NewsWhore
04-21-2006, 04:10 PM
When the Ministry of Tourism-backed project for the construction of eco-lodges in Bahia de las Aguilas, a protected area in the southwestern province of Pedernales, was first announced last month during the President Fernandez' visit to France, the President gave the promoters several weeks to present a formal project. After listening to the presentation yesterday, President Leonel Fernandez again suggested that the French promoters (Mogador/Argos) of the construction of hotels in the Bahia de las Aguilas protected area present a more finished project this time through the corresponding government channels - Ministry of Environment.
Speaking at Pontificia Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestra (PUCMM) in Santo Domingo, President Fernandez addressed a group of government officials, conservationists, lawmakers and community leaders from Pedernales province who had gathered to listen to the presentation and debate the wisdom of building hotels in the UNESCO biosphere reserve.
Architect Francois Fontes, of the French group Argos, gave an overview lasting approximately 15 minutes about the company's plans for the area, but did not present any formal environmental studies or technical details. He said that the investment would be US$100 million, and not US$600 million as had been announced previously. The Presidency of the Republic had highlighted the US$600 million investment as one of the achievements of the President's trip to France.
The promoters said that to carry out the project they would need the government to grant them use of the land in order for them to secure international financing. Fontes said that they planned to lease rather than purchase the land. They also requested tax exemption benefits in order to build what they are calling the first 60-room eco-lodge that could be ready by 2007 and two more during 2008 and 2009.
Fontes stressed that in other countries' biosphere reserves, there are hotels in operation.
Short presentations by Ivonne Arias from the Coalition for the Defense of Protected Areas, and Luis Carvajal from the Academy of Sciences followed. The environmentalists maintain that Environmental Law 64-00 bans the construction of infrastructure in the protected areas other than those that facilitate its access and use by the general public and that the Ministry of Environment is entrusted with the approvals to build in the area. They suggested that hotel construction needed to be carried out outside the protected area, on the beaches that are closer to population areas.
The Coalition emphasized that studies carried out by the Academy of Sciences, the Dominican Environmental Consortium (CAD), the World Tourism Organization, UNESCO, the Cluster of Pedernales and the state university UASD all discourage hotel construction in the area.
As reported in Hoy, Tourism Minister Felix Jimenez explained that in his role as Minister of Tourism, he had hired the architect to carry out the land use plans for Pedernales and Bayahibe, and that these had been funded with private monies and government funds.
Jimenez said during the conclusion of the event that the presentation by the French architect would be followed up with a more formal study that would be presented in the next few months.
Link To Original Article (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#1)
Speaking at Pontificia Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestra (PUCMM) in Santo Domingo, President Fernandez addressed a group of government officials, conservationists, lawmakers and community leaders from Pedernales province who had gathered to listen to the presentation and debate the wisdom of building hotels in the UNESCO biosphere reserve.
Architect Francois Fontes, of the French group Argos, gave an overview lasting approximately 15 minutes about the company's plans for the area, but did not present any formal environmental studies or technical details. He said that the investment would be US$100 million, and not US$600 million as had been announced previously. The Presidency of the Republic had highlighted the US$600 million investment as one of the achievements of the President's trip to France.
The promoters said that to carry out the project they would need the government to grant them use of the land in order for them to secure international financing. Fontes said that they planned to lease rather than purchase the land. They also requested tax exemption benefits in order to build what they are calling the first 60-room eco-lodge that could be ready by 2007 and two more during 2008 and 2009.
Fontes stressed that in other countries' biosphere reserves, there are hotels in operation.
Short presentations by Ivonne Arias from the Coalition for the Defense of Protected Areas, and Luis Carvajal from the Academy of Sciences followed. The environmentalists maintain that Environmental Law 64-00 bans the construction of infrastructure in the protected areas other than those that facilitate its access and use by the general public and that the Ministry of Environment is entrusted with the approvals to build in the area. They suggested that hotel construction needed to be carried out outside the protected area, on the beaches that are closer to population areas.
The Coalition emphasized that studies carried out by the Academy of Sciences, the Dominican Environmental Consortium (CAD), the World Tourism Organization, UNESCO, the Cluster of Pedernales and the state university UASD all discourage hotel construction in the area.
As reported in Hoy, Tourism Minister Felix Jimenez explained that in his role as Minister of Tourism, he had hired the architect to carry out the land use plans for Pedernales and Bayahibe, and that these had been funded with private monies and government funds.
Jimenez said during the conclusion of the event that the presentation by the French architect would be followed up with a more formal study that would be presented in the next few months.
Link To Original Article (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#1)