Environment Minister Orlando Jorge Mera spoke of the advances in forest coverage experienced in the Dominican Republic from the 80s to present times during his participation in the Regional Congress on Forests and Sustainable Landscapes held in Panama last week. He said studies in the 80s revealed the forestry cover of the country was of 14.5%. The 2021 national forestry inventory now indicates that forest coverage is up to 43%. The Ministry of Environment has underway sustainable management efforts to protect, restore and reforest areas to bring this percentage to 45%.
The minister highlighted where there has not yet been official intervention are currently being prioritized, including mangrove planting. Jorge Mera said that the efforts are also intensified given that neighboring Haiti is in the third place of countries most affected by the effects of climate change. “Therefore, we have to have an efficient campaign of planting mangroves to protect us from the effects that visit us with some regularity,” he explained.
Jorge Mera said that the country’s seed bank is crucial with the sustainable management efforts. He explained that the seed bank, probably the only one in the Caribbean, is used for the reforestation programs nationwide.
Jorge Mera stressed the importance of improving the quality of the forests as the country works towards a green, healthy and resilient future. He said that more than 40,000 families currently live off the income from reforestation programs, plant production, care, harvesting, commercialization and forestry industrialization, benefiting more than 200,000 Dominicans who remain in rural areas of the country.
The Regional Congress on Sustainable Forests and Landscapes was held to prepare the region’s proposal for the XV World Forestry Congress to be held in Korea in May.
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Ministry of Environment
11 April 2022