WILLEMSTAD - Parties that are against the economic development of Oostpunt (east point) should realize that there are three judgments, all three of which underline the importance of the development of parts the area for Curaçao. This is according to Willy Maal, spokesperson on behalf of the Maal heirs who are owners of the area on the east side of the island.
Those parties are Amigu di Tera, Fundashon Pro Munumento, Curaçao Footprint Foundation, Fundashon Defensa Ambiental, Green Force and Carmabi. Last week, these parties were again in court to get the 2016 revision of the Island Development Plan (EOP) off the table. A conflict, therefore, between nature organizations and the government, where the heirs of Maal stand alongside the line as an interested spectator.
Revision EOP
In the past twenty years, according to Maal, there have been various committees that have issued advice on behalf of the government itself on the desirability of developing Oostpunt.
In 2010, eighteen of the 21 members of the Island Council voted in favor of the development of Oostpunt. Under a Determination Agreement, actual field observations would be conducted by internationally recognized experts to define rules and regulations for responsible development of East Point.
Something that, according to Maal, was not the case before. “In the context of the Island Development Plan announced in 1995, no research has ever been done at Oostpunt. “Neither before, nor during, nor at the re-evaluation of the 1995 EOP (Island Development Plan).”
“In the context of the preparations for the EOP, Carmabi has never set foot on Oostpunt”, says Maal, who reminds the judge that in 2016 the Parliament of Curaçao opted for the development of Oostpunt with twenty of the 21 vote to adopt the East Point National Ordinance.
Maal also does not want Oostpunt to be further destroyed on a daily basis by illegal rubbish dumps, car poaching, criminal activities such as drug smuggling, illegal excavations, human trafficking and murders. “This can be avoided through development and human presence and buildings,” says Maal. The revision of the EOP makes this possible.
Maal wants agriculture, housing, tourism, recreation, conservation, economic development and environmental protection to go hand in hand at Oostpunt for the benefit of the population. “I want agriculture and livestock farming to be carried out on a large scale again, so that Curaçao can become self-sufficient through local production. I don't want it to have to come to compensation claims again, which in turn will have to be paid by others than Carmabi and Amigoe di Tera."
Concerns
The various nature and environmental organizations, such as those just mentioned, are concerned that developing parts of the areas could have consequences for the hitherto virtually untouched flora and fauna.
The organizations believe that the judgment of the Court of Appeal was 'incorrect' and that the drafting of the national ordinance in 2016 was procedurally incorrect.
They believe that they have been deprived of the right to implement their objections to the revision of the EOP at an earlier stage. At the time, the draft would have been rapidly brought to Parliament by the relevant minister for adoption', as a result of which the Court was faced with a fait accompli. The law was law.
Coral
According to Maal, Carmabi's statements in the press and in the countless legal proceedings are all based on the view that development of Oostpunt will irrevocably lead to the destruction of the coral there.
But, according to Maal, Carmabi has also stated before: development on the coastline is certainly possible in a sustainable and responsible manner as long as rules are set and observed.
“The National Ordinance actually contributes to the latter,” says Maal. “Something that Carmabi apparently refuses to see. The National Ordinance is in fact one of the assessment frameworks for future permit granting, namely an assessment framework in which the environment and nature have a very prominent place, as it does not apply anywhere else on the island," says Maal.
The owner of Oostpunt accuses the nature organization of wanting to buy his land in order to develop it itself with its own investors. “Who are they fooling!?!?” says Maal.