Residents, environment the keys to clean up Santo Domingo´s rivers

Santo Domingo.- Presidencychief of staff Gustavo Montalvo on Wednesday toured the Ozama and Isabelarivers, leading to the project Strategic Sustainable Management Plan, approvedby president Danilo Medina earlier this month.

"The fullrecovery of these river basins will be one of this administration´s mosttransformative environmental initiatives and I say transformative because theenvironment isn’t a low priority, or an ornament. It´s the base of our people´shealth, the growth of our economy and our country progress," the officialsaid.

Montalvo said theplan aims to dignify the lives of the area´s inhabitants, facilitating thecreation of quality jobs. "Firstly, industries must immediately start treatingtheir waste, as well as planting and cleanup of the rivers banks. But we´realready working with the creek bed at Arrozal in La Cienaga."