The research project ‘TEEB Aruba’ (The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity) aims to derive insight in the strong link between Economy and Nature on Aruba.
Aruba has set a goal to move towards sustainable economic development, which in its essence means balancing out three interconnected spheres; social welfare, economic responsibility and ecological resilience. In order to make sound decisions about the management of ecosystems – which includes coastal marine ecosystems such as mangroves, coral reefs and seagrassbeds – it is necessary to estimate the socio-economic value that these ecosystems provide to Aruba. The objective is to quantify and integrate the value of our Natural Capital in long term planning contributing to a sustainable economic development of the island. The coastal marine environment is especially important for the tourism sector on Aruba, which is the main economic pillar of the island.
It is being conducted by Wolfs Company (www.wolfscompany.com), whom have conducted similar TEEB studies on various Caribbean islands such as Bonaire, Saba, Statia and Cayman Islands.
The financial MoI of the research project comes from national level private sector. The research project is very much supported by the Ministry of Tourism, Transport, Energy & Environment and is funded through the Corporate Social Responsibility fund of local private sector telecommunications company Setar N.V.
The non-financial capacity building MoI on a global level are the provision of the TEEB framework, a branch in UNEP’s Ecosystem Divisions work as well as working with partner the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. On a national level the project partners with the University of Aruba, a local in-country research coordinator YABI consultancy as well as builds capacity by dialogue with NGO’s, private sector and other relevant stakeholders.
Aruba has established a national SDG commission with the aim to localize the Sustainable Development Goals. The project is working together with the governmental Department of Nature & Environment on linking TEEB framework indicators with the SDG indicators framework and build a transparent online environmental data monitoring dashboard for the island.