The Guzmán family, owners of around 140,000 tareas (1 tarea = 629 square meters) of land in the protected area of Valle Nuevo, has issued a video in which they confirm they hold title to the land and highlight their conservation work in the area. José Delio Guzmán appears in the video and confirms he has sent communications to Environment Minister Francisco Dominguez Brito but has received no reply.
The family shows the title deeds to the property dated 1956, that is before the area was declared to be protected in 1961, in response to the statement by Domínguez Brito that he doubted titles existed. Guzman stated that 99.9% of their land was being used for important conservation projects with only a tiny amount being used for agriculture. Guzmán asked the Minister to stop talking at his family through the media and urged that the Ministry and Guzman family work together towards the conservation of the park.
He went on to say that there were two projects waiting for approval from the Ministry — building a nursery for reforestation using private funds and a business plan for the Valle Nuevo National park that offers an alternative to agriculture.
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El Caribe
31 January 2017
