The president of Counterpart International, a community-driven international development organization, visited last week to meet with Dominican business leaders as well as international aid officials interested in developing sustainable development programs. Lelei LeLaulu and his organization are introducing the Coral Gardens program, the successful community-driven reef restoration program that has the plus of increasing local supplies of fish as the reefs grow. Developed in Fiji, the program has attracted much international attention, and a recent BBC documentary (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3141683.stm) highlighted its successes.
During his visit, Lelaulu had positive remarks on the local community spirit he found in the Dominican Republic. In his opinion, the DR has much to teach the world in sustainable development and smart partnerships with the private sector. “We will probably learn far more than we can teach organizations in the Dominican Republic,” he commented when meeting with journalists.
Counterpart visited with groups in Punta Cana, Bayahibe and Santo Domingo. During the visit, LeLaulu and Counterpart’s VP for Environment and Conservation, Raymond Chavez met with Kelly Robinson of the Punta Cana Group, Lissette Gil of La Romana-Bayahibe Hotels Association, Ian Schembri-Sant of Starz Resorts and the Sosua Bay Ecological Society in Puerto Plata, the local mission team of USAID, advisors to the Ministry of Tourism, and former Dominican Republic President, Leonel Fernandez at the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development.