The Minister of Environment, Bautista Rojas Gomez, visited Las Terrenas and Portillo in Samana on Tuesday 19 February to check that local tourism projects are complying with environmental regulations.
He also visited Balcones del Atlantico in Las Terrenas and Suenos del Atlantico in Portillo, both Constructora Bisono projects. Suenos del Atlantico has yet to be begun.
The minister spoke to the project promoters and residents to ensure that the fragile ecosystems in the area were not being affected.
A large part of the Samana province is classified as a fragile area due to the large area of wetlands that play an important part of the ecosystem, as a refuge for nesting birds and other fauna. They also function as reservoirs for rainwater for human consumption and a filter for solid waste brought in by the current in the Atlantic Ocean. Rojas Gomez was accompanied by Deputy Ministers Manuel Serrano from Forestry Resources and Daneris Santana from Protected Areas and Biodiversity, as well as Nurys Castro, Assistant to the Deputy Minister of Coastal and Marine Resources.
www.elnacional.com.do/nacional/2013/2/19/151456/Medio-Ambiente-supervisa-proyectos-turistico-en-Samana-para-garantizar