I feel like I'm an entrepreneur within the organization,
given the chance also to create new things. I
do not want the foundation to be only dependent
on government subsidies. Tyson Lopez, a visionary
conservation leader, proud Arubano, and since
2023 appointed CEO of Aruba Conservation Foundation.
Aruba is very new in conservation of nature.
In 2019, we created the Marine Protected Areas
of Marine Park. In the past 30 years, we lost
maybe 80 % of our coral coverage. Now as the
head of... ACF is leading the charge to preserve
Aruba's protected areas through innovation, education
and community engagement. Whenever you are going
to a higher position, you have this thinking
about, am I enough? Can I do this? What will
be the result of it if you fail? People, welcome
to the Sunside Kingdom show. Welcome, Mr. Tyson.
Thank you. It's a pleasure for me for being here
on your podcast and to be able to share what
I've experienced so far. And like you said, also
to make sure that we can inspire others also.
Yeah. Give them some inspiration, motivation
to do their best also. Yeah. My true motivation
in creating this podcast, as I mentioned many
times before, it's that... So, well, we spoke
off camera and I can say your age. Yeah. OK,
OK. So you're 38. I'm 40. So we're about the
same age and definitely the same generation.
Right. So the millennial generation. And I remember
when when it was our time coming up there, we.
At least in my experience, there weren't many
that we could look up to that at least. felt
like they were relatable or sharing their stories
in an interesting way that that you could really
like. sort of get that inspiration from and understand
how to navigate your journey. So that's the main
purpose of the podcast is to interview so many
different stories that we start to have documented
knowledge sharing of different individuals from
the six islands and also Suriname. Indeed. I
think when I grew up also, It was not about sharing
back then. So a lot was shared, but not with
the general public or not with the younger generation.
So indeed, for me, that is also very important
now to make sure that the younger generation
coming after me, that I can share a lot of my
experiences and provide advice also. Awesome.
So tell us a bit more about who is Tyson Lopez
today and what keeps you busy now in 2025? What
keeps me busy? Well, nature keeps me busy in
this case. I mean, I'm the CEO of Aruba Conservation
Foundation, the foundation that manages one fourth
of the island as a terrestrial protected area,
but also 0 .2 % of our territorial waters. So
it's a big responsibility to be the person in
charge that has such a mandate from the government.
Yeah. So that keeps me busy day in, day out.
I mean, everything that happens, people will
call you and yeah, you'll have to react in one
way or the other. But that's what keeps me busy.
So is it a particular area of Aruba or is it
the entire island? No, it's scattered around
the island. So the majority of it is concentrated
at the national park. Yeah. But it's scattered
all over the island. So could you just name a
few of them? So it's Sassarvici Dunes with the
wetlands. Also Salinha Drive, Salinha Cerca.
The dunes that's like by the lighthouse. Behind
the lighthouse, yes. So that area is a protected
area. It is protected because of high biodiversity
and ecological value also. But we have, for example,
the reef islands, the mangrove islands on the
south coast of Aruba also. The south coast. So
then we're talking San Nicolas? It starts behind
the airport going all the way to San Nicolas.
Oh, okay. So the full reef island behind that
part is in our management area. So it's scattered
all over and it makes it very dynamic also to
manage. Interesting. And earlier you were mentioning
that, so under your leadership, what has been
some of the biggest changes that has happened?
Yeah, so I started in July of 23. So what we're
doing is that we have finally, after 20 years,
a strategic document, a strategic plan. where
we want to go for the upcoming 10 years. So there's
more like a vision and a strategic plan of how
to get it done. So before becoming the CEO already,
I was assigned with the project to come up with
a strategic document, a vision. So what was your
role before becoming CEO? I actually used to
be the sustainable recreation manager. Okay.
