The Army has destroyed 264 charcoal ovens near the border city of Jimani. This is part of the Green Lightning Operation of the Ministry of Armed Forces and the Ministry of Environment. Jimani had become a charcoal producing center for domestic consumption, but primarily for export to Haiti. The Minister of Environment Frank Moya Pons warned that the depredation of Dominican forests to produce charcoal would affect the food and water supply. In April of this year, 157 ovens were destroyed. The government recently authorized the sale of propane gas to Haiti at domestic market prices which are lower than those in effect in Haiti.
