The Science and Art Foundation maintains that the province of San Cristóbal, despite being one of the most dynamic in the country due to the diversity of its economy, lacks an updated strategic plan that guides its authorities, institutions, companies and inhabitants in the way of taking advantage of its resources and productive forces.
Economists Jacqueline Boin and José A. Serulle Ramia, president and founding president of the organization, say that it is necessary to meet the needs of the population and to correct the marked social inequalities that exist in that province.
“It is a province whose capital, for example, is expanding to the detriment of rural areas, outside of territorial planning, with economic activity growing in defiance of planning, in which tourism has quickly exceeded its carrying capacity due to a lack of standards in the behaviour of visitors and hosts,” they say.
They point out that scenic roads, ecotourism routes, and typical villages that should be considered as potential ecotourism products, “are left to their own devices.”
Doctors Boin and Serulle Ramia, the Science and Art Foundation, Inc., in its 35 years of existence, has investigated the situation of various regions of the country and based on the diagnoses made, has defined the strategic guidelines that, in its opinion, should govern Dominican social life in the provinces.
They highlight the dynamism of the province of San Cristóbal from the point of view of the size and diversity of its economy, which includes industrial, agricultural, mining, port and construction activities, the number of jobs they generate, from the perspective of the population that moves around it, the water resources that allow it to be home to the two largest dams in the country and the variety of ecosystems that its vast territory houses: coasts and beaches, valleys and plains, mountains of the Central mountain range.
“These areas are an attraction for domestic tourists who come to the beaches and spas offered by the rivers and waterfalls in the mountainous areas. It is a province rich in historical and cultural heritage, which tells some of the most important pages of Dominican history,” they say.
However, they claim that the environment and the beautiful natural surroundings of the province of San Cristóbal “are deteriorating rapidly due to the lack of adequate collection of solid waste and effective protection of biodiversity and the environment.”
On many occasions – they continue – we have observed that the particular interests of a company are favoured by higher authorities, regardless of current legislation.
“The division within the population and the low level of organization of the population do not allow for adequate and organized mobilization in defense of their interests. Likewise, little importance is given to the protection of the historical and cultural heritage of the Province of San Cristóbal,” they added.
Jacqueline Boin and Ambassador José A. Serulle Ramia point out, in this regard, that education must be oriented to respond to the development priorities of the province, “with a global vision of the country, the region and the world, but emphasizing the particular resources of the area, which are called to be exploited in a rational manner, responding to scientific criteria and the needs and desires of the population.”
Meetings with representatives of the province announced
The directors of the Science and Art Foundation announce the holding of a symposium on the reality and perspective of integral development of the province of San Cristóbal to be held from March 21 to 22 of next year, at the regional center of the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD) in the main municipality, with the participation of provincial authorities and representatives of all social, political and productive sectors, so that all together they contribute to the search for solutions to the problems of that demarcation.
They said the same will be done in Los Cacaos, called the 5th Meeting of Mountain Populations, on the occasion of the first centenary of the founding of that community.
This activity is scheduled from Tuesday, June 24 of next year to Sunday, June 29 of the same month.
They also announced the celebration of the 30th edition of the Ecotourism Fair to be held in the municipality of Villa Altagracia, San Cristóbal province, El Valle region, from Thursday, November 20, 2025 to Sunday, November 30 of the same month.
