A UNDP report published this morning, Thursday 23 May, concurs with Dominican environmentalists that long time ago said the exploitation of the Loma Miranda in La Vega would do more harm than good. After local environmentalists expressed their opposition to the project, the Medina government chose to ask the UNDP to issue an opinion after reviewing the available documentation.
This is the second time that the UNDP issues a no for a mining project. Its first “no” was to the cement plant that would have been built in the Los Haitises area, also known as a reservoir for water in the country.
UNDP representative Valerie Julliand said that the UNDP does not discard mining in the Dominican Republic, indicating that there are places where mining has been carried out sustainably, but that it is a decision the Dominican government needs to make.
UNDP representative Valerie Julliand said that the study revealed that the project does not respond to the country’s environmental and social requirements. The UNDP said that the environmental impact study by the mining company was “superficial and insufficient” on the impact of water pollution and the reduction of water flows from Loma Miranda. Julliand said that for instance, in the study Xstrata Falcondo said that there were only four springs in the area, while the UNDP counted more than 40 springs.
Yesterday, Wednesday 22 May, 20 senators from the PLD and the PRSC signed a document proposing that the area should be declared a National Park instead. Last week the Bishop of La Vega, Monsignor Antonio Camilo warned that mining in the area was unacceptable because of the serious environmental damage it would cause.