San José de las Matas, Dominican Republic.- Representatives of various entities on Wed. asked the Government to declare La Sierra region (central) in a state of environmental emergency around San José de las Matas, due to the pine beetle blight, forest fires and illegal lumbering.
They said that thousands of different types of trees of have been cut down by the entities which deal with the pine beetle and forest fires, but they are doing more harm than good.
“The population growth, the pressure on available forest resources, livestock, poor planning and the lack of environmental impact studies have contributed significantly to this destruction process,” warned the local priest Carlos Goris.