Minister of Environment Miguel Ceara Hatton has said that the power barge in process of being installed in Azua is outside of the nature protected area. Yet an investigation by Diario Libre shows it would be located just 100 meters away.
Marvin Cid of Diario Libre is following up on the case of the Karadeniz Holding power barge that would be installed in a coastal area of Azua adjacent to the Refugio de Vida Silvestre Manglares de Puerto Viejo. The installation has the opposition of environmentalists and the Azua population in general.
The newspaper says it had requested the precise chosen location for the barge but has not received this from the Ministry of Environment. To determine the site, the journalist used the information provided by lawyer Angel Lockward who is acting in defense of the Turkish company’s interests.
The overlapping image shows that the barges are approximately 100 meters from the protected area, 300 meters from Los Negros beach, and 500 meters from the nearest mangrove swamp, as reported in Diario Libre.
The Puerto Viejo Mangroves Wildlife Refuge is a brackish wetland ecosystem and a reef lagoon with extensive growth of different varieties of mangroves that make it an important habitat for wildlife. The mangroves serve as nurseries for fish and other marine organisms. The lagoon is frequented by flamingos, pelicans, and other birds. It is common to find rhinoceros iguanas and other amphibians. In the reef lagoon there are different types of coral and sea turtles and manatees are reported.
Diario Libre reports that Presidential Decree 571-09 issued by then President Leonel Fernandez and still in effect, establishes a buffer zone or sustainable use zone of 300 meters around all conservation units that have the generic categories of the World Conservation Union ranging from I to IV, to ensure the integrity and/or restoration of the resources and values that are kept under protection in them.
Diario Libre reports that the buffer zone of the Puerto Viejo Mangroves Wildlife Refuge is clearly defined in the official map that can be consulted at the Ministry of the Environment’s maps, contrary to what was expressed last week by power barge lawyer Ángel Lockward, who assured, in a press conference, that this protected area did not have a buffer zone.
Environmentalist Eleuterio Martinez has said that the barge should be installed in a safe area, and not where it is exposed to the brunt of hurricanes and storms. He recommends the installation in Calderas or Puerto Viejo.
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Diario Libre
2 November 2022