But because I'm such an eager person and wanting
to learn, I kind of pushed myself into having
this. task given to me so for sustainable recreation
manager so recreation i'm thinking about activities
so yeah it's about how to reduce the impact of
recreation within the protected areas okay okay
so it's managing people it's managing activities
providing new uh experiences also for the visitors
yeah so i've been doing that i started in i think
It was May 2019. If I may sidetrack you for a
moment. So for instance, like those that are
running on the ATVs in particular areas to make
sure that... That's a hot topic, right? I mean,
that's some of the fun in my memory that I had
in Aruba, but I could imagine that certain areas...
Basically, the UTVs and ATVs are prohibited to
enter the national park. We banned that in 2020.
Okay. And that was part of my work that I had
to do also to come up with a regulation. I mean,
I can draw policies. So I had to do some desk
research in order to introduce such a policy.
So it's not possible to go from like the gold
mine straight down to San Nicolas side anymore
because you pass through the national park. You're
not allowed to. So I actually did that then before
it was bad. Yeah. So everybody did it. that was
um actually it's to reduce the impact yeah yeah
yeah of this vehicle and it's because this vehicle
there's there's so much that that is the issue
and we i approached a sustainable transport framework
uh doing this uh policy so it's the intention
is to make sure that more visitors or more people
per tire per modar so it reduces the the erosion,
whatever impact it might have. So that was the
intention to increase the amount of visitors
per vehicle. How you do it is very... This might
be a completely sidetracked, crazy question,
but I think the first time I visited Aruba, the
natural bridge was still... How long ago did
it... It collapsed? Yeah. I'm not sure, but it's
a long time ago. More than 20 years ago, for
sure. More than 20 years? Yes. Yes. Yeah? Yes.
Okay. So was it already? My first visit was in
2011. So that's about... 2011. That's 14 years
ago? Okay, perhaps. For some reason, I feel like
it was still there. But then by the time I came
in 2016 -ish, then it was definitely collapsed.
So I'm not sure. Okay. But was there any type
of correlation between like the... Okay. A bit
of a sidetrack question. But yeah. So basically,
my position used to be then sustainable recreation
manager. But then COVID hit. So the same year...
basically, 2019. So the organization went into
a restructuring. So a lot of people had to leave
the organization. And hence, also more responsibility
fell on my lap. So at a certain moment, I was
sustainable recreation, marketing manager, sales
manager, doing strategy. But yeah, I think at
the end, it was a very... A blessing in disguise.
Yes, a blessing in disguise. But also, I think...
Because you take up those challenges, you learn
more and you position yourself also better in
the organization. And moving forward, you have
a bigger set of skills also and tools that you
can use in the future. So that was where I started
at the Aruba Conservation Foundation. And afterwards,
the CEO actually left during the pandemic. So
we had an interim CEO and eventually they opened
the position and I applied for it. I applied,
that's another story, but I applied on the last
day that you could have applied. And basically
I applied because a friend of mine called me
and asked me for my advice. Like, do you think
I can apply for becoming a CEO? And when he asked
me that question, I was like, so. He thinks that
he can be the CEO. So why am I thinking that
it's not possible? So that triggers me if he
ever sees this podcast. I'm sorry. But that triggered
me to go home. Well, I mean, if he's a true friend,
then you can also just tell him, thank you for
inspiring me. But yeah, that triggered me into
thinking that I might also be able to do it.
I think in that case, you sometimes doubt yourself,
your skills. And whenever you are going into
a higher position, you have this thinking about,
am I enough? Can I do this? What will be the
result of it if you fail? So, yeah, I said, like,
I'm not going to limit myself. So I applied and
then went through the interviews and the interview
sessions. And eventually I was offered the job.
which for me was really amazing because after
creating a strategy, I will be responsible for
implementing the strategy. And that is what I'm
doing day to day now. So I keep a tap on the
strategic projects that we're doing, keep a tap
on all the departments if they're performing
according to what we said we would do. And that's
just amazing for me to see the vision becoming
a reality. It's a slow process because... It
takes time to learn how to work with strategies
and implementation plans and strategic budgets,
so multi -annual budgets, all those things. But
yeah, I'm doing it and I'm enjoying it so far.
