Santo Domingo.- President Luis Abinader swore in this Monday at the National Palace the management committee of the Environmental Policies and Protected Areas Observatory, a consultative, multi-sectoral and honorary body created by Decree 105-26.
The act, held in the Las Cariátides Hall of the Government House, marks a key step in the institutionalization of this observatory, conceived as an independent mechanism to ensure the protection, conservation, and sustainable use of natural resources, with special emphasis on the protected areas of the country.
Decree No. 105-26 establishes the creation of a commission in charge of structuring and launching the Observatory, which will function as a watchdog for the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Mimarena) and other state agencies on environmental matters.
Nature of the Observatory
Its nature is to promote the generation of independent and publicly accessible environmental information, facilitate cooperation between public, academic, and civil society institutions, and develop the institutional, regulatory, and organizational proposal for its consolidation as a non-profit private entity, in accordance with Law No. 122-05.
The committee is made up of representatives from prominent environmental organizations, such as:
The Academy of Sciences of the Dominican Republic.
The Jaragua Group.
The Green Action Foundation.
The Moscoso Puello Foundation.
Guakía Ambiente.
The Environmental Commission of the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD).
The Ecological Society of Cibao.
The Federation of Peasants towards Progress.
The Foundation for Environmental Law, Defense and Education of the Dominican Republic (FUDDEA-RD).
In addition, include a representative from Mimarena and representatives from the country’s universities that express interest in participating.
According to the decree, the committee has a period of 45 days from the publication of the decree in the Official Gazette to begin the procedures for incorporation as a non-profit association, draw up and approve its statutes, define its financial sustainability model, establish an action plan and operating regulations.
Subsequently, you will have an additional 15 days to manage the technical and economic resources needed before Mimarena.
For the Observatory’s operational launch, the Presidency of the Republic will make a special contribution of funds through the Ministry of Environment, based on a budget agreed upon between the managers and the institution.
