Minister of the Environment and Natural Resources Dr. Bautista Rojas Gomez has announced the immediate start of a reforestation program to plant around 12 million trees in approximately174,900 tareas throughout the country, at a cost of RD$260 million.
He said that the initiative forms part of the project outlined by the President to increase the country’s forest cover to around 39% within four years. The project, which will start in the Yuna, Yaque del Sur, Norte, Nizao, Artibonito, Masacre, Las Cuevas, Boba and Mao river basins, will create 4,220 new jobs in these rural areas.
He said that the plan was to reduce riverbank erosion and the decline in water quality and quantity, which are some of the effects of deforestation.
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