Fundación Acción Verde has gone public again with its criticism to the plant nurseries project that the Ministry of Environment has announced supposedly to benefit 350 farmers that have been evicted from farming in the Parque Nacional Valle Nuevo in La Vega province high mountains. The environmental protection non-profit says that the protected area does not have enough surveillance and farming has continued, despite a ruling to desist in order to protect the water sources in the area.
An original census carried out under the previous Minister of Environment Francisco Dominguez Brito determined there were 255 farmers of which 51 families were relocated to Villa Poppy, but now the Ministry of Environment under Minister Angel Estevez has increased the number to 350.
The foundation says that among those that would stand to gain are irregular owners of an ecotourism property in the area and flower and strawberry producers. He said these instead should be compensating the state.
He said the Ministry of Environment has allowed that those with influence continue to carry out intensive farming in areas within the National Park area, especially in the El Convento area. He said that in the south area of the park, in communities such as La Nuez, Las Espinas, Loma del Chivo and others the farmers have not met with any restrictions to plant as they wish, violating the resolutions to desist issued during the Dominguez Brito administration at the Ministry. The farmers have ignored a court ordered that also called for desisting in farming.
The foundation says that the Ministry of Environment only mans two access control points that are far from the farming areas and instead has abandoned those that are near the farming areas, with patrols down to a minimum.
The foundation says that the argument of Environment Minister Angel Estevez that he is “acting in defense of the poor farmers”, is an excuse for not executing the Valle Nuevo rescue plan so that the farmers with influence can continue to source their water for the crops in the protected area.
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Hoy
6 February 2019