From the reactions I'm getting. You're doing
a pretty good job. I'm getting positive reactions
from people that I know. And they're telling
me I'll just keep on going. Well, you also came
recommended. Because since I've been on Aruba,
I've been asking some of my trusted sources for
names of inspiring persons. So your name was
mentioned among those. And then we dived in and
did a... bit of research and said okay yeah i
think i think there's an interesting story here
i think i'm a very active person and i don't
want i don't like sitting still yeah um i'm always
up to something Yeah, so I'm always busy. I think
I might be sitting still when I'm dead, but I
think as long as I'm alive, I'm enjoying life.
There's lots to do. So what are some of the biggest
achievements you would say in your career? In
my career, if I think my full career. So I started
working at the government of Aruba in the prime
minister's office back in 2000. I think one of
the achievements back there, because I used to
do public diplomacy, so it's not about relations.
So you don't get the achievement would be assigning
of a MOU with this institution or that institution.
So it's basically that. But I remember one that
I was really proud was, and it's basically a
new afterwards through Twitter. is that an MOU
that was signed between the government of Aruba
and Goldman Properties, I think it's called.
It's the developers of Wynwood in Miami. Oh,
okay. And the intention was then to bring the
developers on the island and talk to potential
investors on how to create such a neighborhood
on Aruba, a creative neighborhood on Aruba. So
back then, I felt like it's an achievement. But
there's multiple moments also. Afterwards, I
went to work at the park or at ACF. And I mean,
when I finished everything, every time you finish
something, it feels good. Yeah. And I think you
have to enjoy those highlights. Like when I finished
the corporate plan and was approved. Enjoy the
big wins and the little wins. And the little
wins. Like, for example, recently I did execute.
renovation project of one of our infrastructure.
And I'm actually celebrating also. It's a small
project, but I believe in celebrating all these
small things in order to keep you also energized.
And I mean, that's really the key when just in
life in general is enjoying the overall journey.
Yeah. And along the journey. Not the destination,
just the journey. The destination in true, true
fashion is death. That is the reality. So we
got to enjoy the whole journey. That is the reality.
And I think very quickly you just work towards
a destination. Like, I want to do that. And you
do not enjoy the current moment. Yeah. And the
small moments. So learning to be more present.
Yeah, yeah. For sure. Awesome. Yeah, now as a
CEO. The organization is in the right path. I'm
happy that financially we're doing very good.
On our strategic implementation also is going
very good. So for me, those are wins that I see
that, yeah, I'm on a good course. Yeah. And that
is going good. Awesome. Awesome. Yeah. So now
we might be getting into a bit of a deeper question.
All right. So. The off -camera, we were talking
about entrepreneurship, intrapreneurship. So
you're definitely in an intrapreneur position
right now, but that element has always been there.
But looking at your current position and then
also where some of your thoughts and visions
are for the other things that you want to achieve.
How connected do you feel to your purpose in
life in your current career? Yeah. I mean, purpose.
It's a deep question. It's a deep question. Sometimes
I wake up, what is my purpose? But no, I think
I'm very much aligned right now with what I want
to do and what is my contribution also to society.
I think that is what keeps me going day in and
day out because it's a challenging job. But I
think with determination and passion and purpose,
you will continue going. And what I find very
beautiful is that indeed we talked about entrepreneur
and entrepreneur. I feel like I'm an entrepreneur
within the organization given the chance also
to create new things. So that also fuels me.
Every time I do something new, it's like, yes,
I'm doing this. And the convincing of my ideas
also, the creation of every idea that I created
so far. So it's really nice and it keeps me energized
also. I think I told you also that I've been
raised in a very entrepreneurial family. So I
think that's something embedded in you somehow.
And you need to get that flame going. And working
in an organization is different. I always say
the foundation is my company. And sometimes I'm
like, okay, it's not your company. So check out
for a moment. But a lot of times when I talk
to others, I mention this, that for me, the foundation
is a business. Being a foundation is just a texting.
