- Thread starter Jasper
- Start date
cabo samana expropriated
i just wanted to let you know about a situation that is taking place in samana, dom rep. there are two majestic peninsulas there: cabo samana and cabo cabron. both are basically uninhabited. land is owned by local dominicans with land titles - people who have been waiting decades to sell their land to foreign investors so that they can climb out of poverty. now the government is declaring that they will expropriate all the land and make a national park, paying the titleholders a small sum, though nothing close to market value. sounds altuistic enough. however we know from experience that the government will thereafter change the law and sell the land to hotel chains, pocketing huge commissions for themselves. they have been doing it for decades in the country. here is a news clip with some of the legal landlowners:
YouTube - El Informe: Campesinos y Medio Ambiente se enfrentan en Saman? por tierras - Part 1
YouTube - El Informe: Campesinos y Medio Ambiente se enfrentan en Saman? por tierras - Part 1
Everything is possible
Some more info:
Cabo Cabron was created protected area, Cat. 2 in the first law of protected areas in 2000 or 1996, its territory was reduced in the new law of protected areas ley 202-04 in 2004 to one third, one of the few if not only protected area (PA) which has been reduced. rumors say the land which was released of the protected area was bought by high ranking politicians. At Cabo Cabron lots of land is burned for agriculture.
PA Cabo Samana was created in the new law 202-04, Cat. 3 = Monument natural, the cape is protected as a monument. In many areas in this PA beside and behind the cape there is farming and cattle, so not much left from the original vegetation. The cape itself is less touched, but more and more deforestation there as well.
In the law are four reference points given for the limits of the PA, the line between the points was longtime unclear and finaly set begin this year.
A Management plan to explain the conditions of use and measures was promised for last month.
In the same time land owners are threatened by various people to sell their land, otherwise they would be expropriated.
The constitution says property has to be respected, the SCJ has ruled in a case in Parque de l'Este that people or companies can own land in PA but the use is limited to the regulations of Medio ambiente.
This would be also valid for the teritories of high ranking militairs who had bought big pieces of land IN the PA some years ago.
According to the law the owners could not be forced to sell and the DR can not expropriate regular land owners with a regular title.
But there is a lot of potential for tourism investment in the area and there are people who want to profit.
to my knowledge the DR has never bought land in a PA, and if than not to protect it.
There are rumors that the size of the PA Cabo Samana could be reduced to the limits of the real cape.
Everything is possible in this country. And Samana is hot.
to my knowledge the DR has never bought land in a PA to protect it.
Some more info:
Cabo Cabron was created protected area, Cat. 2 in the first law of protected areas in 2000 or 1996, its territory was reduced in the new law of protected areas ley 202-04 in 2004 to one third, one of the few if not only protected area (PA) which has been reduced. rumors say the land which was released of the protected area was bought by high ranking politicians. At Cabo Cabron lots of land is burned for agriculture.
PA Cabo Samana was created in the new law 202-04, Cat. 3 = Monument natural, the cape is protected as a monument. In many areas in this PA beside and behind the cape there is farming and cattle, so not much left from the original vegetation. The cape itself is less touched, but more and more deforestation there as well.
In the law are four reference points given for the limits of the PA, the line between the points was longtime unclear and finaly set begin this year.
A Management plan to explain the conditions of use and measures was promised for last month.
In the same time land owners are threatened by various people to sell their land, otherwise they would be expropriated.
The constitution says property has to be respected, the SCJ has ruled in a case in Parque de l'Este that people or companies can own land in PA but the use is limited to the regulations of Medio ambiente.
This would be also valid for the teritories of high ranking militairs who had bought big pieces of land IN the PA some years ago.
According to the law the owners could not be forced to sell and the DR can not expropriate regular land owners with a regular title.
But there is a lot of potential for tourism investment in the area and there are people who want to profit.
to my knowledge the DR has never bought land in a PA, and if than not to protect it.
There are rumors that the size of the PA Cabo Samana could be reduced to the limits of the real cape.
Everything is possible in this country. And Samana is hot.
to my knowledge the DR has never bought land in a PA to protect it.