A Tera Cora habitat visit brought Tour Operators Uni, Infrastructure Minister Rene Herdé and DNM director Gisbert Boekhoudt together for an on-site look at environmentally sensitive areas and shoco nesting concerns, NoticiaCla reported.
Visit was for orientation, not a route decision
The group visited the area to exchange information about fragile zones and the relationship between habitat protection and routes used by UTVs, ATVs and Jeeps.
Tour Operators Uni emphasized that the outing was an orientation visit. No negotiation took place and no decision was reached about changing, closing or approving a tour route.
Group viewed a nest identified by DNM
Participants saw a shoco nest that DNM had previously identified. Tour Operators Uni said its GPS measurements placed the nest roughly 375 metres from the dirt road used by vehicles and about 30 metres from the golf-course fence.
Those figures were reported by the tour-operator group and were not presented as a final government survey or regulatory finding.
Further documentation and dialogue expected
Tour Operators Uni said it expects DNM to provide documentation and maps concerning the area. The organization described the visit as positive and called for Aruba Birdlife Conservation to take part in a future visit or meeting.
The group also said it sent a letter to the prime minister and the infrastructure minister. The next steps depend on further information and discussion; the source report did not announce a completed policy or route plan.
Source: NoticiaCla — Tour operators and officials visit Tera Cora habitat area