But it is a business. And I do not want the foundation
to be only dependent on government. subsidies
so i really want us to be as commercial as possible
in order to generate as much as possible for
the conservation nature so that is back towards
uh what i care a lot about because i care deeply
about nature um i love it i'm in i'm hiking almost
every weekend i go to the beach almost every
weekend so that is my moment also and for me
to be able to conserve that is amazing So actually,
there's something interesting in there when you
unpack that a bit. Because you're conserving
nature, so there's also a whole sustainability
aspect to it. But the foundation, you're also
looking for ways to make the foundation itself
more sustainable outside of just the regular
funding. Yeah, so it's both. It's the sustainability
on the environmental sense to make sure that...
nature will still be there and thrive and prosper.
But also for the foundation that takes care of
it also will still be there and thrive and prosper.
So that combination for me, I find very amazing.
It gives me energy. It gives me also headaches,
but it gives me energy to continue going. Yeah,
awesome. So you mentioned you really love nature.
So let's tap back to the moment when you first
discovered that. When was that? Growing up here
on Aruba? Yeah, yeah. So we're going as far back
as you can remember. I can remember. From maybe
seeing the first, what they call, Lagadishis?
To the Pega Pegas? To the lizards? To the snakes?
Oh, I hate snakes. But you grew up seeing a lot
of them? So basically, I am the only... male
within the family so um oh i can relate yeah
so i had a lot of time outside of the house so
back then i'm not i'm not a gamer so and in our
day and time i think it was nintendo 64 and then
playstation so it's early yes early gaming and
i was a person that was really outside um and
i remember i would just go into because we lived
also close to nature so i just go and explore
I think it was last month that I told my mom,
you remember I used to go back there and I showed
my mom. And she was like, when was this happening?
When you were working? Oh, I never told you that.
Yeah. I thought you knew. So early on already,
I felt something really nice to explore and discover
in nature. So with that lens. And afterwards,
I became also a Boy Scout. Yeah. So then also
you do a lot of activities in nature. But continuously,
I would go back to nature, even when I was working.
But this exploring you is doing that mainly alone
or you did that with your friends? I did it mainly
alone. So with Boy Scouts, obviously in a group,
but mainly alone. In the neighborhood and stuff?
In the neighborhood. So behind my parents' house,
there's enough... The nature behind it. What
you call that? It's Kunuku's or Mondi's? Mondi's.
And there were also a watering hole, so a dam,
where you capture water. And I would go there
and explore. And it was really nice. And I want
to say also, afterwards... So as a kid, it was
more recreational. But afterwards, when I started
working, for me, hiking became... became something
more for me to relax and unwind and de -stress.
Yeah. And also... So more mindful. More a mindful
experience for me. Yeah. Yeah. Awesome. So with
that being said, how would you say your Caribbean
roots have influenced the way that you carry
yourself throughout your career? I think from
a Caribbean roots, but also because we are a
multicultural island. You can see things from
different perspective. And that is what is one
of my strengths. I can sit with a fisherman that
does not agree with, for example, a policy that
we want to introduce and still understand for
him and try to convince him. uh what is it that
we want to do so our whoever a tour operator
uh whoever it is because i i take things from
multiple angles i want to know also what is it
that you want to tell me what is it that you're
thinking and i think that that part and i think
that again the curiosity part comes in and um
yeah and also I'm very realistic that we are
a small island and it comes with its limitations.
It comes with its challenges. And its challenges
about understanding, but also opportunities are
very much less. But yeah, so I'm very much rooted
in the reality, you could say. Everything moves
a bit slower. We talked about it. But it gives
me a better... When you need to do changes, you
need to have buy -in and support. And I think
that skill set of talking to people, convincing
them to get the support for the change is what
I can do very well. Yeah. So let's take a little
quick... quick history because i don't i think
we forgot to touch on that because we touched
on the childhood but then we kind of went more
the nature experience um your schooling what
was your schooling trajectory like so you did
high school here in uh in aruba yeah so i did
high school here in aruba and afterwards i went
basically to curacao so because i want to to
become a fiscal economist but At that time, I
was a very party goer. So Curacao was like a
free time for me. But very soon I stopped also
and came back to the island. And then I did accountancy
basically for a year. And afterwards I did my
first, my bachelor that I finished is organization
governance and management. Okay. At the University
of Aruba. Yeah. Then I went to work for two years.
