Rachael Weiner

World Geography-2

Arubas Population and Effects of Climate Change

Aruba is currently thriving and climate change has not had an effect on Aruba
significantly thus far. Though climate change has not seemed to effect Aruba yet, it
may in the future, this is shown by the way the population is living, the current
effects of climate change in Aruba and future predictions.
The population of Aruba is currently effected by birth and death rates, the
quality of living conditions, and the tourism industry. Birth rates in Aruba has
appeared to steadily grow until it reached peak child. Peak child is defined as the
maximum children born in the world, about 2 billion, which happens at about 2 per
woman in her life. Different from birth rates, which only includes live births per
1000 people, fertility rates have fallen in Aruba. Fertility rate is how many children
per a certain woman, which has fallen from almost 5 in 1960, to about 2 average in
2012. Death rates in Aruba since 1980 have stayed very stable except for in the
1990 population boom along with better health care. In 1990 Living conditions in
Aruba have vastly improved, due in large part to the Resilient Futures International
which is a NGO dedicated to assisting communities around the world. RFI has a
program for communities called the Resilient Community Development Program,
which focuses on developing a network of skills and resources within a community
so future problems can be solved internally. Tourism is Arubas main industry with a
majority of inhabitants being employed in related industries. Arubas Tourism
Authority oversees all hotel and tourist attractions. They were privatized in 2011
and ever since then they have been working on renovating and refurbishing hotels
instead of building new hotels.
The current effects of climate change can be seen through the natural
disasters near the ABC islands, and tourism and other industries attempts to

Rachael Weiner
World Geography-2
become green. Since most Arubas tourist attraction are in the beautiful beaches
and rolling hills, their tourism industry has focused on restoring and renovating
hotels and restaurants instead of destroying tourist attractions to make new
buildings. In 2012 with the new focus on Tourism and Sustainable Energy the
tourism board approved several new projects including a rebuilding in central
Oranjestad and the construction of a new, 10-mile long linear park between the
international airport and Palm Beach resorts. Hurricanes are one of the most
telltale signs of climate change in the region. Although most hurricanes pass well
north of Aruba, they are still a hazard for Aruba. In 2012 the National hurricane
center recorded 9 hurricanes in the Caribbean over 6 the previous year.
Future temperature changes may negatively affect Aruba by sea levels rising,
global temperature rising, and population growth. Being an island nation sea level
rising will put a significant amount of the island underwater. The amount of tourist
and immigrants is already difficult to sustain, The growth rate of arrivals to the
island is straining Arubas natural resources, particularly water, and electricity
production capabilities. Some of the lowest parts of Aruba are the international
airport and Oranjestad, both of these will be underwater should sea level rise.
Global temperature effects natural disasters in the Caribbean, and an increase will
effect death rates in Aruba. Population growth in Aruba will continue to grow, while
this doesnt seem to make sense with the fact that the fertility rate has fallen and
Aruba has reached peak child. However with smaller populations of the older parts
of the population growing the population will fill up.
In conclusion though the signs of climate change in Aruba are not readily
seen yet, they may soon have vast effects on the population, current ecosystem
and future disasters. The way Arubas population is living is shown by the quality of

Rachael Weiner
World Geography-2
living, death rates, birth rates, and the tourism industry. The tourism industry in
Aruba has a large focus on being green and protecting current ecosystems because
most the tourist attraction are naturally made and will be damaged by climate
change. Lastly the future potential for disasters and sea levels rising will majorly
damage Aruba and may completely destroy them.

Citations
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Web. 13 Dec. 2014. <http://resilientfuturesinternational.org/projects-andservices/community-development/>.
Don't Panic- The Truth About Population Change. Dir. Dan Hillman.
Perf. Professor Hans Rosling. British Broadcasting Corperation, 2013. BBC
Two. British Broadcasting Corperation, 2014. Web. 13 Dec. 2014.
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03h8r1j>.
National Hurricane, Center. "Monthly Atlantic Tropical Weather
Summary."National Hurricane Center. N.p., 1 Dec. 2014. Web. 13 Dec. 2014.
<
"Travel and Tourism in Aruba." Travel and Tourism in Aruba. Euro
Monitor, July 2013. Web. 13 Dec. 2014. <http://www.euromonitor.com/traveland-tourism-in-aruba/report>.

Rachael Weiner
World Geography-2

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Rachael Weiner
World Geography-2