DR1 Daily News - Dominican Republic

Environmentalists are raising concerns over the Dominican government’s recent tree-planting initiative along the border with Haiti, questioning the emphasis on non-native flamboyant trees (Delonix regia), Diario Libre reports. President Luis Abinader himself participated in planting these trees as part of the “Framboyanes por mi Patria” reforestation effort.

While the campaign mainly includes native species such as Creole mahogany, cedar, and pigeonwood, environmental activist Nelson Bautista criticized the promotion of the flamboyants, which were purchased from private nurseries by the Ministry of Defense rather than sourced from the Ministry of Environment’s nurseries.

In an interview with Diario Libre, Bautista stated: “Although only a small fraction of the thousands of trees planned for the border were flamboyants, putting the environment minister and the President at the...