And then I went to the Netherlands to do my master
in international development studies. Okay. And
could you expand a bit on what international
development studies entail? So I'm going to start
first on why I chose it. There was a certain
moment that because I was working for the government
in public diplomacy and I was advised to do international
relations. But I see myself not as a talker.
I see myself more as a doer. And I didn't want
to be... become a talker i don't want to become
one of those people that just talk about a lot
a lot talk about great ideas but never do it
doesn't do shh exactly so then i was like okay
if i'm gonna do this and also i had at that moment
a very strong commitment to wanting to to have
some impact and some change on the island on
the island yeah And that is why when I chose
International Development Studies as my master
degree, because it takes basically, you create,
you take everything from a development perspective.
So how can you benefit? What is it intervention
you can do to benefit the community? What intervention
can you do to benefit a marginalized group within
the society? So that's how you come about designing
projects and so on. So in principle. when you
finish such a study you either be working at
the world bank or un yeah and our eu uh eu parliament
or commission so that is the the type of study
that i i did um but yeah i came back to the island
because i i know that i can use that skill set
also on the island awesome i think when when
we grew up is that or i grew up in an environment
that They were constantly telling me, like, hey,
you're going to be the change. You're going to
do things. And that basically was ingrained in
me. But who was telling you that? Was it your
parents, the community? It was. Well, I grew
up in a family where my grandmother is a schoolteacher.
And a very strict schoolteacher. Okay. So education
was always a strong component within my family.
A must. And I think if you talk to my cousins
these days, they would also tell you like it
also felt like a competition. Like who is the
ones that finished a master's study? My grandma
is not going to see this podcast, I hope. But
it's such... She's still alive? Yeah, she's still
alive. You got to send it to grandma, man. No.
But actually because... She had in her living
room pictures of all of us finishing high school
with our diploma. Picture of all of us that finished
bachelor with our diploma. So the next challenge
was you want to be on the picture with a master
diploma. So that was like psychological manipulation.
Grandma was gangster. Yeah, I guess those techniques
work. I talked to a cousin once and he was like,
yeah, we were always forced to compete on academics.
So how many of you guys did a master's then?
One, two, three, four, five. Five of the 13.
Oh, wow. I think we were. And then bachelors?
More. So I think that would be six or seven.
Okay. And now I wonder how many we are. But yeah,
I have cousins that finished TU Delft and Utrecht
University also. I have one that just finished
also in TU Delft. So we were always forced in
going the extra mile for education. And I'm very
thankful also about that because... Perhaps she
does not know or understand, but that is what
makes you more resilient and sustainable as a
human being. Because you have that always to
fall back on. So I think that is really, really
nice as a component. Let's clap it up for grandma.
Yeah. So actually, this is kind of perfect for
my next question. Because that's about mentors,
which mentors that you've had along your journey.
It seems that grandma, I'm not sure if it was
a close or just from a distant, I was knowing
in the back of your mind, like, hey, you got
to get that education. So, yeah. Can you describe
any of the mentors that you've had? So as growing
up, I'm sure my family was a great influence
on me. My grandma indeed was one of them, but
not because of the education, but everything
that she did around it. So they had a supermarket,
they had a restaurant, they were into business
and doing different activities. But wait, grandma
was a school teacher with a supermarket, with
a restaurant. Yeah, but she's married also, so
my grandpa is there. Okay, okay, yeah. And these
things happen. And my uncles had their own businesses.
