New year enviornment issues to address?

[rortiz79]

Has the government released something that states what they enviornment plan is for this year, or any recent changes?
I am interested because I am conducting personal research with which I plan to help out in. Usually our Latin countries are a step behind (most times even more) with improving their environment. Since me being Dominican, I want to see what I can do to help out my people over there.

[George Holmes]

Reforestation is the main thing, but with recent changes in the Ministry of the Environment and the Sub-Secretariat of protected areas expect things to be a continuation of today's news - evictions of poor people near Santiago to create a park.

The DR is in many respects miles ahead of the rest of latin america - it has the fourth highest amount of protected areas (as measured as a percentage of surface area) in the world, but it has no environmental culture or ideas of how to integrate environmental protection into the livelihoods of rural people.

[jrhartley]

bamboo is a very invasive plant and has become a pest in certain parts of Australia

[ben jammin]

bamboo in very invasive and difficult to eradicate but has definate upsides. if used in the building/construction market it would replace trees for lumber and is a very good material in damp enviroments. i have a bamboo floor and it has held up well and although it has some petroleum products(it is a laminate product that uses glue and petroleum finish) the fact that no trees were cut down to make it was attractive to me.

[rortiz79]

Thanks George and everyone else for your input.
"Reforestation is the main thing, but with recent changes in the Ministry of the Environment and the Sub-Secretariat of protected areas expect things to be a continuation of today's news - evictions of poor people near Santiago to create a park."

I am definitely going to look for more information regarding this.

A bamboo floor eh? Have any pictures, that's pretty interesting. How is it invasive? Is it because of their nature and how they grow or more on what they do to the soil?

[Funnyyale26]

Originally Posted by George Holmes

The DR is in many respects miles ahead of the rest of latin america - it has the fourth highest amount of protected areas (as measured as a percentage of surface area) in the world, but it has no environmental culture or ideas of how to integrate environmental protection into the livelihoods of rural people.

Check page 22 of this issue of Clave Digital magazine. This country is on its way of becoming Haiti part II, if not worst......it is coming.

http://www.clavedigital.com/ktmllite...1/CLAVE151.pdf

[rortiz79]

Am going to see it now (pg 22). Hopefully it won't turn that bad.

[George Holmes]

Complete and utter tosh - forest cover is growing in the DR, has been for about a decade, and the causes of tree loss in Haiti have nothing to do with the processes in the DR.

[rortiz79]

I have been searching for a group that I can participate in any way I can, being in the US and have gotten nada. FUNGLODE here in the US (NYC), didnt even respond to my email. I contacted Juan Luis Guerra's charity too and nuffin. *sigh* All I want to do is help somehow...