SANTO DOMINGO - The Natural Sciences Commission of the Academy of Sciences of the Dominican Republic (ACRD) warned that the damage to the route due to the construction work of the wall on the border will be irreparable.
The scientific institution announced its proposal for the protection of wetlands, mangroves and areas affected by the construction project, located on the Dominican-Haitian border.
They explain that the wall on the border with Haiti is being built ignoring environmental regulations, especially in the Montecristi section, putting the Saladilla Lagoon at risk and in danger.
“When intervening in a very sensitive organ of nature, such as ecosystems, the rule is to do no harm, and in the case of La Laguna Saladilla, a Wildlife Refuge, Category IV of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the impact of the construction of the wall, what really costs, is the removal of the fill, that is to say, the remediation,” says a statement from the organization.
They add that the greatest damage is not even to the Wildlife Refuge, but to the National System of Protected Areas (SINAP), by creating a "fatal and totally ominous precedent", which leaves the Natural Heritage of all Dominicans defenseless or fragilely vulnerable, represented in the 128 units of the Protected Universe under a legal regime that starts from articles 15 and 16 of the Constitution of the Republic.
The press release states that, although the construction of the wall lends itself to many interpretations and assessments, none of them justify disregarding laws 64-00 on the Environment and 202-04 on Protected Areas, nor could they ever contravene the fact that protected areas are national assets, invulnerable, imprescriptible and unseizable.
“This human team of brilliant minds, specialized in the various fields of science and knowledge, is always willing to collaborate, advise, and serve the Dominican State and its various departments, as mandated by the Organic Statute, the essence and Constitution of the Academy of Natural Sciences,” they stated in the document released yesterday.
