Senator Antonio Marte (PRM-Santiago Rodríguez) is calling for the Ministry of Environment to act now and close 32 sawmills that operate in the area of Monción in the Central Mountain Range.
For years, environmentalists have criticized the operation of the sawmills. These were installed to supposedly dispose of damaged trees, but with time have become big business with large modern installations operated by the persons with influence in the past administration. Marte says the sawmills are a business that thrives by depredating the forests.
Marte said that Environment Minister Orlando Jorge Mera needs to “take the bull by the horns” and confront the situation now. He is preparing a visit of senators to tour the affected areas. He has accused his predecessor, former Santiago Rodriguez senator Antonio Cruz of being one of the leading sawmill entrepreneurs in the country. In the first half of this year the media had carried reports by environmentalists of major irregular log transporting operations. The Ministry of Environment under Angel Estevez ignored the documented environmental reports.
Read more in Spanish:
El Caribe
El Nuevo Diario
8 September 2020