Open letter to the government of Aruba – the case will be in court at the end of the week!

Attn: Mrs. Marisol Lopez-Tromp, Minister of Spatial Development, Infrastructure, and Environment

Mr. Andin Bikker, Minister of Justice, Security, and Integration

Lloyd G. Smith Blvd 76 Oranjestad Aruba

May 18, 2020

Honorable Ministers,

I am writing you today as President of Fundashon Preserva Malmok on behalf of the residents of Malmok and Arashi, and in support of steps that were recently announce by Minister Lopez-Tromp and by Director of Parke Nacional Arikok Mr. Roland de Cuba to restrict the usage of rented ATVs and UTVs in Aruba to reduce the environmental damage caused to our island.

As residents of Malmok and Arashi we have suffered disproportionately from the nuisance caused by ATV and UTV tours driving by our homes all day, 7 days a week including holidays. During the current highly unfortunate COVID-19 crisis Aruba has an opportunity to emerge with stronger environmental controls that will benefit our little rock for generations to come.

Undoubtedly you are well aware of the four main problems caused by ATV and UTV rentals:

1. Environmental damage. These vehicles drive everywhere – on trails and off – making noise, kicking up dust, scaring animals out of their habitats, driving over their nests, and coating our plants with dust. They then stop and overwhelm small coves like Tres Trapi and sensitive areas like Conchi, all the while causing irreversible environmental damage.

2. Nuisance to residents. Caravans of ATVs and UTVs drive around the island all day long, and residents near tourist and nature areas (Malmok, Arashi, Shètè, and others) have to constantly endure the extreme noise and dust kicked up by multiple caravans of these off-road vehicles.

3. Rider safety. The vast majority of riders on these tours have never ridden an ATV or driven a UTV! As such they are unable to appreciate the dangers (we have seen many a small kid sitting on the seat/tank in front of an adult) and don’t know how to handle the vehicle at high speed on rough terrain. Many very serious accidents have taken place.

4. Traffic disruptions. I have personally witnessed many a time where an ATV/UTV tour guide would block off an intersection or roundabout – at personal risk of being hit by a car – to stop all automobile traffic so their off road caravan can stay together.

I also want to point out to you a 5th and lesser recognized problem caused by ATV and UTV over-use:

5. Public health. The constant dust kicked up by ATVs and UTVs puts people downwind from that dust at risk of asthma and – with long term exposure (like the residents of Shètè) – dust pneumonia. Additionally, the extreme dust kicked up by these tours can have significant negative short term pulmonary impact on tour participants.

I want to thank Minister Lopez-Tromp for taking the courageous step to act to limit the nuisance and damage caused by these vehicles, and hereby call on both of you to work together to make sure that indeed over the long term the rental and use of ATVs and UTVs on the island is severely curtailed.

I am well aware that there are passionate and powerful economic interests at work in favor of continuing the rental of ATVs and UTVs to tourists. But please know this: Those economic self-interests of ATV/UTV rental and tour companies pale in comparison to the damage these vehicles are causing over the long run to the most important economic interest of our island: the protection and preservation of our “Product Aruba.” Because once tourists stop coming to Aruba because our nature and beaches have been destroyed beyond repair by tourists on rented vehicles Aruba’s future will look dire indeed.

We ask you to make it part of your legacy that you made change happen to positively impact Aruba’s nature and the public health and safety of our citizens and visitors for generations to come.

There are a number of ways to permanently limit the use and rental of these vehicles on the island. The ban on ATV/UTV imports recently mentioned in the Amigoe is just one of them. As an organization we do not believe that an import ban alone would be sufficient. In fact, an import ban could potentially backfire, ensuring that in 20 years Aruba has a fleet of 20+ year old ATVs and UTVs that are even more ecologically damaging than they currently are.

If the Ministers of Justice and of Environment and Infrastructure can collaborate, certainly a workable solution can be found, including:

• Tighter interpretation of vehicle inspections to what the law intended. ATVs/UTVs sometimes get A number plates, and sometimes MFA plates, but they are neither an automobile nor a motorcycle. Most ATVs and UTVs should be denied a permit because they are not intended to be driven on public roads. This is because they do not come equipped with road-worthy brakes and tires, seatbelts, airbags, mirrors, and turn signals.

• Banning ATVs/UTVs from public roads and highways. Every ATV sold in the USA already include warning stickers mentioning that the vehicles are “not intended for use on public roads.” In light of the dangers and nuisance, some policy that limits vehicles must be possible.

• If banning ATV/UTV traffic from the roads is impossible for some reason, banning them instead from driving in all nature areas, including the new areas included in the recent landsbesluit, will severely restrict their use.

• A cap on the allowable number of rental vehicles on the island will allow damage to be limited. Additionally, for tours that are allowed to happen strict safety and usage rules must be implemented to limit the dust and noise produced, and to eliminate the chance of accidents.

Mrs. Lopez-Tromp and Mr. Bikker, we are looking to you for stewardship of our environment and safety – for our residents, our visitors, and our island. On behalf of all the residents of Malmok and Arashi I plead with you to partner up with each other and with other likeminded individuals on the islands to eliminate the permanent damage these off-road vehicles cause Aruba.

Your island thanks you.

Sincerely,

Farina van Veen

President, Fundashon Preserva Malmok

 

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July 15, 2020
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