NewsWhore
06-20-2007, 02:50 PM
According to an expert from the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), Ricardo Sanchez, the Dominican state should preserve the boundaries of the 1972 laws that first established the protected areas. According to Sanchez, the protected areas are a treasure that should be preserved with all possible force so that future generations can enjoy their water, bio-diversity, scenery and culture. Sanchez pointed out that the Dominican Republic is an exceptional country because it is one of only four countries in all Latin American where the forest cover is actually increasing. The other three are Uruguay, Costa Rica and Cuba. The UN representative was also emphatic in pointing out that this is all the more dramatic because the Dominican Republic has one of the highest population densities in Latin America as well as having Haiti, a country with one of the planet's highest levels of environmental degradation as its neighbor. This makes the preservation of the Dominican eco-system all the more urgent, according to Hoy newspaper. The UN expert emphasized the possibilities of an ever-increasing eco-tourism boom in the Dominican Republic, if the country's protected areas are maintained or expanded.
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