Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic is one of the greatest contributors to biodiversity in the Caribbean region. The country has a high number of endemic species and is characterized by ecosystems including mountain ecosystems, forest ecosystems, freshwater habitats, arid and semi-arid zones, and coastal and marine ecosystems. Its biodiversity faces major threats from overexploitation of species to conversion of land for expansion of agriculture, development of tourism, mining, introduction of invasive alien species, pollution and climate change, which are worsened by the increase in human population.

• The Dominican Republic, through the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, hosted the Caribbean Regional Trialogue in 2018 to raise awareness of the key messages of the IPBES Thematic Assessment Report on Pollinators, Pollination and Food Production and promote policy/science/practice uptake of the report’s relevant recommendations in the Caribbean region.
• In 2024, the Dominican Republic national ecosystem assessment team, with support from UNEP-WCMC’s National Ecosystem Assessment Initiative and UNESCO, conducted a workshop for assessment authors from 8 to 12 May 2024 in La Romana, Dominican Republic.
• The country validated and launched its national ecosystem assessment in 2026.
• The Dominican Republic is also a priority country for future catalytic support under BES-Net II’s BES Solution Fund to promote the uptake of national ecosystem assessment recommendations.

Implementing agency: Consorcio Ambiental Dominicano

Government partner: Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales