Under decree 233-96 President Joaqu\u00edn Balaguer has ordered the creation of new ecological protected areas, taking into consideration recommendations from the Union Mundial para la Naturaleza (UICN). Several of the areas are in tourist zones and will now be off-limits to for construction of hotels and vacation housing in order to preserve their natural beauty for the enjoyment of the majority. The decree establishes the creation of national parks in Cabo Cabr\u00f3n, in Samana, and for the Lago Enriquillo, two areas now showing increased tourism development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
President Balaguer also decreed the creation of the Monumento Natural Bahia de las Calderas in order to protect the ecosystem in the dunes of Las Salinas, the largest sand dunes in the Antilles. The decree establishes that the Base Naval de las Calderas and the town of Las Salinas and the vacation homes sited there are to be considered part of the support infrastructure as long as they do not affect the ecosystem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Other Natural Monuments created by the decree are the Bahia de Luperon in Puerto Plata and the Cascada del Limon, a waterfall to the north of the Samana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Under the same decree, the President created the Reserva Antropol\u00f3gica de las Cuevas de las Maravillas in Boca de Soco, 15 kilometers along the Carretera San Pedro de Macor\u00eds, on the way to La Romana. He also extended the area of the Reserva Antropol\u00f3gica Cuevas de Borb\u00f3n in San Cristobal. This extension was made to regulate local mining company operations that may affect the bats and the caves where hundreds of valuable Indian pictographs are found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Laguna Rinc\u00f3n in the East was designated a Refugio de Fauna Silvestre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Several “v\u00edas panor\u00e1micas”, or avenues known for their scenic beauty, were established including the Mirador del Norte, which goes from Laguna Gr\u00ed Gr\u00ed in R\u00edo San Juan through Cabo Franc\u00e9s Viejo on the North Coast, the V\u00eda Panor\u00e1mica de los R\u00edos Comate and Comatillo in Bayaguana, the V\u00eda Panor\u00e1mica Mirador del Para\u00edso in Barahona, the V\u00eda Panor\u00e1mica Costa Azul in the province of La Altagracia, the V\u00eda Panor\u00e1mica del R\u00edo Mao, V\u00eda Panor\u00e1mica R\u00edo Bao in the area of the Parque Nacional J. Armando Berm\u00fadez and the Taveras-Bao dam. Also V\u00eda Panor\u00e1mica Mirador del Valle de La Vega Real from the Valle de Bonao through to the Autopista Duarte bridge over the R\u00edo Pont\u00f3n.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
El Puerto-Guaigui, Playa de Andres, Boca Chica, and the Cayo Levantado, Samana were designated Areas Nacionales de Recreo.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Under decree 233-96 President Joaqu\u00edn Balaguer has ordered the creation of new ecological protected areas, taking into consideration recommendations from the Union Mundial para la Naturaleza (UICN). Several of the areas are in tourist zones and will now be off-limits to for construction of hotels and vacation housing in order to preserve their natural beauty … <\/p>\n