No Turning a Blind Eye to Protection Dominican Republic’s Natural Resources, Says Environment Minister — Global Issues

by Jan Lundius (stockholm)Thursday, April 04, 2024Inter Press Service

The island state of the Dominican Republic is extraordinarily susceptible to meteorological phenomena equivalent to hurricanes, tropical storms, and floods. Moreover, it’s at present experiencing threatening results from local weather change and air pollution. Rising temperatures are inflicting drought, which reduces crop yields and negatively impacts water provides. Nevertheless, regardless of this, the nation’s economic system has, over the last ten years, skilled a few of the quickest development in Latin America and the Caribbean. The interval noticed a 24 % upsurge in accommodations, bars, and eating places, whereas development and the economic sector have been thriving. The center class is growing and poverty is declining. The nation has transitioned from being an agricultural society to 1 dominated by huge metropolitan areas over the last 15 years; its city inhabitants has doubled. However, sectors equivalent to agriculture, trade, development, and tourism are extremely depending on more and more scarce pure assets, equivalent to water, timber, and land, whereas unsustainable practices proceed to trigger environmental degradation.

To stop air pollution and additional depletion of pure assets, the Ministry of Setting regulates all actions that current a possible danger to the setting, implementing insurance policies that permit the Ministry to implement an environmental administration and adaptation plan to keep away from additional injury. One instance of setting defending legal guidelines is that, based on the Dominican Structure, water is a part of the nation’s heritage. Rivers, lakes, lagoons, seashores, and coasts are thought of to be public property. A 60-meter coastal strip working parallel to the ocean can also be thought of a part of the nation’s public property, accessible to the general public and can’t be exploited.

In the beginning of IPS’ dialogue with the Dominican Minister of Setting and Pure Sources, Miguel Ceara, we requested him if environmental points are a precedence for the present authorities.

Miguel Ceara: To a really excessive diploma. The Ministry is reasonably new. It was created in 2000 as the results of the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. We’re at present attempting to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Growth, which was adopted by all UN Member States in 2015. The objectives of this agenda are all interconnected and safeguarding the setting is a transversal theme that issues all ranges of society, demanding coordination and collaboration of all ministries, notably with the cupboards in command of points like schooling, water, development, safety, and many others.

Many challenges lay forward of us. Most necessary is to foment a brand new, normal tradition that promotes environmental well being administration in addition to financial development to allow us to finance the transformation wanted if our society will be capable to confront such a formidable risk because the one posed by local weather change.

IPS: Earlier than you accepted your present place, you served as Minister for Financial system, Planification, and Growth and have now been Minister of Setting for simply two years. Whenever you entered this workplace, what did you understand as your principal problem?

Miguel Ceara: Lack of respect for environmental legal guidelines and a excessive stage of permisologia, i.e. an inclination to show a blind eye to violations of guidelines and rules, paired with a readiness to grant permits the place they need to not have been permitted. Moreover, the wages have been far too low for technicians and different folks concerned within the safety of pure assets.

IPS: Reforestation has lengthy been a precedence for Dominican governments, although it has typically been said that it has seldom been a very profitable endeavor.

Ceara: Fairly proper, however reforestation has now grow to be pressing; in two years’ time, greater than 200 000 km2 will likely be planted with 20 million seedlings.

IPS: Are there any protected areas within the Dominican Republic?

Ceara: Roughly one-fourth of the nationwide territory is protected, as is an extra 11 % of the marine waters.

IPS: What does this safety indicate?

Ceara: The exploitation of protected areas is forbidden. Unharmful and protecting practices are allowed to assist the vegetation evolve in a wholesome, sustainable method, safeguarding natural world. Nevertheless, it’s costly and fairly tough to protect and defend these areas. Solely inside Los Haitises Nationwide Park are greater than 400 troopers deployed to guard it and other than foresters and sport wardens, we’re in nice want of experience in nature preservation. We’d like geologists, geographers, agronomists, hydrologists, forest scientists, and biologists. The nation already has a adequate provide of entrepreneurs, economists, architects, and engineers. The federal government is at present supporting a Masters’ programme for 60 environmental technicians and extra are wanted.

IPS: You talked about a tradition of permisologia, how do you cope with that downside?

Ceara: We’re at present digitalizing all permits and are on the similar time checking and revising them. Transgressors are delivered to court docket. We try to implement harsh legal guidelines to cease abuse, for instance, by growing vigilance to guard forests and vegetation round water sources. Extracting sand for cement manufacturing from riverbeds is strictly forbidden, sand can now solely be harvested in mines; and dangerous agricultural strategies are additionally being restricted and even forbidden.

IPS: Are you able to point out some environmental threats which are distinctive to the Dominican Republic?

Ceara: There are a number of. For instance, sudden, large downpours which have hit the island in latest occasions, probably a results of local weather change. On November 4, 2022, a precipitation of 266 mm was measured within the capital, the very best stage ever recorded. However, on November 19, 2023, the Dominican Republic obtained 431 mm of rain. Excessive precipitation induced floods, tearing down bridges and dams, whereas inundating fields and neighbourhoods. Within the capital, the collapse of an overpass claimed 9 lives.

