The President Luis Abinader announced this Wednesday the start of the titling work in Los Haitises National Park and Loma Novillero Forest Reserve in Villa Altagracia, so more than 43 million square meters of land will be protected to become part of the Dominican Republic’s environmental heritage.
In Los Haitises, 35.2 million square meters will be regularized, while in the Loma Novillero Forest Reserve, in Villa Altagracia, it will be 7.9 million square meters, the Government said in a statement.
These processes will allow the issuance of certificates of delineated and registered titles in the name of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, in accordance with the National System of Protected Areas (SINAP).
For years, many of these areas were registered in the name of various public institutions such as the Dominican Agrarian Institute (IAD), the National Assets Directorate or the CEA, which caused dispersion and limited the effective protection of natural resources.
“Caring for what is ours is a sacred duty of every Dominican, and even more so for us as the Public Administration. It is a culture we want to promote and deepen each day. What belongs to everyone also belongs to each one of us, so its protection and proper care constitute a task to which we must devote our best efforts,” Abinader said.
In addition, he announced the formation of a working team that, in coordination with SINAP, was responsible for organizing the pilot titling process for Loma Novillero and Los Haitises, which covers the provinces of Monte Plata, Duarte, Hato Mayor and Samaná.
