Cement factory impasse.(DOMINICAN REPUBLIC)

0 Comments | Caribbean Update, July, 2009

The Ministry of Environment is confronting its first credibility crisis after Environment Minister Jaime David Fernandez Mirabal gave the go-ahead for the construction of a cement factory 3 kms outside the Los Haitises National Park. He defended the decision on the grounds that it will be the DR's first green certified cement factory, bringing jobs to an impoverished area.

While legal because it is not actually within the protected area, environmentalists say that studies by Ministry experts found that the factory would have a negative effect on water sources within the protected area. The Ministry of Environment concession is for around 7,000 tareas (one tarea = 629m2) of limestone rock that will be used to produce Portland-type cement. The plant was authorized...