The director of the local Ministry of Environment officer in Valle Nuevo, Major Tito Montero Vicente, speculated that a recent forest fire first reported on Wednesday, 9 January 2019, in Constanza could have been originated by bonfires of Haitians that cross from Guayabal in Padre las Casas to illegal farming areas in the Juan Bautista Pérez Rancier National Park. The recent drought is creating conditions for these types of fires to spread rapidly. Residents in El Convento, adjacent to Valle Nuevo, have denounced the massive entry of undocumented Haitian farm hands for farm work in the area, despite a ban on farming issued under the offices of former Minister of Environment Francisco Dominguez Brito. The incumbent Environment Minister has been known to be accommodating of farming activities in protected areas, as evidenced by investigative journalism work by reporters from Listin Diario and Diario Libre, and environmentalists.
The president of the Asociación de Agricultores de Montellano in Valle Nuevo, Gabriel Duran Victoriano said that the ministry selectively authorizes farming in the area. He said while some farm operations have been banned as ordered by Resolution 14-2016 that authorizes the implementation of the Action Plan for the Rescue of Valle Nuevo, others have continued to farm in the area under the protection of the Ministry of Environment and there are large numbers of undocumented Haitian laborers in the area doing day work. Haitian farm hands interviewd by Listin Diario reporters say they are not leaving the area.
The observations by the Asociación de Agricultores de Montellano on the selective authorization of farming activities acknowledges the Dominican ownership of the farms. The daily press usually has only focused on the activities of the day laborers, who happen to reportedly be Haitian, ignoring the Dominican landowners who are undoubtedly directing and financing (and benefitting from) the farming activities.
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Listin Diario
Listin Diario
Listin Diario
Listin Diario
14 January 2019
