Administrative Changes in Dunas de Bani

The Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Omar Ramírez Tejada, put into effect several changes in the management of Dunas de Baní by naming, Isaías Fuentes to be the new, temporary administrator and by increasing from two to six the number of park rangers who will patrol day and night in order to avoid the extraction of sand from the area.

“We receive and confirm complaints that sand is being extracted at various points in the areas that are protected such as in the case of Matanzas and Arroyo Hondo,”

“We receive and confirm complaints that sand is being extracted at various points in the areas that are protected such as in the case of Matanzas and Arroyo Hondo,” said the Minister of Environment.

As a result of the complaints, the ministry is creating a commission in an effort to determine the level of damage in the area. The commission will be headed by Aquino Suero Dominici under the auspices of the Department of Protection and Vigilance of the Under-Secretary of Protected Areas.

The commission, upon receiving the information, began the work establishing new points of control and vigilance starting with the fundamental roads of penetration that are used by the community as well as the illegal extractors.

This protected area was declared to fall in the category of a natural monument under Decree No. 233 of July 1996 in which, in addition to establishing limits, the decree sought to establish the conservation and protection of the ecosystem of the largest system of sand dunes in the Antilles and to protect the rare vegetation of the area. Later, Decree No. 233 was ratified by the Law of Environment and Natural Resources (64-00 of August 18, 2000).