The president of the Association of Industries of Herrera and the Province of Santo Domingo (AEIH), Victor Castro, is calling for the government to devise coherent mining policies that are adapted to the reality that this is an island made up of fragile ecosystems with already large environmental liabilities. Castro said that there needed to be master guidelines, agreed upon with society, before the start of operation of the Ministry of Energy and Mines. He said that universal mining parameters, such as those applied in continental countries cannot apply to the Dominican Republic because it is an island and because of its environmentally devastated neighbor. He said that mining grew 151% of GDP last year. “Is this the way to go? This needs to be defined,” said Castro.
He said that a clear mining development framework, based on legality, environmental responsibility and social legitimacy would make any debates on the Loma Miranda case unnecessary.
“This cannot wait any longer because when one sees the concessions and exploration permits one can see a large part of the national geography is being compromised and that is dangerous without a mining development strategy,” said the AEIH president.
He said that the stability of rules of the game, certainty that investors require and for attracting capital for mining would be more viable if they rested on a coherent public policy that prevented delays in taking decisions and the surprises caused by circumstances, as reported in El Nuevo Diario. He said this would manage the environmental excesses on one hand and overprotection by environmentalists on the other. “We cannot conform to just attracting mining investment to create jobs and generate foreign exchange. The vision needs to be broader, thinking of future generations,” said Castro.
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