| Fast Facts |
location
east from the Haitian border; 30 miles from Santo Domingo
ecoregions
Hispaniola Pine Forest, Hispaniola Broadleaf Forest
project size
1.4 million acres
public lands
Armando Bermúdez, Juan B. Pérez Rancier (Valle Nuevo), José del Carmen Ramírez, Nalga de Maco and Eugenio de Jesus Marcano (Humeadora) national parks; Ebano Verde Scientific Reserve
partners
Fundación Moscoso Puello, Federación de Campesinos hacia el Progreso, Junta Yaque, Plan Cordillera, Asociación de Agricultores de los Dajaos, Fundación Lomas Verdes, Asociación de Mujeres Nueva Esperanza
conservancy initiatives
Freshwater, Global Climate Change
natural events
Valle Nuevo in January and February: springlike mornings, hot noons, damp and chilly afternoons, and cold starry nights. | |
 | |
 |
|
|
| A mountainous watershed of pristine rivers supplies drinking water for more than half of the Dominican Republic’s people. |
|
 |
Bridge over Rio Tablones, Armando Bermúdez National Park.
© Tom Bean |
|
Among the islands of the Caribbean, soaring slopes like those of the Dominican Republic’s Central Mountains are a rarity. Christopher Columbus avoided these formidable peaks—the highest, Pico Duarte, towers above the clouds at more than 10,000 feet—when he explored the island of Hispaniola in 1492.
Nestled within these mountains are the headwaters of 17 important rivers that provide energy, irrigation and drinking water for more than half of the country’s population. Madre de las Aguas—“mother of the waters”—takes its name from these waterways. Spanning seven separate protected areas, the watershed covers one-fifth of the Dominican Republic’s land area and nurtures the nation both physically and spiritually. |
Cloud forest, Cordillera Central.
© Tom Bean |
|
Many of its species, including more than 90 percent of its amphibians, reptiles and butterflies, are uniquely Dominican and found nowhere else on Earth. Cloud forests draw fresh water from the skies to fortify the rivers, which rush downward through pine, palm and broadleaf forests filled with hundreds of bird and butterfly species. More unusual |
| creatures inhabit these woods as well, such as the small, shrewlike solenodon, which first appeared 30 million years ago and now exists only on the island of Hispaniola. | |
Today deforestation, uncontrolled fires, hunting, slash-and-burn agriculture and erosion from hillside farming threaten this wilderness and, along with it, the country’s irreplaceable freshwater supply. In response, The Nature Conservancy and partner group Fundación Moscoso Puello are working to expand and link Madre de las Aguas’ network of protected areas. Plans call for hiring and training park rangers, reforesting abandoned farmland and training local agricultural collectives in methods of low-impact farming and sustainable forest harvesting.
Learn more about The Nature Conservancy's work in the Dominican Republic. |
|
| Conservation Profile |
targets
Bicknell’s thrush, solenodon, Hispaniolan woodpecker, narrow-billed tody, highland aquatic systems, cloud forests, montane broadleaf and manacla forests, Hispaniolan pine, juniper and magnolia
stresses
unsustainable logging, uncontrolled fires, slash-and-burn agriculture, expansion of coffee fields and hillside farming
strategies
protect water quality and supply, engage community, strengthen local partner organizations, secure conservation easements
results
helped expand Valle Nuevo National Park by more than 100,000 acres; visitor centers and ranger stations built for two national parks; 1,300 small farmers participating in sustainable farming practices | | | | |
