Environment Minister Francisco Dominguez Brito has declared that compensating landowners in the Valle Nuevo National Park is not on his immediate agenda. Lawyers for the landowners have said that his attitude is both arbitrary and a violation of the Constitution.
However, when consulted, lawyers recognize the limits that Dominican laws impose on property rights when faced with public interest issues.
Minister Domínguez Brito, himself a lawyer by profession, claims that the conservation of a protected area is a constitutional mandate that is not subject to payment. His pronouncement was made as the 120-day timescale for abandoning crops and cattle-ranching in the key water source area comes to an end on 29 January 2017. Farmers and cattle farmers living or working in Valle Nuevo have to leave as part of a rescue plan for the protected area.
Lawyers Manuel Fermín Cabral, Gilbert de la Cruz and Juan Manuel Guerrero, who represent the landowners seeking financial compensation, have said that the Constitution is clear in its article 51, which states: “every person has the right to enjoy and dispose of their assets. No person can be deprived of their property, unless for public utility of social interest, with prior payment of its fair value, determined by agreement between the parties, or the ruling of a competent court, conforming to what is laid down in the law”.
They insist that the state is obliged to compensate the owners before they leave and the only instances when payment is made afterwards are if the government declares a “state of emergency or defense”.
According to land specialist, lawyer Hector Alies, property rights do have limits as the original owner of all the land was the state that means that there could be a legitimate connotation that the state can impose public interest on privately-owned land. When it comes to Valle Nuevo, he said that public interest in the area is inherent in the law and those who bought there or live there cannot ignore it.
Ricardo García, the director of the National Botanical Gardens, stressed the importance of the protected area. As reported in Diario Libre, he said that 7 out of every 10 Dominicans depend on the Valle Nuevo water sources that are born in the park area. Furthermore, he stressed the importance of preserving the biodiversity that at present is endangered by the farming activities.
Read more in Spanish:
Diario Libre
Diario Libre
Guia Constanza
17 January 2017
