The Aruba Birdlife Conservation is a nature NGO established on Aruba who is requesting the Aruba government, as soon as possible, to install a National Nature and Environment Committee. This important foundation showcases and builds awareness of Aruba’s birds and other native flora and fauna. They showcase the most amazing pictures on their Facebook page, caught by photographer Michiel Oversteegen.
Have a look at the latest nature miracles photographed by Oversteegen.
Absence of tourists and shelter in place teaches us one very important lesson.
We have taken too much from nature. Once we grant them what was rightfully theirs, all types of fauna start reappearing. They cease the moment … and do so with joy.
We must re-learn the significance of sharing the planet with nature.
We must reconnect with nature. Once we come from love and not from greed, beautiful things start to happen. Once we grant nature a chance, we too will return to nature.
In this picture you see a critically endangered Shellfish enjoying a unique moment of freedom at the shores of Palm Beach.
Beauty in Aruba.
Wellbeing, nature and One Happy Island. Having profound love for nature comes from a place deep within the heart. Willingness to destroy nature in order to experience joy flows from a place of inner disharmony. Absence of respect for nature comes from a place of challenged self-esteem. There is much work to be done when one wittingly needs to destroy nature in order to feel good about one’s self. This can never lead to a path of pursuit of happiness.
The question follows: How must we interpret the discordance between on one hand branding our island as ‘One Happy Island’ while on the other hand we encourage our valued guests to participate in island wide nature destruction? Such a mismatch of concepts, happiness and destruction, can only lead to increasing distrust and tensions between our tourism product and those who profoundly love our island.
Our tourism philosophy is in urgent need of some serious introspection. A good place to start would be considering re-branding Aruba’s tourism product; Aruba’s image. Consider a shift from ‘One Happy Island’ to ‘One Caring Island. True happiness can never be attained through destruction; this is misleading. Aruba is in need of some introspection, before we stand up after CoViD19 once again, and repeat that which is causing island wide disharmony, all over again.
The image shows you baby Aruba Burrowing Owls born in artificial burrows. Increasing destruction of nature ‘in pursuit of happiness’ has become an existential threat for the Aruba Burrowing Owls … and beyond. The Shoco was declared a National Symbol of Aruba in 2012.
Will Aruba be re-branded in 2020? q
