Dominican Republic

Rio Higuamo from San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic, April 2019. Photo: IWEco

Title of IWEco National sub-Project

Integrated Management of the Biodiversity, Freshwater and Land Resources of the Higüamo River Watershed and its Associated Coastal Zone, including Mitigating Climate Change Impacts.

Introduction

The Dominican Republic’s IWEco National sub-Project focuses on the Higüamo River watershed and associated coastal zone. It aims to conserve, protect and guarantee the sustainable use of the water, land and biodiversity resources of the Higüamo River watershed and its estuarine zone to ensure the region’s future economic development, for the benefit of current and future generations, and to protect and rehabilitate selected ecosystems of the watershed and its associated coastal zone from further damaging anthropogenic activities and the effects of global warming.

The primary focus of theproject is the conservation and sustainable use of the watershed’s biodiversity.A significant number of species are associated with the mangroves of the Higüamo River watershed.

The lack of appropriate policy, legal and institutional frameworks undermine the implementation of an integrated management plan for the watershed and its associated coastal area that is a prerequisite for the conservation and sustainable use of the watershed’s biodiversity and other natural resources. Further, this cannot be achieved without also addressing the serious water and land pollution problems that are the greatest threat to the sustainability of the biodiversity of this important region. At the same time, in order to achieve the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, a comprehensive, cross-sectoral approach is needed that effectively engages stakeholders by producing concrete benefits leading to improved livelihoods, including improved provision of ecosystem services, greater economic opportunities and a healthier environment in which to live.

The project strategy centreson the following approaches and activities:

Assessing problems and identifying priorities for improving the management of the land, water and biodiversity resources of the Higüamo River watershed and its associated coastal zone, taking into account climate change, sensitive ecosystems and ecosystem services;
Planning the integrated management of the Higüamo River watershed and estuarine zone;
Achieving the socio-economic welfare of selected communities of the Higüamo River watershed through the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, as well as environmental restoration measures for improved wastewater management, increased access to safe water and enhanced ecosystem services;
Strengthening of policies and legal and institutional frameworks for sustainable land management, integrated management of water resources and the management of ecosystem services, taking into account climate change; and
Sharing of project information, lessons learned and good practices, and promoting project replication.

In addition to its primary focus on the conservation and sustainable use of the watershed’s biodiversity, the Government of the Dominican Republic has indicated that 27,574.12 hectares, or 275.4 km2,of existing forest cover in the Higüamo River watershed will be protected and sustainably managed through the project. Moreover, the project will support the reforestation of 500 hectares, largely mangroves that are the habitat for a great deal of biodiversity, including endemic species. These actions will provide significant contributions to mitigating the impacts of climate change by maintaining 965,097 tons of retained carbon in existing forests and sequestering another 1,750 through reforestation, for a total of 966,847 tons of retained carbon.