Local environmentalists and specialists have warned against the proposed development of the Xtrata Nickel Falcondo project in the Loma de Miranda area on the grounds that it would be detrimental to agriculture and water supply. They point to widespread unrepaired damage to the environment caused by the same company’s exploitation of mining areas in nearby Bonao. In response, the government has requested a second opinion from UN experts.
United Nations Development Program (UNDP) representative Valerie Julliand said that five international experts have arrived to start the feasibility study for the exploitation of Loma de Miranda in La Vega province.
Their recommendations will be released in February, as reported in Listin Diario.
This is the second time that the government has sought the UN’s advice on similar projects. A previous UN study backed local expert recommendations that rejected the highly controversial installation of cement plant in a buffer zone of Los Haitises, another ecologically fragile area.
www.academiadecienciasrd.org/ARCHIVOS/BOLETIN%20LOMA%20MIRANDA/BOLETIN%20LOMA%20MIRANDA.pdf
www.xstratanickel.com