Iguana_11.2_text.ps Dominican Protected Areas are Threatened by Congressional Action 23 April 2004 — Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic, with its 48,700 km2 of land, is home to some of the most diverse habitat in the Caribbean Islands, and to extremely rich, largely endemic, and highly threatened biotic communities. These factors are very significant in placing the Caribbean Islands among the five most important global biodiversity hotspots. In 1974, an important process was initiated to establish a comprehensive system of pro- tected areas. Today, these areas encompass 16.2 % of the land area of the country and include nearly all of the most critical ecosys- tems. Throughout this period, the Dominican institutional and legal frame- work has evolved to the point where a General Framework Environmental Law (Law 64-00) was passed in 2000. This law reformed and modernized the environmen- tal sector, created the Ministry for Environment and Natural Resources, and mandated the development of other envi- ronmentally relevant laws, including a new Protected Areas Law. The Ministry of Environment developed a proposed Sectorial Protected Areas Law and submit- ted it to the National Congress in August 2002. This proposed law included certain changes and revisions in the Dominican Protected Areas System, within the general framework of the existing system. On 13 April 2004, the Dominican Senate read and approved the proposed Protected Areas Law with significant changes that drastically reduce and render unsustainable the Dominican System of Protected Areas, which were created through the hard work of many individuals and institutions over the past 30 years. The proposal still must be approved by the deputies and signed by the President of the Republic in order to become law. The drastic reduction, almost destruc- tion, of the protected areas system is sup- posedly based on the need to fight poverty by allowing local development in formerly protected habitats. In fact, all restrictions are removed in areas considered of potential interest for intensive beach/costal tourism and/or mining development. Besides destroying the protected areas, strong evi- dence exists that the so-called “develop- mental initiatives” sought by this proposal do not have strong popular support, nor do they include provisions for adequate inclu- sion of locals in development projects. Among other things, the proposed law removes protection from all the costal areas of Jaragua and Parque del Este national parks. Jaragua, included in the first Biosphere Reserve of the Dominican Republic, was just approved at the end of 2002 by the present administration. Regional, insular, and national resources are at risk with this initiative. Globally impor- tant sites for endangered and critically endangered ecosystems and species would disappear. These include coastal wetlands, areas important for migratory, resident, and marine birds, and globally significant sites for the critically endangered species such as the Hawksbill Sea Turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata), West Indian Manatee (Trichechus manatus), and Rock Iguanas (Cyclura ricordii and Cyclura cornuta). Rushing to Sell Park Beaches 6 May 2004 — Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic Four of today’s Dominican newspapers, La Informacion from Santiago, Diario Libre, Listin Diario, and El Caribe, all from Sto. Domingo, featured the hurried passage of the much-debated bill that would reduce from 30 to 15% the extent of protected areas in the National Parks of the Dominican Republic. By a vote of 93 to 14, the PRD major- ity, together with some members of the PRSC, rolled over some very heated opposi- tion. If ratified in a second reading, the action would grant access for tourist devel- opment of beaches located within the National Park of the East and Jaragua National Park (in the southwest), as well as areas in the southwestern Bani dunes and along the Costa Azul Panoramic Highway in Macao in the east. The bill’s provisions also authorize mining exploitation of the Pomier Caves in San Cristobal. The bill, first passed in the Senate, supposedly in the name of pragmatism, removed from the National Parks Bill practically any area that could be developed for tourism or mining. The bill also diminishes the role of the Ministry of Environment in environmental matters. In what the Listin Diario calls a “huge uproar,” the session attempted to debate the merits of the changes to the national parks. As soon as the PRD deputy from Pedernales, Rafael Torres, took the floor in support of the bill, the PLD deputies and their allies from the FNP (National Progressive Force) actively challenged the proposal. They accused the Presdient of the Chamber of Deputies, Alfredo Pacheco (PRD-National District), of being “arbitrary and abusing his powers” as he tried to push the legislation through without review by the appropriate legislative commission. Things got so interesting that Pacheco ordered the military security detail to remove the environmental editor of Hoy newspaper, Domingo Abreu Collado, from the Chamber because he was filming the session. Although PLD deputies Alfredo Cruz, Abel Martinez, Clodomiro Chavez, and Minu Tavarez Mirabal opposed the steamrolling tactics and requested that the final vote be taken after the 16 May elec- tions, the overwhelming PRD majority sec- onded by PRSC deputies voted down their motion and passed the proposal. While the deputies were in session, a small group of picketers protested outside the building. The Santiago newspaper, La Informacion, reported that a large public protest