The ecological crime is defined as the result of those actions of natural or legal persons that affect the environment in a general sense.
In the Dominican Republic, the most recent crimes against ecosystems have been the cases of Loma Novillero Forest Reservelocated in Villa Altagracia, San Cristóbal province, and the fires in the New Valley National Parkin La Vega and which covers other demarcations of the country, in clear violation of Law 64-00 on the Environment and Natural Resources.
hill novillero
In 2020, Loma Novillero had to be intervened by the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources, due to the levels of deforestation in that protected area bordering Yamasá. Dozens of trees were cut down, actions for which high military commanders and businessmen were pointed out as the alleged perpetrators.
The environmental authorities, directed at that time by the late minister Orlando Jorge Mera, built a detachment in the place to keep an eye on the area.
new valley
In other cases, the fire that lasted for more than 10 days in Valle Nuevo forced the authorities to close the place to the public, it was also caused by criminal hands. But this event was added after other fires in Bahoruco. For both incidents, the director of the National Environmental Protection ServiceHe (Senpa), captain of the ship René Rodríguez, revealed that 27 people have been arrested and would be prosecuted.
However, attacks against the environment are becoming more common in the Dominican Republic. In recent years, thousands of people have been arrested in the same number of operations carried out by the Senpa, an entity empowered to apprehend those who violate the provisions of the law.
This is because 98% of accidents are caused by human hands for different purposes, including conuquismo. But in addition, many people have been arrested for illegally operating backhoes to extract materials from rivers.
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Different sectors, including environmental ones, have complained about how “weak” are the sanctions presented in article 183 of the Law 64-00. And that in many cases the consequences of environmental crimes do not exceed the imposition of fines of 500 pesos.
This Monday, the Minister of the Environment, Miguel Ceara Hatton, recalled that this entity will not allow agricultural work to be carried out in protected areas. And he assured that, although he does not want fires, the institution is prepared with some 300 forest firefighters to deal with any accident that could occur in these months, which is the time of the year with the highest incidence of fires.
The Loma Novillero Forest Reserve is of vital importance for the water resource, which feeds river basins such as the Haina, Isabela and Ozama. In addition, this area borders on Yamasá, where approximately 20 rivers and streams.
