After media pressure, the echelons at the Ministry of Environment have taken actions to assuage concerns and put a stop to violations to the Environment Law 64-00 and Protected Areas Sectoral Law 202-04, much criticized in the media.
The Ministry of the Environment arrested hundreds of persons, mostly from Haiti, who were scratching out a living in the Los Haitises protected area, a national park. Dozens and dozens of small, subsistence plots of basic foods such as yucca, corn, and squash were also razed.
While this might seem cruel, the reality is that the area commonly called Los Haitises is a critical natural resource and eco-system. It is the source of hundreds of rivers and streams that provide water to nearly half of the population of the Dominican Republic. It must be preserved. Several Dominicans were also arrested and sent to the Specialized Prosecutor for the Defense of Natural Resources for processing through the judiciary.
Among the items seized in the operation were two boats and their outboard motors that were used for illegal fishing in Samana Bay, as well as over a dozen farm animals. All of these are prohibited in the park. A plethora of government military, police and environmental agents took part in the operation. Staff from the Ministry of Agriculture and the National Council for Children (Conani) were involved.
Concurrently, the Ministry of Environment acted to stop violations to Environment Law 64-00 and Sectoral Protected Area Law 202-04 in the Baní Dunes in Peravia province.
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Acento
El Caribe
Ministry of Environment
Ministry of Environment
Ministry of Environment
6 May 2024