My dad also had his own business. So I grew up
in that environment. Perhaps that was also ingrained
in us that we do not want to be working at the
government for the government. Okay. That you
need to become someone more independent and entrepreneurial.
Because that comes with it also. A lot of stress,
but also that. So it was ingrained in us also,
that component. But along my trajectory, I had
different mentors. Yes, I'm on. So I mentioned
that... As a teenager, I was a very party -goer
teenager. So I didn't do much other than party.
You enjoyed your teens. I enjoyed my teens. Thank
God I did back then. But a certain moment...
Because you know what they say, right? If you
didn't enjoy it in your teens and 20s, then you'll
be the old man trying to go to all the parties
right now. With the youngsters, yeah. With the
youngsters. You got it out of your system. I
got it out of my system. And now you can focus
on other things. So now I'm older, I can say
these things. So I used to party before I turned
18. Okay. So I think the first time I entered
back then CNR's Frogs was when I was 13. Right,
13. Damn. And I was going to say, I started partying
early too. At 14, I was entering the club. So
you beat me. Side note, I went for the first
time when I was 13 with a cousin of mine who's
older. And she actually left me behind. Oh my
God. Yeah, that's a side note. So what I was
going to say is that a certain moment, basically
I got... partying out of my system and I switched
as a human being. I became like a nerd, I would
say, a geek. I would dive into books and read
more. So for example, I would come out with mentors
such as professors that are at Harvard coming
up with new ideas. So it's true, like the books
and the research, like those became like sort
of distant mentors. I would follow up on everything
that Steve Jobs used to be doing. Oh yeah, me
too. I have his book and I read it almost often
when I need that inspiration. But I would follow
big tech and corporate people on what they're
doing. So when I was in college or doing my bachelor,
I was reading Harvard Business Review. I was
doing more of that component. So I think every...
Part of my life, I would have a different mentor.
Yeah. And right up till today, I realize now
that I have a mentor also. And it's on governance
level. She's an older lady. Yeah. So did you
come to that realization just as I asked the
question? No, I actually came about it yesterday.
Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And because I like mentors
that are strict on me. I do not like that you're
just talking cute with me. No, I want you to
teach me for me to become better. And for example,
there's like this whole thing going on on corporate
governance on the island, how to make institutions
work better and be more integer. And this lady
is a... legal person. And she knows and understands
this very well. And I love talking to her. Because
I have to do this for my job also. And I realize
the knowledge sharing that's happening and experience
sharing that's happening right now, I'm really
blessed to have this person. And I think for
everything that you go through, every moment
in your life, someone will appear. And if you
recognize it, yes or no, that's up to you, I
think. True. And if you want to grasp it, yes
or no, it's also up to you. It's also up to you.
So that's why for this person, I was like, yeah,
I'm going to grab you. She actually told me that
she's going to live in the Netherlands in a few
years. Okay. And I was like, okay, I need to
get as much as possible from you. But yeah, I
think... But then what's also interesting, because
it's something that I try to tell people often
enough, like... Your mentors don't always have
to be there with you physically. No. There's
always a extra dynamic that happens when they're
there with you physically. But you can also find
those mentors from books or from online presence,
etc. And having that mixture definitely helps
to develop you as a human. And especially because
we are small islands. Yeah. There's not a lot
of mentors. Yeah. Or the thinking is not that
advanced. And I think my strength and how I position
myself also is because I try to absorb as much
as possible from the international world what
is happening out there. Because then you localize
it here. But if you're not someone who's reading
or not viewing these things. You'll get stagnant.
Exactly. Your reality is different. And I think
that is the edge. It stays that or then it starts
to shrink. But if you constantly are out there
searching for new ideas, information. Just to
put it in perspective. Imagine if your vocabulary
was just 10 words. Compared to a thousand words.
Your reality is much bigger. If you have a thousand
word vocabulary. So for me that's it. Constantly
trying to read something. Learn something. Ask.
I also try to ask a lot. I love doing that. Awesome.
And also I like. So. I like. Trying to get experiences.
