Last Wednesday, bulldozers entered the Loma Charco Azul Biological Reserve (LCABR) in the Dominican Republic and began clearing vegetation for agricultural development. The move stunned local conservationists who had not been notified ahead of time of the project. Although Charco Azul Biological Reserve is home to a wealth of threatened species—including the world's largest population of the Critically Endangered Ricordi's iguana (Cyclura ricordi)—the destruction of the reserve was signed off by the Dominican Republic's Minister of the Environment, Bautista Rojas Gómez.
"The current Minister of the Environment simply does not understand the importance of this protected area. Other Ministry technical staff had denied the permit, but he signed it off himself, yielding to pressure from the Agrarian Institute," Yolanda Leon, a biologist and president of the local NGOGrupo Jaragua, told mongabay.com.
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