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.

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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).

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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).

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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).

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D) Improved Private Sector Environmental Performance

Non-USG donor programs do not have any projects in this area.

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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