NewsWhore
05-23-2007, 02:30 PM
The downing of trees along Santo Domingo avenues and in some parks for replacement with adult palm trees is meeting with opposition from city residents. One of the main criticisms is that the municipality has forgotten about pedestrians and is building a hostile environment for people who cannot travel in an air-conditioned vehicle.
Writing in Clave Digital, agronomist Roberto Sanchez says that the downing of trees in Duarte Park in the Colonial City detonated an outrage. Sanchez says that the Santo Domingo Municipality's "Plan Santo Domingo Verde" promotes the planting of diverse endemic species. But he criticizes the fact that so far, the city government is giving priority to replacing shade-bearing trees with mature palm trees. "That is technically incorrect because they are promoting a single plant that will seriously affect the environmental balance, increases the costs and the palm trees have little shade effect. Adult trees are the most costly trees for planting, meaning that these projects end up costing millions.
He says that the money would have been better invested in creating new green areas, requiring that new residential areas comply with the requirement for a park area. He criticizes the fact that the removal and planting has been carried out in the upscale areas of Santo Domingo, with very little being done in the low-income barrios where most of the population lives.
Furthermore, ecologist Amparo Chantada writes in Hoy newspaper saying that the Municipality's decision to replace the shade-bearing trees with palm trees will have a negative impact on the city of Santo Domingo. "With this new whim, the mayor is responsible for the loss of tree cover in the city, and that will create more islands of heat, which will increase the city's average temperature and will make it unbearable for the pedestrian. She points out that the mayor has decided to replace the acacias, mahogany trees and laurels with palms, "gri-gris" and "cana", giving a Miami look to Santo Domingo, a city where large flows of people need to criss-cross the city to get from their dwellings to work areas.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#11)
Writing in Clave Digital, agronomist Roberto Sanchez says that the downing of trees in Duarte Park in the Colonial City detonated an outrage. Sanchez says that the Santo Domingo Municipality's "Plan Santo Domingo Verde" promotes the planting of diverse endemic species. But he criticizes the fact that so far, the city government is giving priority to replacing shade-bearing trees with mature palm trees. "That is technically incorrect because they are promoting a single plant that will seriously affect the environmental balance, increases the costs and the palm trees have little shade effect. Adult trees are the most costly trees for planting, meaning that these projects end up costing millions.
He says that the money would have been better invested in creating new green areas, requiring that new residential areas comply with the requirement for a park area. He criticizes the fact that the removal and planting has been carried out in the upscale areas of Santo Domingo, with very little being done in the low-income barrios where most of the population lives.
Furthermore, ecologist Amparo Chantada writes in Hoy newspaper saying that the Municipality's decision to replace the shade-bearing trees with palm trees will have a negative impact on the city of Santo Domingo. "With this new whim, the mayor is responsible for the loss of tree cover in the city, and that will create more islands of heat, which will increase the city's average temperature and will make it unbearable for the pedestrian. She points out that the mayor has decided to replace the acacias, mahogany trees and laurels with palms, "gri-gris" and "cana", giving a Miami look to Santo Domingo, a city where large flows of people need to criss-cross the city to get from their dwellings to work areas.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#11)