Firstly, the article is totally misleading and secondly the report from ju10prd is far from correct also ...I wish he knew more about this subject . let us start from the beginning . Cisneros and his team had many many public meetings with the people of Miches and did NOT press them on any issue ..in fact the town was 100% behind this project . Then the Cisneros family had many negotiations with the Government and said they would only proceed if the main road was made into a decent road . at present the road from Bavaro or from Higuey to Miches has been finished and for the first time the people of Miches are not trapped when bad weather come. From Miches to Sabana de la mar the road is far from finished but ,again, when it is the people of Sabana de la mar will be able to have a good road because the road to Hato Mayor is horrible,especially in bad weather . The entire cultural and development programme for the town of Miches is funded by the Cisneros family not for profit company and this year they had a special event ..I am a girl and I am important . The town of Miches has the majority of its streets now paved, thanks to the agreement between the Fundacion Tropicalia and is nothing like what is shown in the film.
You cannot see anything of the project from the road and building projects are running behind the plans and there is very little there . However the environmental work is quite astonishing.. areas that have been almost destroyed by silt have been cleaned up , the two lagoons have been cleaned up and many thousands of plants have been planted . Fishing along the coast has again become viable .. Cisneros does NOT own most of the best beaches and the town is not about to lose their super beach. That is completely false information .In fact there are some glorious beaches closer to Miches but they need maintenance ..
The really important point is that is a project that is a model for all projects that may take place in the environmental sensitive areas between Barahona and the Haitian border .. If only the DR had more people like Cisneros .. I take my hat off to him .
Kipling before you get too agitated for nothing, do you have a project development plan to share with DR1 reader so we can indeed understand the extent of the land obtained by the Cisneros group and how many of the wonderful beaches are being included in the development frontage. That will put that concern to bed, other wise we must glean from what we read and see posted on the web.
Secondly you mention that the environmental work is quite astonishing. I take it you refer to cleaning of the existing lagoons (Laguna Redonda and Laguna Limon) which are recognized wetlands in the RD and get positive write ups in Lonely Planet and the like. Why is it amazing? Does it look clean without the silt....how was that removed...and other wetland flora and fauna? For me wetlands are super sensitive eco systems and deserve the maximum study and most sensitive of development if any as a very last cause. Most jurisdictions in the Caribbean have Wetland Laws and they are protected from development even if they look bad. Again a plan of the development compared to the existing topography would help us understand what is happening to the Lagunas.
Next, tell us why the video was misleading. Poverty and poor infrastructure didn't exist? There is a longer version of the video too.
I work with developers and know full well that their marketing and PR departments are the smooth end of the operation and one must read between the lines. The hope for me would be that the local community gets something really tangible and long term out of it and that the environment has not been compromised. Time will tell.
If indeed everything is so very well handled then great. If the rawness and natural beauty of the area in a few years is lost, it is your loss. I am glad I visited before development took place. I have been lucky to see some lovely places before developers cam in and changed it all.