Skip to main content

News / Stories

Sur Futuro and CEPM reforest in a private protected area of Azua



Azua, July 25, 2023 – The Sur Futuro Foundation and the Punta Cana-Macao Energy Consortium (CEPM), together with the Ministry of the Environment, carried out a joint reforestation day on the grounds of the Siembra de Agua Reserve in Tábara Arriba, Azua.

The activity was led by Melba Segura de Grullón, president of Fundación Sur Futuro and Rolando González Bunster, president and CEO of InterEnergy Group and the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources, represented by José Elías González, vice-minister of Forestry Resources, in which native and endemic species approved by the reserve’s management plan, prepared by the Ministry of the Environment, were planted.

The event was attended by public and private sector personalities Servio Tulio Castaños and Marisol Vincens, members of the Board of Directors of Sur Futuro, Biviana Ribeiro, director of ProDominicana, and Brigadier General Rosanna Libertad Pons Peguero, commander of the Southern Joint Command on behalf of Lieutenant General Carlos Luciano Díaz Morfa, Minister of Defense.

The Siembra de Agua Reserve, promoted by Sur Futuro, is the first privately owned conservation area to be recognized by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources in 2020. This reserve covers a total of 2,347.33 tareas of land. Created by Law 64-00 as an innovative model of public-private partnership for the conservation and preservation of the territory under the direction of the Ministry of Environment, thus contributing to the national goals of achieving the highest possible percentage of territory under protection.

Sur Futuro’s president Melba Segura de Grullón said: “we want this public-private alliance for conservation to serve as an example for other civil society actors to contribute to the incorporation of more private protected areas in the Dominican Republic”.

Rolando González Bunster, president and CEO of InterEnergy Group, said: “We are honored to reaffirm our commitment to sustainable development and the preservation of our environment together with Fundación Sur Futuro. This alliance establishes our shared purpose towards a greener future, based on the care of our natural resources, the generation of increasingly cleaner energy, social welfare and training.

The Vice-Minister of Forestry Resources, José Elías González, stated that the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources “appreciates the integration of this National Reforestation Plan and invites the restoration of forest ecosystems through assisted reforestation”. He invited us to maintain restored ecosystems so that they can provide us with the expected environmental services, including water, a vital resource for our country.

This activity is part of the recently signed agreement between Sur Futuro and CEPM for the execution of a program of joint activities aimed at promoting the sustainable management of our natural resources, especially water, as well as the training of young professionals in renewable energies, such as solar, wind, hydroelectric and hydrogen in alliance with the National Institute of Technical and Vocational Training (INFOTEP).


+ News

May 29, 2023
“Sustainable Saona” aims to promote responsible tourism in this protected area, with the suppor…
November 3, 2023
The project “Energizing Saona” of the Bayahibe Electricity Company (CEB) has turned Saona Island …