The Man and the Biosphere Program (MaB) of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) declared this Friday the Mother of Waters Biosphere Reserve, a geographic space that commits the country to pay special attention to mountain areas, which include several national parks, and which are fundamental for the conservation of water sources.
Yvonne Arias, of the Dominican MaB Committee and Grupo Jaragua, communicated the information Friday morning from the assembly in Paris to the Minister of the Environment and Natural Resources, Miguel Cera Hatton, who praised the work of the technical teams that made the approval of the proposal possible.
“We know that the preservation of our mountains, and the expansion and protection of our forests, are fundamental to the conservation of our water sources. So this declaration leads us to a greater commitment to all Dominicans to preserve our natural resources and, at the same time, to value and pay greater attention to the peasant farmer of our mountains,” said Ceara Hatton.
He highlighted that Madre de las Aguas is an initiative that was reintroduced in Unesco and will help the country to strengthen the protection of 709 rivers and streams, in seven main basins: Yaque del Norte, Yaque del Sur, Yuna, Nizao, Ocoa, Artibonito and Haina.
Madre de las Aguas, he added, includes three scientific reserves, two natural monuments, and two forest reserves, covering eleven provinces and 36 municipalities: Azua, Dajabón, Elías Piña, La Vega, Monseñor Nouel, Peravia, San Cristóbal, San José de Ocoa, San Juan, Santiago and Santiago Rodríguez for an estimated area of 398,247 square kilometers, with a population incidence of more than 1,591,000 people.
Yvonne Arias, for her part, explained that the Dominican Republic successfully completed all the tasks entrusted to it by the Man and the Biosphere Program. The renowned environmentalist was in the assembly with members of the Permanent Delegation of the Dominican Republic to UNESCO, headed by Ambassador Andrés L. Mateo. This assembly is chaired by Morocco, in the person of Latifa Yaacoubi.
Arias thanked, on behalf of the Dominican Republic, the presidency of MAB’s ICC. The environmentalist said: “For the Dominican Republic, this declaration reaffirms its commitment to the protection of biodiversity and water security through the conservation and protection of protected areas and our priority watersheds”.
“This nomination contributes to lay the foundations so that the State can program, hand in hand with the populations that affect this area of high environmental value, greater actions that contribute to the care of natural resources, our natural heritage, enhancing the sustainable development of the country,” he also indicated.
He recalled that the project covers 20 protected areas, which include scientific reserves, national parks, natural monuments and forest reserves. He said that the decision will help the country to strengthen the protection of 709 rivers and streams, in 7 main river basins. At the same time, he congratulated the 11 provinces and 32 municipalities that endorsed this project.
Source:Presidencia.gob.do