Fernández Mirabal Swears In Danny Rivera as Director of Sierra de Bahoruco National Park

Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Jaime David Fernández Mirabal, swore in singer-song writer Danny Rivera as the new director general of the Sierra de Bahoruco National Park and protector of the Biosphere Jaragua-Bahoruco-Enriquillo reserve.

“The South is a paradise that we don’t see. It is a land of greatness where the greatness of being Dominican began.”

“The Environment Ministry is seeking to involve all sectors of society in the conservation, protection and sustainable use of the country’s protected areas,” said Fernández Mirabal.

Rivera, a Puerto Rican national with Dominican citizenship as of a year ago, is known for combining his artistic career with socio-political activism and has always shown a strong concern for the natural wealth of the Southeastern part of the Dominican Republic.

“I will place the arts at the service of nature,” said the singer. “The South is a paradise that we don’t see. It is a land of greatness where the greatness of being Dominican began.”

Rivera said one of his proposals is to involve Dominicans living in the Diaspora in the United States. He also wants to establish the Enriquillo route, up the Sierra de Bahoruco mountain range, following the steps of the Taino chieftain when he rebelled against the Spanish for 14 years between 1519 and 1533.

The designation of Rivera reflects the policy of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources to choose personalities who, with their well-known personal image, will help preserve and sustainably develop the country’s protected areas.

Nucleus of the Biosphere Reserve

The Sierra de Bahoruco National Park is the nucleus of the Biosphere Jaragua-Bahoruco-Enriquillo reserve, the first and only in the country at the moment. It was declared such in 2002 by the United Nations Organization for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO).

The reserve, made up of Jaragua, Sierra de Bahoruco and Lago Enriquillo National Parks, has a surface extension of 5,770 square kilometers and is located in the Southeast of the country.

The Sierra de Bahoruco National Park has a second largest mountain range on the island of Hispaniola and the second largest conifer forest in the DR. It biodiversity is the most exclusive of mountain environments, made up of 52% of the country’s endemic orchids.