DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: NON-USG DONOR ASSISTANCE FOR

UNCLAS SANTO DOMINGO 001084 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR OES/ENV RACHEL KASTENBERG, BOB WING; WHA/EPSC JUN BANDO; DEPT PASS USAID/LAC/RSD JOHN GARRISON; DEPT PASS USTR MARA BURR; WHITE HOUSE FOR USTR MARA BURR E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID ELAB EPA ETRD SENV DR SUBJECT: DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: NON-USG DONOR ASSISTANCE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL TRADE CAPACITY BUILDING REF: 07 STATE 54169 ¶1. Summary. Per reftel, emboff met with officials from the Secretariat of the Environment and Natural Resources SIPDIS (SEMARENA) to discuss environmental trade capacity building (TCB) projects in the Dominican Republic that are financed by non-USG donors. In total, there are nine major donors that support 32 major environmental TCB projects. Most projects are multi-year and the estimated amount is USD 160.8 million. The donor countries are Germany, Japan, Spain, Canada, and Switzerland. The multi-lateral institutions are the Inter American Development Bank (IDB),the European Union Commission (EU),the United Nations, (UN) Development Program (UNDP) and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Most of these projects will improve the Dominican Republic's capacity to implement and benefit from the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States (CAFTA-DR) regional free trade agreement. End Summary. ¶2. The donors are broken out as follows: Countries -Germany, two donors: Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) and Deutscher Entwicklungsdienst (DED) -Japan: Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) -Spain: Spanish Agency for International Cooperation (AECI) -Canada: Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) -Switzerland: Swiss Association for International Cooperation (HELVETAS) Multi-lateral institutions -Inter American Development Bank (IDB) -European Union Commission (EU) -United Nations Development Program (UNDP) -United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) ¶3. The majority of the donor programs can be categorized under the four themes of the CAFTA-DR Environmental Cooperation Agreement (ECA). For clarification purposes, each program lists the donor, the program's focus, the program's name, a brief description of the program, the amount funded, and the length of the program. The programs included in this cable compliment many of the USAID CAFTA-DR projects in the Dominican Republic. USAID meets with donors semi-annually to ensure that there is no duplication or waste of resources. -------------- 
A) Institutional Strengthening for Effective Implementation and Enforcement of Environmental Laws 1) (GTZ) Bilateral project - Natural Resources Management project: supports natural resource policy formulation, institutional strengthening, decentralization/municipal environmental management, watershed management, and development of sustainable/profitable natural resource management pilots, (USD 7.9 million),(3-yr, 2006-2009). 2) (GTZ) Regional project (Dominican Republic and Haiti) ) The Artibonito river: promotes institutional strengthening and development of sustainable/profitable natural resource management pilots, (USD 2 million),(3-yr, 2004-2007). 3) (GTZ/DED) Regional project (Dominican Republic, Haiti and Honduras) ) Fight against desertification: provides support to Technical Inter-Institutional Groups (GTI) and Local Working Teams (CTL); supports Development of National Action Plans (PAN) to combat desertification; supports civil society participation and institutional strengthening, (USD 1.4 million) (5-yr, 2003-2008). 4) (DED) Bilateral project ) Automation and documentation of experiments and methodologies: provides assistance in the preparation and automation of manuals and regulations; provides training on associated technical equipment, (USD 14,960) (1-yr, 2005-2006). 5) (DED) Regional project (Dominican Republic, Haiti and Honduras) ) Fight against desertification: supports coordination among government organizations and non-government organizations (NGOs) to implement the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD),(USD 510,000) (4-yr, 2003-2008). 6) (DED) Bilateral project ) Sustainable rural development in the Joca and Artibonito watersheds: develops community land-use plans, sustainable agriculture/soil conservation models and implements community reforestation projects, (USD 204,000) (2-yr, 2004-2006). 7) (DED) Bilateral project ) Strengthen municipal environmental management: provides policy assistance (national and local) for municipal environmental management, inter-institutional coordination, institutional strengthening, and decentralization, (USD 394,400) (4-yr, 2003-2007). 8) (DED) Bilateral project ) Municipal environmental management planning: provides planning assistance and training on municipal environmental management, institutional strengthening, and decentralization, (USD 503,200) (4-yr, 2003-2007). 9) (AECI) Bilateral project ) Water supply and sanitation: supports surface-water source protection, reforestation, agro-forestry, environmental education, institutional strengthening, and disaster mitigation, (USD 2.72 million) (4-yr, 2006-2010). 10) (JICA) Bilateral project ) Sustainable management of the Upper Sabana Yegua Dam watershed: provides assistance in watershed management, agro-forestry, irrigated agriculture, prevention/control of forest fires, community participation in environment management, and GIS/GPS training, (USD 4 million) (3-yr, 2006-2009). 11) (JICA) Bilateral project ) Development study for the management of solid waste in Santo Domingo: supports public-private partnerships for waste management, which involves citizen participation; promotes hospital/natural disaster waste management, (USD 2 million) (2-yr, 2005-2007). 12) (JICA) Bilateral project ) National Strategic Plan for the development of Ecotourism in the Dominican Republic: helps develop a national ecotourism strategy. (USD 2 million) (2006-TBD). 