Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Environmental Issues
The DR has a rapidly growing population and millions of tourists a year, all of whom put
severe pressure on the land. Water use, damage to marine ecosystems and, most of all, de-
forestation, present acute environmental challenges. Despite the government's continual ef-
forts in setting aside pristine land, and at times banning commercial logging, parks and re-
serves remain chronically underfunded, and illegal logging and agricultural encroachment
remain a problem, especially in the central highlands. It's estimated that the DR has lost
60% of its forests in the last 80 years (only 5% of Haiti's remain).
One of the more puzzling and serious issues concerns the rising waters of Lago En-
riquillo which is twice as large as it was a decade ago. Tens of thousands of acres previ-
ously occupied by yucca, banana and cattle farms are now eerily submerged and the gov-
ernment is attempting to move an entire town threatened by flooding. The Ministry of the
Environment, to the outrage of many residents and environmentalists, began clearing the
Loma Charco Azul Biological Reserve (part of the Jaragua-Barahuco-Enrquillo Biosphere)
in 2013 in order to replace lost agricultural acreage. Not only is the reserve home to many
endemic species of flora and fauna (including Ricord's iguana and the Hispaniolan solen-
odon), but farmers also argue the arid land isn't a suitable trade-off for what was lost.
Coastal resorts and villages continue to have a tremendous impact on the very seas that
provide their livelihood. Pollution, runoff and other consequences of massive developments
have destroyed many of the island's foremost reefs. Overfishing and the inadvertent de-
struction caused by careless humans transform reefs into gray shadows of their former
selves.
Vertebrate species particularly endangered on Hispaniola include the Caribbean manatee,
Caribbean monk seal, Atlantic spotted dolphin, American crocodile, rhinoceros iguana,
Hispaniolan ground iguana, sea turtles, three species of freshwater turtle and dozens of bird
species.
