The Academy of Sciences of the Dominican Republic and the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo described as disastrous Constitutional Court Ruling 0905-18 that annuls the Manolo Tavárez Justo National Park that had been created by Decree 371-11.
Luis Scheker Ortiz, president of the Academy of Sciences, when reading the document, said that the revoking of the protected area status by the Constitutional Court threatens water sources in the provinces of Montecristi, Dajabón, Santiago Rodríguez, Valverde and the municipality of San José de La Mata, in Santiago de los Caballeros. He criticized that the ruling favors the business interests of a scant few over the collective good of the populations that live in the northwest.
He complained that the Constitutional Court did not consult the technical experts, many of whom are members of the Academy of Sciences. He praised the dissenting opinion by Judge Katia Miguelina Jiménez.
“This sentence constitutes a nefarious precedent against the System of Protected Areas of the Dominican Republic, when it removes protection from the water sources that feed the Monción Dam, supply the aqueducts, irrigation systems, surface runoffs and aquifers that guarantee life, the economy and the very existence of the northwestern region,” stated Scheker.
The Academy of Sciences recognized that the rulings of the Constitutional Court are not subject to appeal, so the next recourse is to file a petition in international courts.
He explained that Decree 371-11 was issued in June 2011 creating the National Park covering an area of 351 square kilometers and honoring the memory of Manolo Tavárez Justo to conserve some of the best-cared forests that the island has, where water sources flow and that host great biological wealth.
Scheker explained that economically influential sectors have been lobbying for the decree to be repealed or derogated by the constitutional route to exploit the area through mining and logging thousands of trees. He criticized the Ministry of Environment had issued Environmental Permit 0228-03 of 2018 that authorizes the exploration of gold, silver, zinc, copper and associated minerals in communities of provinces located in the core zone of that National Park, despite its protected status at the time.
Carvajal mentioned that the mining interests in the area are those of Unigold and others that have received environmental permits that were granted after the decree creating the protected area was issued, and thus were issued illegally.
Environmentalists considered that the Constitutional Court based its ruling on false considerations, without making an in situ investigation. The Constitutional Court argued that 40 communities could lose their right to property when the reality is that there are no such community settlements, not even a human conglomerate with more than 10 or 15 houses in any part of the protected area, something that satellite technology can verify and show the reality of the facts.
Speaking on “La Cuestion” radio program on La Super 7, Luis Carvajal of the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD), said that the northwestern area is extremely vulnerable to drought and flooding, and thus the protection of the water sources and not actions to affect these are essential.
Carvajal said that the Ministry of Environment has issued permits for the installation of six sawmills, including one owned by the senator of Santiago Rodríguez province. Carvajal said this saw mill is the most modern in the Caribbean. The owner of the saw mill, Senator Antonio Cruz Torres says that he is milling disease-infected pine trees. Carvajal says the saw mills have contracted to log in the dense forests in government-owned lands.
Carvajal criticized that the Constitutional Court justified their decision to revoke the protected area status on the argument that a consensus had not been reached and it was necessary to accommodate the private interests in the area. He said this was an “evil” ruling that could become a precedent to dismantle other protected areas. He suggested the argument violates the Constitution.
In her dissident opinion, Constitutional Court judge Katia Miguelina Jimenez demonstrated that no one had private lands in the protected area, and that all the lands were public lands. The judge proved that those who say they own land need to be investigated to determine how they got titles to government protected land.
Carvajal points out that there are similarities to the Bahia de las Aguilas case that took over 20 years to be resolved.
Carvajal recognizes that the decisions of the Constitutional Court are irrevocable. But he says the Executive Branch could still order the cartography be updated and thus later issue a new decree protecting the area. Legislators could become aware of the threat to the water of their constituents and issuing new legislation. Carvajal said environmental groups would recur to the international covenants for environmental protection.
Carvajal said that in the meantime, they are encouraging the communities to defend their area and its water sources by exercising pressure on the government to reverse its complicity with private interests that threaten their livelihood.
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5 June 2019