Environmentalists protest the Abinader government will allow the destruction of an important mountain and river resource in the southwest in exchange for investment in the Port of Barahona’s expansion and modernization. Engineer Rafael Matos Feliz of the state university UASD environmental office in Barahona says the US firm Belfond Enterprise that exploits non-metallic minerals from Loma Las Filipinas is causing damage to the environment, as reported in Listin Diario. Matos Feliz said that mining company is affecting the mountain area of “Los Checheses”, where there are various micro-watersheds from where the rivers La Ciénaga, Bahoruco, Brazo Seco and El Infierno are born. He said the water sources in El Derrumbao, a little beyond San Rafael, are also affected.
UASD environmentalist Luis Carvajal warned the government last week of serious ecological damage to life and water in that province if the exploitation of limestone in the Las Filipinas hill by the Belfond Enterprise mining company is not stopped.
The experts ask President Luis Abinader to cancel the contract with this company, which has been granted a 75-year concession for the exploitation of calcium carbonate (limestone) due to the serious environmental damages it is causing to the environment.
They argue there is an urgent need to protect the area because of its location in the eastern Baoruco natural reserve buffer zone.
Carvajal says if the government does not stop the company’s exploitation, more than 15 rivers and streams that originate in the area and supply more than 50 communities will be exhausted.
Read more in Spanish:
Listin Diario
Hoy
7 February 2021