The Bishop of La Vega, Monsignor Antonio Camilo Gonzalez has gone public to express his disproval of the proposed mining of Loma Miranda in La Vega. He said that the decision would be lethal to the area. He said the area is within the second most important environmental corridor in the country, with its forests and extensive water sources. He said the forests are key to the production of water nationwide as they generate changes in the wind and rain direction feeding the Rincon Dam. The bishop said the dam supplies water to the cities of San Francisco de Macoris, Salcedo and others in the Cibao. He said that the effects would be felt from La Vega to Nagua and Bonao to Samana, where the Yuna and Camu tributaries are located and have their source in Loma Miranda. The bishop was speaking at the San Isidro Labrador parish in Maimon on the occasion of Farmers’ Day, today, Wednesday 15 May. Twenty priests from Bonao, La Vega, Cotui, Piedra Blanca and other Cibao communities attended the event.
Camilo Gonzalez said that the Academy of Sciences of the Dominican Republic has already assessed the area and established that it should be declared a national park to protect its forests, water sources and promote sustainable farming and ecotourism.
www.elcaribe.com.do/2013/05/15/obispo-califica-como-explotacion-loma-miranda