WILLEMSTAD - The results of the Stakeholder Survey regarding the community’s thinking about the environment and the restart of the refinery are ready. As was reported, citizen input is extremely important when large scale decisions are being taken. The impact of such decisions on the social and physical well-being of the people must be a part of resilient, responsible decision making. Maintaining the commitment to the international standards including the Paris Accord emission goals and WHO pollution standards are crucial for environmental sustainability and global well-being. Failing to meet these targets could lead to severe environmental and health consequences.
The results of the recent Think To DO Institute three questions survey over a 5-day period reaped representative results. The responses from 405 members of the community were recorded. Eighty-five percent responded in Dutch, 10 percent responded in English and 4 percent responded in Papiamentu. Overall, there was overwhelming agreement that the climate change we are currently seeing is largely the result of human activity and that opening the refinery in its current state will pose a threat to human health and increase climate risk. Further, the majority of respondents felt that opening the refinery in its current state will have a direct negative effect on economic sectors (tourism, agriculture, fishery).
In the week since the survey was launched, several organization including Fundashon Birgen di Rosario, Amigu di Tera/Defensia Ambiental, The Clean Air Everywhere Foundation, Schoon Milieu on Curaçao and Smoc have stated that the need for better balance between economic interest and public health, especially related to the refinery must be taken.
In a resilient society, stakeholder input is critical to the social progress of its people. Trust is built on social cohesion factors: inclusion versus exclusion, equality versus inequality, legitimacy versus illegitimacy, participation versus non-involvement, recognition versus rejection, and belonging versus isolation. It requires the strong connection between the people and the decision makers.
Social cohesion is measured by the countries provisions to meet basic human needs, provide the foundations of well-being such as clean environment and good health, and the opportunity to contribute through work and social engagement such as stakeholder input.