Embattled national park is the country’s top water source: scientist
Santo Domingo.- Nearly all tributaries of the Yaque del Norte,Yaque del Sur, Yuna and Nizao rivers are born in Valle Nuevo National Park, in Constanza,in central La Vega province.
Moreover, their waters supply the dams Jigüey-Aguacate,Valdesia, Sabana Yegua, Sabaneta, Rincon and Hatillo, which in turn feed theaqueducts of Santo Domingo, San Cristóbal, Baní, San Juan, Del Southwest, SanFrancisco, Salcedo, Villa Tapia, Tenares, Santiago, Moca, Navarrete, Esperanzaand Montecristi.
"From the hydrological standpoint,practically all major and most medium hydrological infrastructure works are linkedto Valle Nuevo’s key role as a key supplier of water," said Santo Domingo StateUniversity (UASD) Environment Commission coordinator Luis Carvajal. "Thereare very few hydraulic structures in the country that don’t depend on ValleNuevo."
He said Valle Nuevo’s water not only suppliesseven million Dominicans, it also irrigates thousands of hectares of farmlandsacross the country.
"Valle Nuevo provides water to all ofthe Dominican Republic’s important agricultural valleys: Cibao Oriental, CibaoOccidental, Cibao Central, Valle San de Juan, the Plena de Azua…, allagricultural production in Ocoa, Montecristi And Barahona," Carvajal said.
He called the National Park a center which produceswater for agriculture, regulates currents and stabilizes the microclimate."It’s a place where biodiversity is concentrated and dispersed andendangered native and endemic species are sheltered."