Environment Ministry Undertakes Education Campaign on Forest Fire Prevention

The Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Jaime David Fernández Mirabal, affirmed that starting forest fires is a criminal act. He was speaking at a gathering where the ministry was distributing educational materials about forest fires, a more frequent occurrence during the month of February.

“Forest fires are a form of ecocide which produces serious damage to nature and destroys the environmental legacy for future generations…”

“Forest fires are a form of ecocide which produces serious damage to nature and destroys the environmental legacy for future generations. They must be seen as a national concern. We see today how developed countries like the United States have been affected by fires when we look at what has recently happened in California and Australia,” said Fernández Mirabal.

Andrés Chalas, Environmental Attorney General, added that those responsible for forest fires “will face the authorities and be punished to the fullest extent of the law.” He added that the Penal Code, Article 434 establishes that those convicted of this type of crime can face up to ten years in prison and fines from RD$1,000 up to RD$10,000.

Forest Fire Fighters

The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARENA), responsible for the protection of the country’s natural resources, coordinates with public, private and international organizations in carrying out the forest fire prevention and contingent plans. Part of their plan includes sending out messages to the population on the dangers and consequences of forest fires.

At the moment there are some 500 forest fire fighters who were supported this year by 2,000 members of the Quisqueya Verde Brigade and trained members of the Army.

According to SEMARENA’s statistics, in the last six years forest fires affected close to a million acres of covered forest, parts of which are protected areas, affecting the flora and fauna.

March is the worse month for forest fires with an average of more than 30 in the past ten years. This period coincides with the least amount of rainfall when farmers and cattle ranchers take advantage of the time to prepare their land and improve grazing pasture for their cattle.

The second most dangerous time for forest fires is from June to September. During both of these periods, precipitation does not exceed a thousand millimeters, a monthly average, and the average monthly temperature oscillates between 20 and 34 degrees centigrade.

The zones with the highest incidence of forest fires are:

• The Central Cordillera (The Armando Bermúdez, José del Carmen Ramírez National Parks and the Juan Bautista Scientific Reserve, Pérez Rancier or Valle Nuevo)
  
• Mountains of Bahoruco and Neyba
  
• San José de las Matas, Monción and Restauración

Those present at the activity included the Deputy Secretaries of Forest Reserves and Protected Areas, Bernabé Mañón and Eleuterio Martínez; the Captain of the National District Fire Fighters, Guillermo García; Yoni Rodríguez, Director of Protection and Management SEMARENA; Gerónimo Abreu, Head of the Forest Fires Program; José Manuel Mateo, Director of the Protected Areas and Maximino Herrera, National Coordinator of the Forest Fire Prevention Project.