Geologist Osiris de Leon criticized that San Jose de Ocoa farmers have chosen not to comply with instructions to desist from farming in the Parque Nacional Valle Nuevo protected area. Most farmers had been evicted after an order given by former Minister of Environment Francisco Domínguez Brito. Nevertheless, with the appointment of former Agriculture Minister Angel Estevez to lead the Ministry of Environment, it seems there has been a reversal in policy from the Ministry.
Environmentalists complain that the new minister is acting as a farmer himself and recently met with the San Jose de Ocoa farmers who are not abiding by the Ministry’s edict and encouraged them to plant avocado trees in the area. Large plantings of avocado trees are known to deplete to the water supply. The former Minister of Environment had evicted the farmers on grounds that farming was affecting the important mountain source of water for the country.
“These farms are located near the source of the waters for the Nizao River, the Las Cuevas River and the Rio Grande, tributaries that are fundamental for the preservation of the water volumes that are needed in the southern slope of the country,” De León stated. This area does not have the rainfall as the north has because the trade winds when they hit the northern slope of the Central mountain range discharge all the rain in the strip between Villa Altagracia and Bonao, he explained.
He called on both the producers and the ministries of Agriculture and Environment to act to evict all the farmers within the boundaries of Valle Nuevo as soon as possible.
“If you have to take two more months until the land is located for developing their projects, perfect, but they have to understand that it is a protected area and everyone has to obey the law,” he stated.
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Diario Libre
9 July 2018
