National parks in the Dominican Republic
The national parks of the Dominican Republic are administered by the country's Ministerio del Ambiente .
history
Between 1920 and 1967, it is estimated that around 60 percent of the island's forest was cut down or degraded. Only 4 percent of the island was forested. In response to the deforestation, the Forest Directorate (FORESTA) was transferred from the Ministry of Agriculture to the Ministry of Defense of the country. FORESTA closed all sawmills and made logging a criminal offense.
Parks
The following national parks exist in the Dominican Republic :
- Parque Nacional Armando Bermúdez : In the middle of the Cordillera Central, with the highest mountains in the Caribbean: the 3,098 meter high Pico Duarte , the 3,097 meter high La Pelona , the 3,039 meter high Loma La Rucilla and the 2,760 meter high Yaque .
- Temperate zone; Pine forests, occasionally also cloud forest with fern trees; wild parrots. Temperatures at night, especially in winter, are often well below freezing point.
- Del Este National Park : in the southeast of the island between La Romana and the mouth of the Río Yuna. This includes the delightful Isla Saona . Over 110 different bird species live in the park, as well as dolphins and manatís (manatees). The national park has a size of 430 square kilometers. The coastal landscape is determined by sandy beaches, cliffs and mangrove swamps. This park is the most visited national park in the Dominican Republic. Daily tours to Saona Island are offered from Bayahibe. There are connections by speedboat or sailing catamaran .
- Dry forests, coastal zone with sandy beaches; Saona island with large palm trees.
Flamingos on the Oviedo shores in Parque Nacional Jaragua
- Jaragua National Park : even further south of the Parque Nacional Sierra De Baoruco. These include the Bahía De Las Águilas, the Laguna de Manel Matos, the Isla Beata and the Laguna Oviedo, as well as the El Guanal, Cueva La Poza and Cueva Mongó caves, where you can find Taíno painting. The oldest finds of the indigenous people go back to 2590 BC. BC back. 130 different bird species live in the Jaragua National Park.
- Dry forests, etc. a. overgrown jasmine bushes; Coastal zone with almost untouched sandy beaches; Breeding grounds for sea turtles.
- Parque Nacional José Del Carmen Ramírez : a little southwest of Parque Nacional Armando Bermúdez, north of the city of San Juan de la Maguana , directly south of the 2,802 meter high Loma de la Viuda .
- Temperate zone; Pine forests, occasionally also cloud forest with fern trees; wild parrots. Temperatures at night, especially in winter, are often well below freezing point.
- Parque Nacional Submarino de La Caleta : An underwater national park near Boca Chica in the province of Santo Domingo . Colorful coral reefs that are home to a multitude of different marine life have formed here between intentionally sunk ships and boats. The national park is therefore known to many tourists as a diving area.
- Lago Enriquillo e Isla Cabritos National Park : on the island of Isla Cabritos in the Lago Enriquillo salt lake, 36 meters below sea level, in the south-west of the country just before the border with Haiti .
- Arid area; Special features: American crocodile ( Crocodylus acutus ), iguanas and flamingos .
- Monte Cristi National Park : In the extreme northwest west of Monte Cristi. These include the seven islands of Siete Hermanos in the Bahía de Monte Cristi.
- Dry areas, salt marshes, offshore islands with bird colonies, mangrove forests; Home of manatís ( manatees )
- Parque Nacional Los Haitises : south of the Bahía de Samaná . Probably the most famous national park in the Dominican Republic with its interesting geological formations
- Karst and mangrove landscape; Home to many endemic orchid species; Manatís (manatees) once lived in the mangrove forests, but have not been recorded in this region since the late 1980s.
- Parque Nacional Sierra De Baoruco : south of Lake Enriquillo , west of the city of Barahona , which also has lovely beaches with Playa de Barahona, Playa Saladilla and Playa San Rafael. The highest peaks of the park in the Sierra Baoruco, which extends over seven vegetation zones, are 2368 and 2085 meters high.
- Dry forests, in higher areas cloud forest. Numerous species of orchids, geckos and amphibians (including Eleutherodactylus hypostenor - Baorucu cave frog). Temperatures at night at high altitudes, especially in winter, are often below freezing.
- Parque Nacional Isabel De Torres in Puerto Plata ; you take the "Teleférico" cable car up to an altitude of almost 800 meters. Above there is a statue of Christ and a botanical garden, u. a. with native orchid species.
- Parque Nacional Pérez Rancier , Valle Nuevo near Constanza ; Highlands in the southeastern foothills of the Cordillera Central, the country's youngest national park.
- Temperate zone: mainly pine forests and shrubland
- Cueva de la Maravillas (Cave of Wonders), near San Pedro de Macorís on the south coast. 35 meters below the surface you can find paintings of the Tainos, the indigenous natives of the island of Hispaniola.
- Parque Nacional El Choco and Las cuevas de Cabarete - the Cabarete caves. Only two kilometers from the center of the famous surfing paradise Cabarete on the north coast (province of Puerto Plata) there are underground caves where you can swim. You can ride into the mountains of the national park with rented horses.
- Tropical vegetation, endemic orchid species.
literature
Geisler, C., Warne, R. & Barton, A. (1997): The wandering commons: A conservation conundrum in the Dominican Republic. Agriculture and Human Values (1997) 14: 325. doi : 10.1023 / A: 1007403505411
Web links
swell
- ↑ John Schelhas, Ruth E. Sherman, Timothy J. Fahey, James P. Lassoie: Linking community and national park development: A case from the Dominican Republic . In: Natural Resources Forum . tape 26 , no. 2 , May 1, 2002, ISSN 1477-8947 , p. 140-149 , doi : 10.1111 / 1477-8947.00014 .