President Leonel Fernández appointed Rear Admiral Cesar Batista Valdespina as executive director of the newly created Instituto Nacional de Recursos Forestales, the organization that unites government entities related to Dominican forests. At the time of the appointment he was general director of the Forestry Department. Rear Admiral Batista is a naval sciences graduate, with specialty in production management and management of river basins. He has a master in public administration and is a graduate of the War College of the US.