Out of older. Experienced people. I use it. channel
it also immediately to younger peers. So give
me an example, if you can. Yeah, of course. So
for example, now I have a colleague who asked
me basically, can you mentor me? I was like,
I don't do mentoring. I'm sorry. I don't know
how to start. But I use a lot of insights that
I get from older on how to run business and so
on because he has a business and he wants to
expand. So I channel that. into, okay, now I'm
providing you this advice. He doesn't know that
basically I use other people's wisdom in order
to do that. But yeah, I have this thing that
as much as if you share it, someone will use
it. Yeah. And it will be beneficial for someone.
Yeah. Awesome. So if we're going to jump back
in time one more time. And we're going to tap
into... I hope not too much because then I would
not remember. Well, we're going to tap back into
possibly the party version of Tyson. Ah, the
party version. Because the 18 -year -old you.
So if you look back now at the 18 -year -old
you, with all your experience, all of the knowledge,
all of the mentors that you've had, and your
current position and vision for the future, what
type of advice would you give 18 -year -old Tyson?
I would tell him, you partied enough. Thank God
you got that out of your system. So you started
at 13, 18, five -year run. It's good enough.
It's good enough. But as an advice, I would say,
yeah, just... Make sure you have your ambitions
strong because I think that is why I'm here today
in my position and also everything that I'm doing
is because I have a drive. Know your purpose.
We talked about purpose. I must say that that
changed also with that transition of 18. Before
that, I was like, yeah, I'm going to become a
consultant. I'm going to win a lot of money and
I'm going to drive this awesome Mercedes. And
I was like, yeah. And then afterwards, I was
like, huh, do I really need that? But I think
I would advise him just to stay put. Life is
tough. I always say like your life is just like
your heartbeat. It goes up, it goes down. It
goes up and it goes down. And for the down times,
make sure you try to pull yourself back up. Do
not dive into it. And for those up times, celebrate
them. Be thankful about them. But remember, there
will be a down time coming back up. So with that
also, for me, it's more to keep myself also in
check of not being too cocky about my results.
I'm very content and humble of what I do, but
also I want to do more. And I know I can't do
a lot without others. So I need others also to
be able to do more. And I think having a humble
position makes it more possible for you to continue
going. So let's circle back to 2025. And let's
look towards 2030. Is there any particular aspects
of what you guys are working on right now that
you can share? Yes, of course. I mean, the strategic
document is public. In that sense, I'm very transparent.
I have all financial statements and reports public
on our website. So the organization is going
to expand in the upcoming years. Because how
big is it today? So we have 57 employees. 57
employees. That's quite some employees. But then
in which areas? So we have different departments.
Most of them are rangers on a terrestrial level.
Okay. So what's the number like of rangers? I
think we have about 20, 22. Okay. 22. Oh, if
I add the Marine Ranger, also 23. Okay. So 57,
23. Yeah. So 24 now left. Yeah. So between that,
we have, I think, 10 sales ladies. And what are
they selling? So the entrance tickets, but in
the future, we will be doing a gift shop. Okay.
Yeah. So a concept store where I want to blend.
the concept the gifts of sort of merchandising
with uh educational component um so there's a
lot that is going to happen in the upcoming 10
years a lot is also dependent on funding so i
have to make sure that financially we are strong
enough to be able to carry out all our ideas
yeah so for example right now we only have um
adikok national park as the park component but
we want to develop at least two different parks
okay so um we want to develop one at bobali plus
uh where we will have like a boardwalk that you
can walk around for burgers to see migratory
birds and also native birds uh we have an area
because that's that's close by here right that's
close by to the high -rise hotels yeah so the
idea is also to have a proper visitor center
there and that the team would be then wetlands
because that's what it it originally is yeah
um and then there's another area also we want
to create our marine conservation center and
hopefully next year i'm gonna we're gonna do
a groundbreaking on that okay and the marine
conservation center is basically a place where
we will cultivate corals cultivate conch cultivate
different species seagrass restoration also different
species to be put back in nature in order to
restore biodiversity within the marine protected
area. What is the current situation like on the
marine biodiversity of Aruba? Yes. Actually,
Aruba is very new in conservation of nature.
