NewsWhore
07-22-2009, 03:00 PM
Writing in today's Clave Digital, environmental columnist Roberto Sanchez comments on the professional track record of Colombia's former environment minister, Juan Mayr Maldonado. He points out that Mayr Maldonado was denounced during his term by indigenous groups from Alto Sinu and the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta for allegedly maneuvering in favor of the installation of the Urra Hydroelectric and Petrolera Oxidental, against the interests of the country's indigenous communities and natural heritage.
On the local front, Sanchez expressed concerns about reports that when Mayr Maldonado first visited the DR as the head of the UN assessment commission that is studying the government's granting of a permit for the construction of a cement plant on the outskirts of the Los Haitises National Park, he did not make contact with any of the groups that oppose the installation of the cement plant.
Sanchez points out that Mayr was reported to have flown over the area in a helicopter belonging of the owners of the cement plant and to have met with Ministry of Environment officials. Minister of Environment Jaime David Fernandez has been a vocal defender of the installation of the cement plant on the site.
Sanchez states that the opinion to be expressed by Mayr Maldonado is just the opinion of a UN expert, and should not be decisive for national authorities in this case.
Sanchez reminds his readers that the opposition to the project is because it is located so near the Los Haitises National Park, and that the area should be managed as it is, a buffer zone of the same hydro-geological unit and one of the most important karst zones in the world.
He said that many are opposed to the plant because the karst zone is one of the main sources of potable water for the DR, supplying water and serving as a reservoir for the areas of Santo Domingo, Monte Plata, Hato Mayor and San Pedro de Macoris. Ministry of Environment studies show it is the country's second largest water source.
He added that much of the opposition has come about because activities that can drastically affect the landscape, topography, source of drinking water, flora and fauna and the ecosystems should not be permitted in this buffer zone of an International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Category II protected area. He also warns that this area used to be part of the National Park.
Furthermore, he criticizes the fact that the families that lived in the area were evicted, their crops destroyed, and they were promised housing and farmlands, which have never materialized. He says that the UN team should look into this social aspect. "When inquiring you will be able to learn about the abuse that these families have been subject to for years after being violently evicted from the area in 1991, from the same area that is now graciously being ceded."
He says that the lands being granted to the Dominican Mining Consortium in such "spurious terms" are part of the land that could help solve the social pressure on the Los Haitises National Park and would be a way of serving justice for thousands of affected families.
Finally, he comments that the entire Dominican protected area system could suffer if the UN recommends the installation of the cement plant and the mining exploitation of the buffer zone. "Automatically, the floodgates for other similar projects on the outskirts of this park and other protected areas of the country would be opened," he writes. He says new promoters would gain the right to request similar concessions.
See www.clavedigital.com/App_Pages/opinion/Firmas.aspx?Id_Articulo=... (http://www.clavedigital.com/App_Pages/opinion/Firmas.aspx?Id_Articulo=15244&Id_ClassArticulista=71)
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#4)
On the local front, Sanchez expressed concerns about reports that when Mayr Maldonado first visited the DR as the head of the UN assessment commission that is studying the government's granting of a permit for the construction of a cement plant on the outskirts of the Los Haitises National Park, he did not make contact with any of the groups that oppose the installation of the cement plant.
Sanchez points out that Mayr was reported to have flown over the area in a helicopter belonging of the owners of the cement plant and to have met with Ministry of Environment officials. Minister of Environment Jaime David Fernandez has been a vocal defender of the installation of the cement plant on the site.
Sanchez states that the opinion to be expressed by Mayr Maldonado is just the opinion of a UN expert, and should not be decisive for national authorities in this case.
Sanchez reminds his readers that the opposition to the project is because it is located so near the Los Haitises National Park, and that the area should be managed as it is, a buffer zone of the same hydro-geological unit and one of the most important karst zones in the world.
He said that many are opposed to the plant because the karst zone is one of the main sources of potable water for the DR, supplying water and serving as a reservoir for the areas of Santo Domingo, Monte Plata, Hato Mayor and San Pedro de Macoris. Ministry of Environment studies show it is the country's second largest water source.
He added that much of the opposition has come about because activities that can drastically affect the landscape, topography, source of drinking water, flora and fauna and the ecosystems should not be permitted in this buffer zone of an International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Category II protected area. He also warns that this area used to be part of the National Park.
Furthermore, he criticizes the fact that the families that lived in the area were evicted, their crops destroyed, and they were promised housing and farmlands, which have never materialized. He says that the UN team should look into this social aspect. "When inquiring you will be able to learn about the abuse that these families have been subject to for years after being violently evicted from the area in 1991, from the same area that is now graciously being ceded."
He says that the lands being granted to the Dominican Mining Consortium in such "spurious terms" are part of the land that could help solve the social pressure on the Los Haitises National Park and would be a way of serving justice for thousands of affected families.
Finally, he comments that the entire Dominican protected area system could suffer if the UN recommends the installation of the cement plant and the mining exploitation of the buffer zone. "Automatically, the floodgates for other similar projects on the outskirts of this park and other protected areas of the country would be opened," he writes. He says new promoters would gain the right to request similar concessions.
See www.clavedigital.com/App_Pages/opinion/Firmas.aspx?Id_Articulo=... (http://www.clavedigital.com/App_Pages/opinion/Firmas.aspx?Id_Articulo=15244&Id_ClassArticulista=71)
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#4)