NewsWhore
05-18-2009, 06:20 PM
The Ministry of Environment is confronting its first major credibility crisis following a decision by Environment Minister Jaime David Fernandez Mirabal, who has given the go-ahead for the construction of a cement factory three kilometers outside the perimeter of the Los Haitises National Park.
Fernandez Mirabal defended the decision on the grounds that it will be the first green certified cement factory in the country, bringing jobs to an impoverished area. While legal because it is not actually within the protected area, environmentalists say that even studies by Ministry experts found that the factory would have a negative effect on water sources within the protected area. The Ministry of Environment concession is for around 7,000 tareas (one tarea = 629m2) of limestone rock that will be used to produce Portland-type cement.
The cement plant was authorized to the Santiago based Grupo Estrella and its Consorcio Minero Dominicano.
Fernandez Mirabal has established a reputation as a law-abiding Minister, willing to take unpopular decisions to adhere to Environmental Law 64-00.
See www.accionverde.com (http://www.accionverde.com)
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#5)
Fernandez Mirabal defended the decision on the grounds that it will be the first green certified cement factory in the country, bringing jobs to an impoverished area. While legal because it is not actually within the protected area, environmentalists say that even studies by Ministry experts found that the factory would have a negative effect on water sources within the protected area. The Ministry of Environment concession is for around 7,000 tareas (one tarea = 629m2) of limestone rock that will be used to produce Portland-type cement.
The cement plant was authorized to the Santiago based Grupo Estrella and its Consorcio Minero Dominicano.
Fernandez Mirabal has established a reputation as a law-abiding Minister, willing to take unpopular decisions to adhere to Environmental Law 64-00.
See www.accionverde.com (http://www.accionverde.com)
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#5)