The claims of greater protection to the Natural Monument Dunes of the Calderas, also known as Dunes of Baní, have regained strength after new complaints of clearings in that protected area, which has been the scene of various crimes environmental for years.
“The Dunes is one of the few protected areas that has a little bit of all types of illicit environmental that you can see both inside the protected area and outside: deforestation, illegal agriculture, coal, sand extraction,” said the vice minister of Protected Areas of the Ministry of the Environment, Carlos Batista.
The official maintained that one of the threats That area faces are the agrarian settlements “mainly in Calderas 1 and 2. Part of that territory is located within the protected area.” According to the vice minister, agricultural activities caused the last clearance recorded in the monument.
“Apparently the action was carried out to expand agricultural land of a banana plantation, which is part of an agrarian settlement, which has an impact on the buffer zone and core,” he indicated.
The head of the Vice Ministry of Protected Areas He said that, fortunately, in the clearance no mechanical tools were used, the affected space may recover alone, under adequate monitoring. “If not we will have to lend a hand (through restoration),” he said.
Infrastructure and surveillance
In the middle of this year, the Ministry of the Environment, under the management of Miguel Ceara Hatton, reported on investments in infrastructure and updating the management plan of that protected area, in order to strengthen its conservation.
The authorities presented the works being developed for the guard of the protected area, which has an investment of more than 19 million pesos. The work includes the repair of the Visitor Center of the Monumentconstruction towers in El Platanal, Las Abejas de Calderas and Salinas.
In addition, the construction of inspection points (gatekeepers) in Los Tumbaos and San José, also a booth, bathrooms and railings. The head of the Environment said that these works are expected to be ready by June of this year.
Regarding this aspect, Batista indicated that they seek to expedite this infrastructurebecause the Ministry plans to hire about 10 park ranger additional for the guard of the protected area.
Meeting in Salinas
The vice minister reported that he held a meeting several days ago with the community of Salinas, a town with more than half of its territory within the protected area. “The meeting was to try to solve that problem,” he said.
Several residents have indicated that they have lived in that area for more than 30 years, prior to the declaration of the Monument Natural (1996) and the Sectoral Law of Protected Areas (2004).
Regarding the situation in Salinas, a source indicated to Free Diary which is analyzed individually, because in these cases of people who, presumably, have lived there since before the aforementioned law existed, what corresponds is not an eviction notification, but rather a relocationsince the activities of these people fall into the “uses traditional” of the protected areasa concept found in the Sectoral law.
The Ministry of the Environment also reported that it coordinates actions to prohibit the step of vehicles 4×4 of tourists to El Derrumbao beach, a practice not permitted by the authorities. “We will make preparations to place obstacles and a publication to prohibit the step (of these vehicles and that people continue on foot to the beach,” said Carlos Batista.
They ask for more “energetic” actions
The Natural Sciences and Environment Commission of the Academy of Sciences once again demanded from the authorities of the Ministry of the Environment greater protection against the continuous assaults that are carried out in the Dunes from Bani.
Through a statement, the Academy requests from the authorities “a performance more energetic, continuous and systematic, which improves protection preventive and effective of this dunes“, unique, singular and particular to the country, unparalleled in the Caribbean region”.
The entity reported that it has recently prepared and delivered the Plan of Management of the Monument Natural Dunes of Las Calderas, in collaboration with technicians from the Ministry of the Environment. “The aforementioned management plan proposes a set of solutions with which, if there is the vocation and will of the authorities for its application, the cyclical problems of pressure to which this important area is continually subjected could be immediately solved. protected,” he said.
