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Undeveloped green space in Aruba is becoming harder to find on our small island. This will soon change. Together with island friend Grete Marie Case and a significant sponsorship by our resort, Ewald Biemans has donated 12 hectares (30 acres) of their collective private land as a nature preserve for the public to enjoy. Under The Bucuti & Tara Nature Preservation Foundation, The Bucuti Tara - GMC Park is debuting a reforestation initiative to honor the resort’s 35th anniversary as a proud supporter of our island community.
Preserving Aruba for Aruba
The stretch of land is a desirable place for development with its convenient location to the high-rise hotels in cosmopolitan Noord. As the last remaining undeveloped private land in Noord, the new nature preserve will serve as a sanctuary in the heart of the island’s busiest area. This land holds tremendous value and would be desirable for tourism-related businesses including new accommodations or restaurants. Instead of further crowding and overdeveloping the area, Biemans and Case purchased this natural countryside and are donating it to the people of Aruba so it will be protected from further development, forever. 
The Bucuti Tara - GMC Park
The Bucuti Tara - GMC Park is protected land. Motorized vehicles of any type are prohibited. The preserve is a typical Aruban ecosystem with any number of the 280 bird species including Wara Wara, Shocos, and Prikichis calling Aruba home or, their favorite layover between hemispheres, and all that thrive in its native flora and fauna. This gifted land will eventually offer residents and visitors a quiet, natural place to walk, jog or sit amongst Aruba’s indigenous trees, plant life, and wildlife.
The timing also coincides with the 35th anniversary this year of Biemans’ Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort on Eagle Beach. To commemorate the milestone anniversary, the resort has been reflecting on its cherished history. Biemans recalls how undeveloped the island was 60 years ago and with these subsequent booms of tourism, his commitment to protecting Aruba’s natural beauty and resources spans Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort, the most eco-certified hotel in the Caribbean, and beyond.
Biemans’ commitment to protecting Aruba’s natural beauty is evidenced over the years. He established the Aruba Hotel and Tourism Environmental committee and began the Sponsor-a-Mile program 30 years ago. He continues introducing eco-certification programs to help colleague hotels worldwide begin their sustainability journeys. Particularly treasured initiatives include teaching entrepreneurship to EcoKids at the local International School, giving guest lectures at the University, and welcoming researchers and students for hotel sustainability tours. Encouraging guests to take nature tours is core to the Bucuti & Tara experience. In 2019, Biemans introduced Lanta y Planta, a reforestation organization that came together after photos of the island’s earlier days compared to present day showed concerning results from heavy deforestation.
As the new nature preserve is dedicated, Bucuti & Tara’s commitment to the community and the preservation of Aruba over 35 years continues with this forthcoming reforestation project. “As a long practitioner of sustainability and the Caribbean’s first certified carbon-neutral hotel, Bucuti &Tara’s milestone anniversary gives us an opportunity to recognize 35 years of positive impact to Aruba’s people and economy, and we wish to continue that by reforesting the area with indigenous trees in celebration for future generations to enjoy,” says Ewald Biemans, Owner/CEO of Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort.