The Supreme Court of Justice has rejected a bid to declare the Sectorial Protected Areas Law unconstitutional. The Supreme Court considered that the law (no. 202-04 dated 30 July 2004) is in keeping with the Constitution and international treaties. The bill that enables the construction of hotels and tourism facilities in previously protected fragile environmental areas was opposed by environmental organizations, as well as by tourism industry leaders, including the former president of the Caribbean Hotel Association, Simon Suarez. Also in opposition is the previous Environment minister, Frank Moya Pons, and his successor, Max Puig. Likewise, attorney general Francisco Dominguez Brito expressed his opposition to the law, which was signed by former President Hipolito Mejia.
The court instead ruled that the law establishes “an acceptable balance” between human development and environmental protection. As reported in El Caribe, in its arguments for rejecting the attempt to have the law revoked, the Supreme Court says that the law establishes that 20% of national territory is reserved for protected areas, compared to China with only 6.2%, France with 11.7%, Peru with 2.7% and Mexico with 2.4%. It also argues that the law does not violate the Rio Summit agreements, or the UNESCO convention.
Commenting on the Supreme Court decision, environmentalist Adolfo Lopez says that 2% of China is equal to 192,000 kms compared to 8,000 in the DR; and that only 300 kms of Dominican coastline is now protected.
Adolfo Lopez says that there is no doubt that at least two Constitutional principles were violated in the approval of the law.
Lopez concludes that political and economic patronage has triumphed in the most scandalous way possible, at the cost of our most precious assets: the Dominican Republic’s nature and culture.
“While the defenders of nature and tourism in our country are mourning, many speculators will now be rubbing their hands with glee: the ban on developing protected areas has been lifted,” he writes.
Lopez laments that as from now anything goes, and that companies such as Globalia (which owns Air Europa) can now build their hotels in the middle of a national park. But he says he has not lost heart, warning that companies like these will still have to face those that have the power of reason, knowledge and love for their country.