Dire warnings from the Cibao Ecological Society (SOECI) are reporting that 80% of the rivers and streams in the Cibao Valley are dry at this time. They say the deforestation is the main contributing factor to this very serious problem.
Luis Polanco, the executive director, attributes mining operations, slash and burn farming and housing projects for much of the damage. He mentioned a sector of the small village of Tamboril where a part of the forest was cut down to put up shacks. The area’s main water source, the Licey River is currently dry as a bone. He said that the shortsightedness of Environment Minister Angel Estevez keeps provincial offices short-handed and handicapped.
The months-long drought has very seriously affected the nation’s forests and watercourses, causing water rationing in many places.
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El Caribe
25 February 2019