Spanish
By: Daniel Merán
Pedro Brand. — This Saturday morning, residents of La Cuaba and La Guáyiga, in the Pedro Brand municipality, returned to the streets with a more intense and extended protest to demand that the installation of a landfill or solid waste treatment plant be definitively stopped, which, they claim, threatens the environmental balance of the entire area.
The community members set tires on fire, felled trees, and blocked various rural roads, declaring that they will maintain the demonstration indefinitely until the authorities completely discard the project.
A environmentally sensitive area
La Cuaba and La Guáyiga are part of an ecological corridor that connects important natural reserves in the north of Santo Domingo province. The area is characterized by:
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Births of rivers and streams, which feed basins that flow into the Isabela River and other essential tributaries.
Soil of high ecological value, with wetlands, buffer zones and forested areas with protected species.
Ecotourism potential, with hiking trails, natural spas and environmental observation points frequented by visitors from various municipalities.
Proximity to the Ozama Wetlands National Park and the green belt of Greater Santo Domingo.
Residents fear that the management of solid waste in this area will produce groundwater contamination, affect the soil, and alter the wildlife that inhabits the mountainous edges of the municipality.
The citizen claim intensifies
Protesters claim that the peaceful protests of previous months were not heard and that they are now resorting to more drastic actions as a form of pressure.
They maintain that the project lacks transparent information, say they have not been consulted and claim that the environmental impact would be devastating, affecting thousands of families in Pedro Brand and neighboring communities.
Community leaders emphasize that they are not willing to negotiate the installation of the landfill under any modality, whether disguised as a recycling plant or a valorization center.
Call to the authorities
The residents made an urgent call to the Ministry of Environment, the City Council of Pedro Brand, the Dominican Municipal League, and the solid waste regulatory bodies to: Present real environmental impact studies, Provide details on the projected volumes of garbage, Listen to the voice of the affected communities, Move the project to a geographically suitable space and not over areas of high ecological value.
