The oh-so-argued bill to establish new (and lesser) protected-area demarcations within the Dominican National Park system has been returned to Congress by President Mejia for a third time. This time, the President is requesting some more changes be made on the so-called ?recreation area? in the Cabo Rojo-Bahia de las Aguilas (Bay of Eagles) zone in the Southwest section of the country. According to the report in Hoy, Mejia is requesting that Congress approve the legislation that carries a reduction of 3.6 square kilometers in the recreational area contained in the Bahia de la Aguilas National Park. The idea is to include Playa Blanca within the limits of the park recreational area. According to Senator Celeste Gomez Martinez (PRD-Santiago Rodriguez), the new proposals have already been discussed and approved by the Commission on Natural Resources. The senator said she felt that the bill on protected areas would be approved in the shortest possible time.
Luis Carvajal, spokesman for the Academy of Sciences, denounced that fraud and speculation is what is behind the proposal to convert Bahia de las Aguilas into a recreational area. He explained, as reported in Diario Libre, that politicians and real estate vendors have secured for pennies titles to land that had been banned for development given its protected area status to resale these for millions. He said that Bahia de las Aguilas could have resale values for US$3 to US$4 billion.
The protected area bill has met with the opposition of most tourism, environmental organizations in the country and abroad, in addition to foreign missions.
Katia Adames, director of the Tourism Office of Pedernales, highlighted that tourism development, environment and community need to go hand in hand. ?With mass tourism, all the natural wealth of the area will be destroyed, and the community will be impoverished,? she stressed.