DR1 Daily News - Dominican Republic

Nelson Batista of the Santiago ecological society, Soeci, warns that senator Antonio Marte of the Santiago Rodriguez province is promoting the construction of a road to connect Santiago Rodriguez, with access to the new Manzanillo Port to San Juan de la Maguana.

Nelson Batista explains the road would go from Loma de Copey to Sabaneta de San Juan de la Maguana and is promoted by senator Antonio Marte. It would pass through protected areas. Batista says that persons in the know have been purchasing the lands adjacent to where the road would go.

San Juan de la Maguana is a traditional food-producing province where the Ministry of Mining and Ministry of Environment have been authorizing exploration permits. Exploitation permits for mining operations are pending.

The communities in the area alert of the major damages to their livelihoods the mining...