The Listin Diario’s Geraldino González reported last Thursday, 25 Jan. that the Department of Forestry and the “errant” company, Central Romana, had reached an agreement to replant the area affected by the levelling of 1.5 kilometers of mangroves at the mouth of the Rio Chavon. Colonel Julio Bienvenido Grullon, director of the Department Forestry, said that Central Romana has agreed to plant another 200,000 trees in designated areas such as Sabana Clara, Restauración, in the area around Hatillo, and at the Loma de Novillero in Villa Altagracia.
The agreement was reached after an evaluation of the damage caused by Central Romana. The Department of Forestry is prosecuting those responsible for the felling of the mangroves. Miss Geraldino reported that the cutting of the mangroves was carried out without authorization, to build a tourism project in the area, which includes a marina with a capacity for 150 yachts and a breakwater. The mangroves were felled despite a written prohibition to the contrary, in what is a protected area under Decree 309 of 31 December 1995.