” in the challenging context of this arid Caribbean island.

(Source.)

A highlight (audio in Dutch) of the ecosystems and biodiversity of Aruba with a focus on Parke Nacional Arikok. Aruba is balancing nature conservation and tourism development in the Dutch Caribbean.

Video produced by the Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance. Click here if you want a version with English subtitles.

Aruba Birdlife Conservation is making a plea in this film for the Burrowing Owl, our ‘Shoco’ to become Aruba’s National Bird. Bird Wildlife is still not protected in Aruba. This is an effort to start the conservation of Aruba’s bird wildlife. You can help make a difference.

For more information about the campaign to have the Shoco designated and protected as Aruba’s national bird, send an e-mail to aruba.birdlife.conservation@gmail.com.

(Found via Repeating Islands. )

Back in August 2010, I reported on how boa constrictors (an introduced, invasive species) in Aruba were a threat to the island’s birdlife.

Efforts are being made to reduce Aruba’s boa population: the New York Times Dot Earth blog recently published an account of an outing with the Aruban Boa Constrictor Task Force. Here are a few brief extracts:

Like many islands elsewhere in the world, Aruba has seen its wildlife powerfully affected by introduced species. Boa constrictors are one of the latest threats.

Aruba’s native mockingbirds, owls and orioles have met the enemy. And it swallows them whole. According to Aruba Birdlife Conservation, boa constrictors kill more than 17,000 island birds per year. Unless more robust efforts are made to control these ravenous invaders, local extinction is a real possibility for some bird species.

The first action taken by the Caribbean nation’s Boa Constrictor Task Force occurred on a rainy Sunday morning in December. My brother and I joined a group near the defunct drive-in theater, situated on a limestone plateau perhaps 200 feet above sea level. All of us (except my brother, who was visiting from California) had attended an hour-long workshop on boa identification and capture.

These were the terms of engagement: no machetes or other sharp weapons. As Diego Marquez, the task force’s co-chair, explained, “We are a peace-loving nation.” Boa hunters would pin their prey’s head with a household broom, grab the neck with a gloved hand, then imprison the captive in a biodegradable plastic bag with the same technique that New York’s dog owners use to scoop poop. Captured boas would be euthanized in the freezer at the state veterinarian’s office.

To avoid cases of mistaken identity, we learned the rule of thumb: if a snake is thicker than your thumb, it’s a boa. Because Aruba’s two native snakes, the cascabel (a rare rattlesnake) and the santanero (also known as the Aruban cat-eyed snake) are both small, this rule actually works here.

Click over to Dot Earth to read the full report.

Since the outing described above, there has been a second national boa capture and control action in Aruba. If you are interested in assisting the work of the Boa Constrictor Task Force, you can send an e-mail to boa.taskforce[AT]gmail[DOT]com.

Also of interest: this video (in Papiamento) about the work of the Boa Constrictor Task Force.

Finally, the video below, produced by the Arikok National Park Foundation in Aruba provides instructions on how to capture a boa constrictor using a broomstick and a plastic bag:

Previously on Green Antilles: Boas threaten Aruban birdlife.

[Photo: Greg Peterson via birdlife.org]