The presidents dominicans since the dictatorship of Raphael L. Trujillo have created 30 parks national which cover an area of 12,944.02 square kilometers, which means that 26.72% of the entire national territory is a protected area under this category.
Until 2009, Joaquin Balaguer He held the record of being the president who most parks established (9).
In that year, the president Leonel Fernandez signed decree 571-09, with which he instituted 11 parks nationaltaking the trophy from the reformist leader.
But Balaguer still surpasses them all in terms of the area of land covered, since its parks They comprise an area of 4,863.77, the largest being Los Haitises, with 1,600 square kilometers.
It follows Savior Jorge Whitewho created four, including the largest national park in the country, the Sierra de Bahoruco, with 2,400 square kilometers.
Balaguer created six parks in his last two years of Government, between 1994 and 1996, and the rest corresponds to his first 12 years.
They are, in addition to Los Haitises, Lake Enriquillo and Isla Cabritos, Cotubanamá, Nalga de Maco, Sierra de Neiba, Valley NewLa Humeadora Mountain, Sierra Martín García and Cabo Cabrón.
In the list of Leonel Fernandez are the parks national: Anacaona, Aniana Vargas, Baiguate, Francisco Alberto Caamaño, La Gran Sabana, La Hispaniola, Luis Quin, Máximo Gómez, Picky Lora (Ámina), Punta Espada and Saltos de la Jalda.
Fernandez also created, in 2011, the Park National Manolo Tavárez Justo, but the decree was annulled by the Constitutional Court in 2018 as a result of a legal fight with residents in that area.
Jorge White He also established those of Morro, Jaragua and Estero Balsa Mangroves.
Raphael Trujillo created the first two parks national of the country: the Armando Bermúdez, in 1956, and the José María del Carmen, in 1958.
Hippolytus Mejia The Ozama Wetlands and Bajo Yuna Mangroves were noted.
Finally, Luis Abinader was registered on the list of presidents creators of parks national with Loma Los Siete Picos and Hoyo del Pino. These two add up to an area of 250.28 square kilometers.
Cordillera Central
The Cordillera Central houses 12 of these ecological reserves, in the final part of the Cordillera North is the Morro and in the Cordillera East are the Saltos de la Jalda.
The Haitises and the Mangroves of Bajo Yuna are located in the Bay of Samaná and Cabo Cabrón is on the peninsula of the same name.
In the Sierra de Yamasá there is the Aniana Vargas and the Loma los Siete Picos.
The southern region comprises 13 parks nationalthe north has 9 and the east has 6. Valley New It extends through part of the northern and southern regions, while Loma los Siete Picos is divided between the east and the south.
The goal
The parks national They protect ecosystems that house endemic species of flora and fauna and the sources of the most important rivers in the country from human activity.
In the Law Sectorial of Protected Areas of the year 2004, the 17 parks that existed until now. Then, the president Fernandez added 11 by decree and Abinader added 2 that are not contemplated in the law.
There the objective of these zones was specified: “to protect the ecological integrity of one or more ecosystems with or without forest cover for the benefit of present and future generations.” This means excluding intensive exploitation and occupation and providing the basis for creating leisure opportunities.
Some had already been previously separated under categories that protected them before becoming parks national. For example, Valley New It was declared a “prohibited area” with Law 5579 of 1961 and in 1983 it became a “scientific reserve” with Decree 1315.