outside of the Municipal Palace started in the evening and featured speeches by ecologists and environmental groups as well as the politicians who fought to have the bill stopped. A candlelight vigil was held into the early morning hours. No public hearings were held, nor were the different ecological groups allowed to present their case before the Chamber of Deputies. According to El Caribe, the Foundation for Institutionalism and Justice (FINJUS) warned deputy Pacheco that the style of his term as president of the Chamber of Deputies should not be stained by the hurried approval and no consensus of the modifications to the law that has protected the National Park system. In what has to be seen as an ironic coincidence, even the “La Vida” section of the government-operated Listin Diario featured a long article on the Bay of Eagles losing its “virginity.” The writer lamented that this would be the last time that she would see the “Bahia de las Aguilas” intact and pristine. The new bill also would violate an agreement signed with UNESCO that had declared the area a UNESCO biosphere reserve (see http:// www2.unesco.org/mab/br/brdir/directory/ biores.asp?code=DOM+01&mode=all). Meanwhile, well-respected investiga- tive journalist Ana Mitila Lora wondered in her column in Listin Diario, “What’s the rush?” 96 IGUANA • VOLUME 11, NUMBER 2 • JUNE 2004 RAMER Threat to Dominican Protected Areas IGUANA • VOLUME 11, NUMBER 2 • JUNE 2004 97CYCLURA RICORDII Nine species of Hispaniolan Curly-tailed Lizards (Genus Leiocephalus) are currently recognized. Of these, L. semilin- eatus is the smallest, with a maximum known snout-vent length of 53 mm. In addition to its small size, this species is distinguished by the light-bordered, dark brown lateral stripes that begin as a mask and extend onto the body before fading near the hindlimbs. These fading lateral stripes are responsible for the species’ scien- tific name. The species is known from the Llanos de Azua and also from the Valle de Neiba of the Dominican Republic through the Cul- de-Sac plain of Haiti. The latter area is largely below sea level and is a remnant of the marine channel that once separated the North and South paleoislands that joined to form Hispaniola. An appar- ent hiatus in the range separates those two areas. These little lizards are found in extremely dry habitats and may be among the most drought-tolerant of Hispaniolan lizards. They frequently occur in sympatry with Ameiva lineolata, a very small member of its genus and equally xerophilic (from the Greek meaning “dry-loving”). Although both species feed primarily on small arthropods, they apparently avoid most competition with one another by employing different foraging strategies. Leiocephalus semilineatus, like all of its congeners, is a sit-and-wait forager. Using an elevated perch on a rock or log, these lizards respond to movement by ambushing their prey. In contrast, Ameiva lineolata, is an active forager, constantly on the move and rooting in surface litter, while searching for anything edible. Although their diets overlap, a large proportion of that taken by L. semilineatus is composed of insects, such as ants and beetles, that move and attract the attention of lizards, whereas that of A. lineolata includes many prey items, such as pupae and larvae, that rest immobile under surface debris and would escape the notice of a sit-and-wait forager. Like other Curlytails, L. semilineatus coils its tail. Unlike some members of the genus, however, the tail is never curled ver- tically over the lizard’s body. The reasons for this behavior are unknown, although luring insect prey, communication, and con- fusing predators have been mentioned as possibilities. References Nelson, S.E., B.L. Banbury, R.A. Sosa, and R. Powell. 2001. Natural history of Leiocephalus semilineatus in association with sympatric Leiocephalus schreibersii and Ameiva lineolata. Contemporary Herpetology 2001(1): 1–6 + 4 figs. + 2 tables (http://www.cnah.org/ ch/ch/2001/1/index.htm). Nelson, S.E. and R. Powell. 2002. Leiocephalus semilineatus. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (751): 1–2. Powell, R. 2002. Species Profile: Leiocephalus personatus. Iguana Times 9: 80. S P E C I E S P R O F I L E Leiocephalus semilineatus Robert Powell Avila University, Kansas City, Missouri An adult male Leiocephalus semilineatus from near Hatillo, Azua Province, Dominican Republic. Photograph by Robert Powell. President Mejia has been a strong sup- porter of the development of National Parks for tourism or mining, and has issued sev- eral decrees authorizing private companies to begin development. The only obstacle, however, has been that, at the onset of this administration, Mejia had signed Environmental Law 64-00, which estab- lished guidelines for the conservation of nat- ural resources. The new bill that is moving ahead in Congress would resolve this impasse and enable unchecked development of the new areas by companies chosen by the Mejia government. Dominican Legislature Passes the Revised Protected Areas Law 13 May 2004 — Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic Today, the Dominican Congress approved the Protected Areas Law with significant changes that drastically reduce and render unsustain- able the Dominican System of Protected Areas The two areas that have suffered the most are Parque Nacional Jaragua and Parque Nacional del Este. The struggle by Dominican and international environmen- talists continues, but is becoming more and more difficult. The bill will now pass to the President for approval — but he has stated publicly on several occasions that he favors it.