At a Conservation Crossroad: The Bahoruco-Jaragua-Enriquillo Biosphere Reserve in the Dominican Republic

Abstract

This paper assesses the Dominican Republic’s willingness to pay (WTP) for a conservation, restoration, and sustainable development program for the Bahoruco-Jaragua-Enriquillo Biosphere Reserve (RBJBE). Created in 2002, the RBJBE covers approximately 4858 km2, of which approximately 900 km2 correspond to the sea surface. With three core conservation zones, the RBJBE constitutes a complex space with a history of conflicts rooted in exploiting natural resources and social and economic issues. At the same time, it is a biodiversity hotspot of global importance. We present a Contingent Valuation Method to estimate the WTP for a conservation and restoration program called PROBIOSFERA. The non-parametric and parametric estimates of the WTP are DOP 165.00 (≈USD 2.94) and DOP 181.88 (≈USD 3.25), respectively. The socioeconomic variables that positively affect the WTP are income level, educational level, and age. The ecosystem services that are statistically related to WTP are the provisioning and supporting services. Regardless of the monetary valuation scenarios defined, the estimated annual monetized aggregated welfare associated with the RBJBE for Dominican society is DOP 7.2 billion (≈USD 128.1 million).

The Incredible and Sad Story of Boca de Cachón: How a Rural Community in the Hispaniola Is in a Prolonged, Heartless, and Predictable Climate Crisis

“…km, of which approximately 900 sq. km corresponds to the marine area [6,32]. Figure 2 shows the location of RBJBE in the DR territory.…”

“…There is no doubt that poverty constitutes a complex situation from the point of view of the management of protected ecosystems since controversial evidence points to benefits and costs in both directions, that is, in favor of the net benefits in terms of conservation derived from the establishment of protected areas [38,39]. Based on a recent economic valuation of ecosystem services provided by the RBJBE [6], the provisioning and regulating ecosystem services were the most valued by the Dominican society, indicating the dual role of the biosphere reserve in providing natural resources for both primary economic and subsistence activities at the local level, and the recognition of its richness and unique biodiversity. There is no doubt that poverty constitutes a complex situation from the point of view of the management of protected ecosystems since controversial evidence points to benefits and costs in both directions, that is, in favor of the net benefits in terms of conservation derived from the establishment of protected areas [38,39].…”

“…The socio-economic impact of the lake Enriquillo flooding has been challenging to estimate. However, based on restoration costs available, it has been globally estimated at between US $50 and the US $70 million [5,6,47]. The estimation considers the substantial losses in agricultural and livestock, with around 17,000 productive hectares affected, and private and public properties with severe damage.…”

“…It has directly impacted the 22,000 inhabitants in the settlement surrounding the lakes, with an extended impact over the 122,000 inhabitants of the nine municipalities in the provinces of Bahoruco and Independencia The socio-economic impact of the lake Enriquillo flooding has been challenging to estimate. However, based on restoration costs available, it has been globally estimated at between US $50 and the US $70 million [5,6,47]. The estimation considers the substantial losses in agricultural and livestock, with around 17,000 productive hectares affected, and private and public properties with severe damage.…”

“…Between 2004 and 2014, Boca de Cachón and the Lake's belt communities were deeply affected by flooding of the Lake's rising waters [4,5]. In 2014 they became the first human settlement displaced due to the effects of climate change in the Dominican Republic (DR) and probably one of the first in the Americas in the second decade of the twenty-first century [6]. The DR is a developing insular country located in the Caribbean, which, as has been stated, shares the island of Hispaniola with the Republic of Haiti.…”