13) (JICA) Bilateral project ) Environmental Information Center: promotes the development of a national center that provides environmental information and education to the public, (funds and timeline - TBD). 14) (JICA) Bilateral project ) Scholarship program: provides training on natural resource management, ecotourism planning/management, eco-construction, and capacity building on the Kyoto Protocol, (USD 40,000 per course) (1-yr, 2006-2007). 15) (FAO) Bilateral project ) Revision of the National Forestry Academy's curriculum: revises competence targets for technical-level participants and redesigns curriculum, (USD 177,000) (2.5-yr, 2004-2006). 16) (FAO) Bilateral project ) National Action Plan, the Fight against Desertification, and revision of operating procedures of the Dominican technical inter-institutional group (GTI): prepares training materials and modules, revises GTI procedures, and assists in the development of the National Action Plan (PAN),(USD 25,500) (1-yr, 2005-2006). 17) (EU) Bilateral project ) Repair environmental damage caused by mining: provides technical assistance in repairing the Rosario gold mine's environmental damage, in mapping, in developing risk assessments of mining assets, in institutional strengthening, and in mining and protecting the environment, (USD 20.5 million) (5-yr, 2005-2010). 18) (EU) Bilateral project ) Water sanitation program in the border region: promotes increased access to water and sanitation services and conducts risk management assessments in the Dominican Republic-Haiti border zone, (funds-TBD) (3-yr, 2006-2009). 19) (IDB) Bilateral project ) Watershed and coastal zone management: provides loans in the planning stage; additional activities TBD (USD 50 million) (5-yr, 2007-2012): this project is currently in its development stages. 20) (IDB) Bilateral project ) Prevention of disasters and risk management: provides risk prevention at the local level; incorporates risk into educational programs and national planning, (USD 5 million) (2.5-yr, 2006-2009). 21) (CIDA) Regional project (Dominican Republic and Haiti) ) Watershed management of the Artibonito river region: supports poverty alleviation through sustainable natural resource management in the Artibonito watershed; foments watershed co-management initiatives; increases natural resource management capacity, and improves rural infrastructure, (USD 9 million) (7-yr, 2004-2011). -------------- B) Biodiversity and Conservation 1) (HELVETAS) Bilateral project ) Sustainable use of natural resources: promotes biodiversity, soil conservation, water source protection and development, integrated natural resource management, ecotourism, and micro-credit development and planning, (USD 434,600) (3-yr, 2003-2006). -------------- C) Market-Based Conservation 1) (DED) Bilateral project ) Commercialization of agro-forestry products in the buffer zones of the Loma Guaconejo Scientific Reserve: supports cocoa organic certification and quality improvements, cocoa/coffee/coconut commercialization, institutional strengthening, and environmental education, (USD 435,000) (3.5-yr, 2003-2006). 2) (DED) Bilateral project ) Watershed protection in the Upper Yaque del Norte River Watershed: provides assistance in forestry/agriculture management and commercialization, community development, and organizational strengthening, (USD 510,000) (2-yr, 2005-2007). 3) (DED) Bilateral project ) Ecotourism in the Loma Quita Espuela Scientific Reserve: supports ecotourism marketing and infrastructure, and provides training to communities on ecotourism services and environmental education, (USD 17,700) (2-yr, 2004-2006). 4) (DED) Bilateral project ) Commercialization of wood and agro-forestry products: provides technical assistance in wood processing and marketing, agricultural product commercialization, and institutional strengthening, (USD 312,800) (2.5-yr, 2000-2006). 5) (DED) Bilateral project ) Ecotourism in protected areas: promotes ecotourism marketing, a public monitoring system, inter-institutional coordination, and ecotourism training, (USD 69,360) (5-yr, 2002-2007). 6) (AECI) Bilateral project ) Araucaria XXI Project/Enriquillo: provides training in the management of natural resources and protected areas, integrated micro-watershed management; supports sustainable development activities, institutional strengthening, and municipal environmental management, (USD 4.76 million) (4-yr, 2005-2009). -------------- D) Improved Private Sector Environmental Performance Non-USG donor programs do not have any projects in this area. -------------- E) The following programs are not directly related to the ECA: 1) (GTZ) Bilateral project ) Prevention against natural disasters: provides assistance in the development of agro-forestry and reforestation systems, flood protection (construction of retaining walls),sustainable agriculture and water management, (USD 3.4 million) (2.5-yr, 2006-2008). 2) (FAO) Regional project (Latin American and Caribbean countries) ) Development of a regional cooperation strategy for the prevention, control and combat of forest fires: promotes a regional forest-fire prevention strategy, control and combat plan; and establishes three regional forest-fire prevention networks (CAM, Caribbean and South America),(USD 265,000) (1-yr, 2005-2006). 3) (EU) Bilateral project ) Prevention of and preparedness for natural disasters: provides assistance in the development of a disaster prevention information network; promotes the increase of disaster management capabilities, and improves emergency management at the national level, (USD 8.84 million) (4-yr, 2006-2010). 4) (UNDP) Bilateral project ) Environmental sustainability management and risk management in the event of emergencies and disasters: helps establish a national risk management and disaster prevention/preparedness system; helps implement natural resource protection plans in degraded watersheds, and develops disaster prevention and awareness programs, (USD 24.3 million, other agencies USD 8.27 million) (4-yr, 2007-2011). BULLEN