Editorial | The Botanical Garden is not expendable - Vídeo Dailymotion

Ver Editorial | The Botanical Garden is not expendable - Listín Diario en Dailymotion

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00:00Liston Diario presents the editorial from the director.

00:30Garden has been the most important biodiversity sanctuary in our capital city.

00:34It is home to 2 million square meters of vegetation that harbor endemic species, an invaluable

00:40scientific herbarium, and educational spaces for current and new generations.

00:45Its role as an urban lung mitigates the city's stifling heat, filters pollutants, and offers

00:51psychological refuge to a congested metropolis.

00:54As the Academy of Sciences rightly points out, in the midst of the climate crisis, the

00:59global trend is to expand green areas, not reduce them.

01:03The government insists that the impact will be minimal, barely 0.1% of the area, and as

01:08compensation for this cut, it promises the construction of a 580 meter tunnel in front of the garden,

01:1530,000 square meters of new park, and an expansion of green areas.

01:19However, these promises hide disturbing paradoxes, because reducing 11,000 square meters constitutes

01:26in fact a significant breach in this ecosystem.

01:29Despite announcing detailed studies, the government has not made transparent comprehensive impact

01:34assessments or the alternatives considered to remedy the traffic chaos that is widespread

01:38in the city, but it is inexplicable that faced with a project of this magnitude, there has

01:43been a lack of constructive dialogue between the government and society.

01:47While the Minister of the Environment describes the project as delicate but inevitable, scientists,

01:53urban planners, and civil society propose other solutions to improve traffic.

01:58Accepting this mutilation would set a disastrous precedent, as any green space can be cut back

02:04under the guise of progress.

02:06What would be appropriate as a safeguard is for Congress to pass a law declaring it a protected

02:11area under the category of National Park.

02:15National Park on Columbia Avenue can and should be improved, but without sacrificing our botanical

02:20garden.

02:21For Listine Diario, voice over and translation by Danny Leon.

02:25For Listine Diario, voice over and translation by Danny Leon.