Ex-official: Dominicans hire the Haitians who destroy protected areas

Santo Domingo.- Ruling party (PLD) presidential candidate Francisco Domínguez Brito said Dominicans must be prevented from hiring Haitians who continue to destroy the protected areas of Los Haitises, Valle Nuevo and Sierra de Baoruco.

The former Environment Minister said those protected areas must be totally controlled.

He said there were around 3,000 Haitians in Valle Nuevo hired by producers and the same in Baoruco, “the issue of Haitian day laborers is very much linked to that.”

Dominguez said seven out of 10 Dominicans benefit from Valle Nuevo’s waters, as well as species that face extinction.

“Valle Nuevo is fundamental for the environmental sustainability of the Dominican Republic. Valle Nuevo has to be the holy grail completely controlled, unrelated to production.”

Interviewed Wed. on El Día, Channel 11, Domínguez said measures must be taken to prevent the depredation of the forests.

“If we destroy our forests and our protected areas, here there will be serious difficulties, I advocate a total control over the protected areas, the least agriculture, the slightest intervention of the human being unless it is for the maintenance, a protected area like Los Haitises deserve a legal discussion at this moment, because there are points with small populations that have to be removed.