Dominican Republic launches Environmental Protection Program to comply with DR-CAFTA environmental commitments
2 June 2009

CCAD
Area: Medio Ambiente

(SEMARENA-INTEC Communication Editorial Staff). On June 1st, the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the Environment and Natural Resources State Secretariat (SEMARENA), the Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the Santo Domingo Technological Institute (INTEC), launched the Environmental Protection Program (PPA, for its acronym in Spanish), which will facilitate the Dominican Republic to comply with the commitments of the Dominican Republic - Central America - US Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA).

The announcement was made during a ceremony at which Jaime David Fernández Mirabal, State Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources participated. The project spans for five years and will allocate RD$360 million (US$11.8 million) for strengthening the Public and Private Sectors´ institutional capacities. It will be executed by TNC and INTEC.

The Project is based on four components: institutional strengthening for the effective application of environmental laws; bio-diversity conservation; conservation based on market; and the Private Sector´s environmental performance improvement.

SEMARENA will mainly be the beneficiated institution that will receive technical assistance, training, and equipment. For 2009 alone, the Project is considering donating equipment to Environment estimated at RD$14 million, comprising technological equipment to take samples and analyze environment pollutants in-situ, and surveillance equipment for protected areas and monitoring of coastal-marine bio-diversity.

The Environmental Protection Program will work closely with the Dominican Private Sector promoting proper environmental performance, through non-regulatory tools such as Cleaner Production (C+P) and the Environmental Management System. Also, it will support city councils to establish and apply the environmental guidelines in the municipalities. This will help articulation of structures such as the Municipal Environmental Management Units (UGAM, for its acronym in Spanish), which is entitled by law to deal with major problems that affect citizens at the locations.

The Environmental Protection Program is developed within the Environmental Cooperative Agreement (ECA) framework, signed by the DR-CAFTA´s signatory officials. Through the ECA, the US Government provides resources to the member countries to implement what was stipulated on the Free Trade Agreement´s environmental chapter.

By ratifying the Agreement, one of the commitments was to comply and enforce its own environmental legislation, assuring a proper protection of the environmental quality and the bio-diversity.

The project will work with the Private Sector, mainly through the National Network of Businessmen for Environmental Protection (RENAEPA) and with SEMARENA to modernize the current combination of monitoring and control policies with the incentives to comply.

For further information, please contact Rosa Otero, SEMARENA Commerce and Environment Director and ECA/DR-CAFTA Point Of Contact: rosa.otero@medioambiente.gov.do

Fuente: http://www.sica.int/busqueda/Noticias.aspx?IDItem=36913&IDCat=3&IdEnt=696&Idm=1&IdmStyle=1