Ecologists requested that Tourism Minister Felix (Felucho) Jimenez explain the projects that he would like the government to develop in the Bahia de las Aguilas area. Mario Bonetti of the Academy of Sciences, ecologist Ivonne Arias, and Luis Carvajal of the environmental commission of the the state university (UASD) said that the handling of the Bahia de las Aguilas area, which is located in the Jaragua National Park corresponds to the Ministry of Environment, not to the Ministry of Tourism.
The three members of the Coalition for the Protection of Protected Areas expressed their concern for the type of hotel development the Ministry of Tourism is currently endorsing for the Bahia de las Aguials area.
Meanwhile, Minister Jimenez was interviewed in Washington, DC, where he said he would have a special team from the Ministry of Environment on hand to develop the area without compromising its fauna and flora.
The official traveled to the US to participate in a forum on politics and tourism. Before leaving, he told El Caribe that he would meet with the InterAmerican Development Bank to secure economic support for the development of a touristic project that encompasses Bahia de las Aguilas, Pedernales and the Haitian town of Anse-a-Pitre, although the lattermost area would be responsibility of Haiti’s tourism officials.
Jimenez has said that seven hotel chains are interested in Bahia de las Aguilas. He said financing for the project would come from the IDB and the European Investment Bank and that it would have the technical support of the World Tourism Organization.
Bonetti of the Academy of Sciences said that the way in which local hotels have been developed to date has not helped the nation overcome poverty. He highlighted the fact that the Academy of Sciences has prepared a project for the touristic exploitation of Bahia de las Aguilas that protects the ecosystem but allows its development from the nearby area of Cabo Rojo in Pedernales.
As reported in El Caribe, Ivonne Arias of the Grupo Jaragua said that the Ministry of Tourism is not a competent entity to promote hotel development in the Bahia de las Aguilas area without the approval of the Environment Ministry. “Bahia de las Aguilas cannot withstand any kind of direct construction because of its fragility,” she said.
Meanwhile, Tourism Minister Felix Jimenez ensured that “Bahia de las Aguilas is a privileged zone for ecotourism. He said it is fundamental that the economic plans designed to overcome poverty be taken into account.
El Caribe reports that in his first term as tourism minister from 1996-2000, Jimenez promoted the touristic development of Bahia de las Aguilas to potential French investors. The plans at that time included the construction of hotels in Cabo Rojo, cabanas, a golf course and an airport, as well as a coconut plantation some 300 meters from the beach. The project did not get off the ground.