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Dominican town blames U.S. power company AES for birth defects

Image via Wikipedia ARROYO BARRIL, Dominican Republic — Maximiliano Calcaño is 2 and was born with no arms. “When I was pregnant, I was dizzy, vomiting and could barely walk,” said Maximiliano’s mother, Anajai Calcaño, 20. “My tooth cracked and fell out. Then my baby was born like that, without arms. Nothing like that had ever happened here before.” By “before,”…

Cement mining puts Dominican Republic park at risk

Image via Wikipedia A cement mine, granted under questionable circumstances, is putting one the Caribbean’s most important forest parks at risk, warns a group of NGOs and attorneys working to stop the project. Work on the mine, which lies in the forested buffer zone of Dominican Republic’s Los Haitises National Park, was temporarily suspended by court…

Beaches to stay public

I hope this means all Dominicans can access the beautiful beaches in Bavaro “The Constitutional Revisory Assembly has passed Arts 9, 10, 11 and 56 related to the environment in a first reading. The new provisions are that protected areas can only be reduced by law, with the approval of two thirds of the members of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. They also declare of national interest hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation. The legislators also ruled that in the…

Dominicans defend biodiversity

by rjones2818 Sun May 31, 2009 at 02:41:00 PM PDT Original article, subtitled Emmanuel Santos looks at the rise of an important new environmental struggle in the Dominican Republic, via Socialist Worker (US): ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISTS around the Dominican Republic are mobilizing to stop the construction of a cement factory in the Los Haitises national park. The factory would displace 500 peasant families and degrade one of the most important ecosystems in the…

Dominican Republic cement plant row spreads to NYC

NEW YORK.- Members of New York’s Dominican community sent a letter to president Leonel Fernandez today, to request the repeal of the permits to build a cement plant near the Los Haitises National Park (northeast). The Dominicans tell the chief executive that they agree with the Chamber of Deputies Environment Commission advice to the Environment Ministry, to void the permits issued to the company Consorcio Minero Dominicano to build the plant. The letter affirms that the various studies found that…

Dominican Government shutters hotel for polluting wild life refuge

Santo Domingo. – The Environment and Natural Resources Ministry (Semarena) shuttered the hotel Grand Oasis, in Cabeza de Toro, Punta Cana (east), for repeatedly polluting the Laguna Bavaro Wild Life Refuge. The resort was also fined paying RD$11.8 million for the damages. Semarena resolution 101/09 states that the decision was based on technical information by a commission which investigated a March 11 complaint lodged…

Punta Cana Resort & Club wins Central American Environment prize

Image via Wikipedia Santo Domingo.- The destination Punta Cana Resort & Club was awarded the Regional Prize for Cleanest Production 2008, by the Central American Environment and Development Commission (CCAD), whose main mission is to contribute to the Central American region’s sustainable development, bolster cooperation and integration for environmental management.

Dominican Government committed to protect environment, Fernandez says

Link: Dominican Government committed to protect environment, Fernandez says – DominicanToday.com. VILLA MELLA.- To mark World Earth Day Tuesday, president Leonel Fernandez said the Dominican Government is committed to protect  the environment and natural resources. He said fruit of that effort in his first term (1996-2000) an Environment and Natural Resources bill was signed into Law, which gave origin to the Ministry…