Locally-Led Ecosystem-based Adaptation in hurricane prone eco-tourism areas within Miches, El Seibo Province, Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic is affected by changes in precipitation (seasonal and regional), sea level rise and increased intensity and frequency of extreme weather events. Socioeconomic risk factors, such as uncontrolled urbanization and widespread poverty, have brought about large numbers of vulnerable people living in disaster-prone areas. Climate events such as drought and floods have the greatest impact on communities living in riverine and coastal areas, which account for over 60% of the Dominican population.

In Miches, people depend on agriculture, fishing and tourism as the main economic activities to sustain their livelihood. This coastal municipality houses two Wildlife Refuges – Laguna Redonda and Laguna Limón – as well as mangrove, drago and forestry ecosystems. These areas are significantly exposed to hurricanes and storms, and affected by the use of agrochemicals, overfishing, extraction of materials from rivers, deforestation of glens, and sedimentation of streams.

Therefore, to increase resilience of people to hurricanes and storms, and improve management of coastal and marine ecosystems, REDDOM and CEBSE are undertaking a Locally-Led Ecosystem-Based Adaptation approach to: catalyze sustainable and collaborative actions; strengthen scientifically informed decision-making and co-creation of solutions; interweave governance, economic, environmental and social interests; replicate previous experiences involving multi-stakeholders participation; and, scale-up mangrove and drago forestry initiatives.