Environment denies lack of response to highlands devastation, plans action

Constanza, Dominican Republic.- Several organizations on Wednesdaypledged adherence to the measures by the authorities to reverse the deterioratedenvironment of the Central Mountains, the source of the country’s majorrivers, and blamed on the failure to enforceEnvironment Law 64-00.

The concern was presented during a meeting in the localParish organized by the Environment Ministry, with numerous representatives fromgovernment agencies and community groups as part of establishing a plan to manageConstanza’s natural resources, to be ready by the end of June.

Soil and Water deputy minister José Alarcon said theauthorities seek to establish an orderly access to the natural resources, tohalt desertification and threats to biodiversity.

For his part, Environment Ministry technician Aquino Suero listedthe measures taken after repeated complaints of destroyed water resources inthe zone, and denied that the authorities had failed to deal with the problems.

The also technician Pedro Arias laid out the timetable toformulate the plan approved by the representatives, who agreed starting nextweek to tour critical areas such as Los Bermudez, Cruz de Cuaba, El Tetero, LaCotorra, El Paragua, El Castillo, and the river basins of Tireo, Las Palmas, LaCulata, Cafe, and Sonador, among other areas devastated by deforestation and contamination.