Derix, R.W.M.

This paper is part of a series on the Aruban landscape. To bring perspective to current environmental threats and developments we review, in this paper, the history of resource utilization in Aruba. Good knowledge of present but also of past processes is vital to understanding the effects of urbanization and economic progress on land- and marine ecosystems. 

The architectural, cultural and political history of Aruba is quite well documented. In the context of this paper, we like to recall some of the historic events that strongly relate to the utilization of local resources in the region and that indirectly had a lasting effect on the face of the landscape in Aruba. We review information from, amongst others, Hartog (1953), Versteeg and Ruiz (1995), Alofs and Dalhuisen (1997), Ridderstaat (2007) and Bakker and Klooster (2007) and follow a division into periods as used by the National Archaeological Museum Aruba (NAM, 1999).

Over time, the landscape and vegetation in Aruba changed due to fluctuations in geological and climatic conditions as well as due to the impact of human action. In Figure 1 (pp. 7) we present a schematic overview of the events in the Caribbean that help to understand the influences that Aruba faced during the colonial period and thereafter. We mention some exploitations of resources in the 19th century and onwards that had a substantial bearing on the landscape in more detail.

This paper is part of a series on the developments that relate to the Aruban landscape. To bring perspective to current environmental threats and developments good knowledge of present, but also of past spatial processes is vital. 

We show in this paper how the extent of early 20th century Cunucu landscape in Aruba followed the contours of the geological substrate and past human action and how these agricultural developments shaped the layout of today’s trends in suburbanization. We will go into detail and explain the shift in the location of new construction and infrastructure over the last hundred years. In an example we explain how some geological and past topographical features have influenced the development of infrastructure and housing today. 

This study is also an example of how we can use GIS1 methodology to study spatiotemporal patterns in combination with the use of historic maps in Aruba. The aim of this study is to inform and give insight in the long-term consequences of change. A more general aspect of this study is to help us grasp a larger perspective and learn to comprehend, similar to what we describe in this study, how current change in nature and habitats will define the future opportunities to exploit the landscape and its intrinsic values.

Towards a balance between socioeconomic and environmental developments in Aruba 

This paper is an introduction to a series that describes spatial developments in the Aruban landscape. The aim is to provide information about the environmental issues that we face on our road to sustainability. The condition of the landscape is important as it plays a role as intermediator of environmental influences. 

The aim is to review relevant information and make a first step in the establishment of an information database that includes a multiversity of data and relationships that matter to the interplay between the society, economy and the environment. 

The series of papers does not pretend to provide a complete description of the spatial developments in the landscape in Aruba, but merely details some of the issues that appear relevant at present.

This paper is part of a series on the developments that relate to the Aruban landscape. To bring perspective to current environmental threats and developments we review in this paper the geological and (paleo)-climate history of Aruba. Good knowledge of present but also of past processes is vital to understanding the effects that urbanization and economic progress pose on land and marine ecosystems.