One other concern, attributable to local weather change, is algal blooms. Rising temperatures are altering sea currents, which, together with fertilizing parts reaching the ocean, are stimulating Sargassum, a brown macro-algae, to expertise a catastrophic bloom, creating dense layers on the ocean floor. Sometimes, such large carpets of algae transfer onto the Dominican shoreline, destroying seashores and disrupting ecosystems, whereas making a decomposing and stinking mess containing concentrations of heavy metals and arsenic. At present, a shifting eight thousand km2 expanse of 30 million metric tons of Sargassum is approaching Caribbean waters.

The Dominican Republic is a low emitter of greenhouse gases, accounting for about 0.08 of world emissions. The land use sector at present absorbs extra CO2 than it emits. Nevertheless, vitality demand is steadily on the rise and emissions have, throughout a five-year interval, elevated by 20 %. As quickly because it got here into energy, this authorities dedicated itself to lowering greenhouse fuel emissions by 27 % by 2030, in comparison with 2010 ranges. 

IPS: Are Dominicans on the whole conscious of the deadly threats of environmental degradation and local weather change?

Ceara: Sadly, not! There are all the time uncertainties and unexpected occasions that make planning tough. Emergencies and rising funding prices are affected by forces we have now no management over. Sources are restricted. Consumption is growing, and so are waste and air pollution. Vehicles have gotten extra frequent, as are air conditioners and different energy-consuming home equipment. Plastic is suffocating water sources. Planning is continually being made to fulfill wants and calls for, in addition to discover different, sustainable vitality sources, and never the least to assist elevated consciousness about environmental threats to well being and society. Nevertheless, rather more needs to be accomplished.

To adapt a complete nation to the painful transition from fossil gasoline dependency to a society primarily based on renewable vitality is a expensive and painful endeavor, however it needs to be accomplished and might conceivably be achieved. For instance, this nation’s economic system was as soon as extremely depending on the manufacturing of sugar, espresso, cacao, and tobacco. International competitors finally destroyed these sources of earnings, however the nation proved to be able to overcoming a painful transition and thru the enlargement of different sectors, the economic system might be recuperated.

I imagine that folks might be satisfied to vary their habits and issues. Take for instance how smoking has diminished by efforts to make folks conscious of its risks. The same end result might be reached if folks grow to be conscious of the hazards concerned with senseless air pollution, insufficient waste therapy, and wasteful vitality consumption. To handle our pure setting, it needs to be a collective endeavor. This isn’t primarily a legislation enforcement situation, we can’t have a policeman checking each Dominican citizen. Training and consciousness campaigns must be carried out to allow each citizen, each municipality, and each neighbourhood to take part within the care and safety of our pure setting.

IPS: Nevertheless, mitigation of the dangerous results of local weather change and normal air pollution shouldn’t be solely a neighborhood, but additionally a worldwide concern.

Miguel Ceara: After all, it is a severe concern for us. To be fairly frank, the worst culprits are developed nations they usually don’t care sufficient in regards to the hurt accomplished to growing nations. Local weather change is a worldwide situation, with an enormous array of parts. It needs to be addressed on a multilateral foundation and in a synchronized method. Up to now, this has not been accomplished, at the very least to not the extent it must be accomplished. Creating nations are all the time within the again seat whereas negotiating with nations which are higher off.

Take for instance the difficulty of COVID mitigation. The Dominican Republic had early on made an settlement with a pharmaceutical firm for well timed vaccine supply, however when the vaccines have been going to be delivered, they turned unavailable after being offered to larger, wealthier nations. We needed to wait and when the vaccine lastly appeared, we needed to pay a value 4 occasions greater than we had initially agreed upon. We can’t sit and look forward to wealthier nations to help us in addressing pressing environmental points, we have now to start by performing alone.

Moreover, we’re sharing our eco system with Haiti, a nation that now has grow to be a failed state, with legal gangs working amok, turning into personal armies, fomenting worry, chaos, and growing poverty. The Dominican Republic can’t, by itself, mitigate a disaster that threatens not solely peace and cooperation, but additionally the ecosystem of your entire island. We anticipate the worldwide group to step in and assist Haiti, first for the nice of the Haitian folks, who should reside with dignity and with out worry, but additionally to safeguard the ecosystem of your entire island. With no steady authorities and institutional counterparts, it’s inconceivable for us to achieve out to Haiti to coordinate environmental insurance policies.

IPS: Finally, a private query: the President urged you to grow to be minister of setting after your predecessor had been murdered on this very workplace. I do know you hesitated whereas being conscious of the hazard concerned in accepting a publish like this one, in addition to the truth that you might be an economist and never an environmental skilled. Why do you assume the President selected you and if the ruling occasion wins the upcoming elections, do you propose to remain in your publish?

Ceara: I’m conscious that my predecessor was killed for making use of the strict legal guidelines associated to granting, or denying, permits associated to environmental points and the safety of our ecosystem. I assume the President gave me the supply since he thought of me to be a person of non-public integrity and skilled in planning and coordination. After being confronted with the challenges linked with environmental administration and safeguarding our eco system, I’m absolutely dedicated to persevering with, in any capability, to environmental safety and efforts to counteract the dangerous results of local weather change.

This characteristic is revealed with the assist of Open Society Foundations.

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