The Ministry of the Environment is considering modifying Resolution 0005-2017 aimed at protecting mountainous and water production areas throughout the country.
“That decision stagnates the real estate and tourism development of the municipality.” With with a convinced tone, Ricardo Quezada, director of Environment in the municipality of Constanza, in La Vega, had this to say during a telephone conversation with Diario Libre.
He explained that both the local community, and he himself, have raised their objections to the provision to the current Minister of the Environment, Orlando Jorge Mera, who, in turn, told him that the resolution is being studied in order to make modifications.
“Constanza’s community has met with the minister and deputy minister to see if that resolution is nullified. Even three weeks ago the minister had a meeting with us directors and, for my part, I told him about it. Constanza’s real estate development right now is stalled by that resolution.”
What did the minister say to him?
“The minister said they were studying it to assess a possible modification,” he replied.
Among other things, the resolution establishes the criteria of height, slope and occupation to obtain environmental clearance for “any housing project located in a mountain area and / or forestry area of interest for the production of water or mountain land in general.”
But the most upsetting part for the community of Constanza, in particular “the tourism sector” and “the Association for the Development of Constanza”, is article 15 that states: “No infrastructure or structure, including housing or lots, may be located at heights higher than 1,200 meters above sea level.”
“Here (in Constanza) on the plains, we are at 1,200, this means we cannot build in the mountains,” said the environmental representative who insists that the resolution speaks of 1,300 meters above sea level.
He also regretted that any real estate project submitted to the Ministry for consideration is rejected because of the current provision.
When asked about the areas of the municipality that are impacted by the limitation, he indicated all the mountains because even the slopes of those slopes are above 1,300 meters.
“That’s the crux of the matter, because if it were a specific part because you want to preserve a specific thing, a natural resource, ok, we would understand. But it’s everything, everything. And I don’t really know what criterion this resolution was based on, because the only thing I see in that decision stagnates the real estate and tourism development of the municipality,” he emphasized.
Francisco Domínguez Brito, Minister of the Environment when the resolution was issued in January 2017, explained that at that time they considered the need to protect the water sources that were already affected, in addition to the fact that those mountains should be taken care of because it is where the rivers are born.
Domínguez Brito recalled that the Constanza municipality is already urbanized and does not enter into the spirit of the resolution but questions the intentions for human intervention to extend further up into the hills, in areas that are pure forest.
“It would be very bad, because all water sources would be destroyed,” he warns.
“It is a very delicate and very serious issue, any development can be done below that level, because they are the areas where water is produced the most. The rivers are already drying up, people do not have the sensitivity, but, and then, what is going to happen?” questioned the former official who sees any modification that is made to the aforementioned resolution as a setback in the protection of environmental resources.
Furthermore, the director of Environment in Constanza is clear that modifying the limits will have an impact on the areas that he wanted to protect, but he sees it as the most advisable for the development of his municipality.
Source:
Diario Libre