So if you compare Aruba to, for example, Bonaire,
Bonaire started 50, 70 years ago. Wow. They were
the pioneers. Yeah. Aruba... since 2000 we have
the national park and it was in 2019 that we
created the marine protected areas of marine
park oh wow so it's very new so um so a lot was
damaged then a lot was damaged so we have different
research uh i talked also about it that in the
past uh 30 years like we lost maybe 80 of our
coral coverage and so we need to restore uh that
ecosystem in order for it to thrive and um that
work we need to do it on land in a in a conservation
stand so it would be like a lap where we do these
we grow them but the intention is also blended
with education so people would can go into the
lab and actually learn what is being done and
also contribute to restoring nature and the thing
is about restoring about nature conservation
Is that you're doing it for dual purposes. You're
doing it for nature itself. But you're also doing
it for mankind. For future generations. And also
for resources. For example. If I restore corals.
And the coral reef. You will get more fishes.
Yeah. You will get that. And then fishermen can
also be happy. the community can have healthier
uh food intake and for example on terrestrial
level it is known it is research that going on
a walk in nature reduces stress reduces anxiety
and i think those are components that we challenge
uh it's a challenge these days um as a as a small
community so it's a conserving nature has its
dual and even for example uh for tourism like
there's a lot of research out there also that
is conducted on our island and that tourists
come here for nature. I mean, they come here
for beach, right? So beach is nature. Beach creation
is a natural process. And that is also to make
sure that your economic viability of the tourism
industry will continue for decades. That is also
a strong component of the job. Yeah. Awesome.
Well, Mr. Tyson, I'd like to thank you very,
very much for being on our podcast. Are there
any closing words, advice that you would want
to give? youngsters coming up now also thinking
about perhaps uh entering a career within the
the nature conservation space yeah uh or or maybe
young arubians or or those from the other islands
that might be looking to uh expand their career
what what what advice would you uh um yeah i
mean one thing i can say and that that was also
applicable for me is not to lose hope I mean,
when I did my studies, it's hard if you go to
study. It's not easy. And it's not easy, but
you will get through it. Like there's always
another day. It can be easy today or it can be
difficult today, but you will be able to surpass
it. So my advice would be think about it. You
might encounter difficult moments, but it's just
a moment. It's not your life. So coming back
to what we were saying about the journey, you
have your wins and then those difficult moments
might feel like a loss, but in the bigger picture,
it's just a moment. And when you're studying
or whatever you're doing, if you're starting
a business, you might feel like, oh, this didn't
go well. It's the end of whatever I'm trying
to do. No, just continue. You need to have your
determination and your passion in place. Why
are you doing this? It has to make sure that
you wake up every day and be able to do it again
and again and again and again and again until
you succeed. Yeah. And it's not easy, but I think
you should try your best at it. And yeah, always
be hopeful that you will be able to do it. Awesome.
Thanks for this great advice. So before we close
off, we need to touch on the social media handles.
So where can they find you and the organization
that you represent so beautifully? Yeah, so my
Facebook is Tyson Lopez. Instagram also is Lopez
Tyson, actually. On LinkedIn, also you can contact
me on Tyson Lopez. The handles of our organization
is ACF, so Aruba Conservation Foundation on Facebook,
on Instagram, and also on LinkedIn. Like, share.
We have a lot of content that can be educational
on our socials. So dive into it if you have any
questions. Personally, you can just send me a
message through my inbox. But I'm sure that the
team at Aruba Conservation Foundation also is
very happy to assist you with whatever it is.
Awesome. Well, with that being said, thank you
very much for being here. No problem. And we
are signing out. please like comment and subscribe
but definitely leave some comments let us know
any questions that we might have missed out um
what were your thoughts on what was discussed
today and we'll see you in the next one thank
you for being here bless