SANTO DOMINGO. - Prominent forestry engineer and Deputy Environment minister Bernabe Mañon said Monday that Congress needs to pass a Forestry Law which protects and expand the forests, in the all Dominicans can participate."  

He said forests are the cornerstone for a balanced ecosystem and for the social and economic life of the island.

Speaking in the conference “Dominican vegetation current and future perspective," the expert noted that the management of forests must be done very carefully, so as to increase forest cover each year, with sustainable practices and policies. “There should always be management and identification for the movement of plants every tree and controls at each point in the country."

He said the bill for the Forestry Law drafted by Environment officials to be submitted to Congress “is an important tool for the country’s challenges to climate change and global warming.”

Mañon, speaking in the National Evangelical University to mark World Environment Day, noted that more than 60% of the country’s territory is mountains, “allowing us to have water despite that the growing population presses us to take intelligent action to preserve the quantity and quality of this vital liquid."