Fausto Gómez Pezzotti TNC-Dominican Republic Program

Conservation Approach To fulfill our long-term vision and achieve our goals, The Nature Conservancy employs an integrated conservation process comprised of four fundamental components: To fulfill our long-term vision and achieve our goals, The Nature Conservancy employs an integrated conservation process comprised of four fundamental components:

Setting priorities through Setting priorities through ecoregional planning and global habitat assessments. Developing strategies at multiple scales to address ecoregional priorities and global threats. Developing strategies at multiple scales to address ecoregional priorities and global threats. Taking direct conservation action; and Taking direct conservation action; and Measuring conservation success. Measuring conservation success.

Setting Priorities The Conservancy sets priorities two ways: through global major habitat type assessments and through ecoregional planning. The Conservancy sets priorities two ways: through global major habitat type assessments and through ecoregional planning.

GREATER CARIBBEAN ECOREGIONAL PLAN - GEOGRAFIC AREA

Developing Strategies Developing Strategies Single-Area Strategies For all priority conservation areas in which the Conservancy invests resources directly or through partnerships, we employ the 5-S Framework for Conservation Project Management. For all priority conservation areas in which the Conservancy invests resources directly or through partnerships, we employ the 5-S Framework for Conservation Project Management.

The 5-S planning approach focuses on the following components:

1. Systems The focal conservation targets and their key ecological attributes. 2. Stresses The most serious types of destruction or degradation affecting the conservation degradation affecting the conservation targets or key ecological attributes. targets or key ecological attributes. 3. Sources of stress The causes or agents of destruction or degradation.

4. Strategies The full array of actions necessary to abate the threats or enhance the abate the threats or enhance the viability of the conservation targets. viability of the conservation targets. 5. Success measures The monitoring process for assessing progress in abating threats assessing progress in abating threats and improving the biodiversity health of a conservation area. and improving the biodiversity health of a conservation area.

Taking Action In keeping with the Conservancy’s commitment to results, the bulk of our resources—human and financial—are focused on implementing well-conceived conservation strategies. In keeping with the Conservancy’s commitment to results, the bulk of our resources—human and financial—are focused on implementing well-conceived conservation strategies.

Measuring Success For purposes of assessing progress toward our mission, The Nature Conservancy defines conservation success as For purposes of assessing progress toward our mission, The Nature Conservancy defines conservation success as the combination of three outcomes: the maintenance of viable biodiversity, abatement of critical threats, and effective protection and management of places where we take action with partners.

A unique Dominican case which is a result, among some other facts, of the assisting conservation actions of TNC in the Dominican Republic. “LOS DAJAOS” “LOS DAJAOS”

Madre de las Aguas Mother of the Waters

Madre de las Aguas comprises some 320,000 hectares within the Central Mountain Range (Cordillera Central) of the Dominican Republic; this ecoregion is integrated by five national parks and two reserves with a territory under protection equivalent to 7% of the nation’s land mass.

Why the Conservancy Works Here: Unsustainable logging, uncontrolled fires, slash and burn agriculture, expansion of sun-grown coffee fields and hillside farming are causing soil erosion and significant species loss.

Strategies being proposed by the Conservancy to mitigate these threats are: reforestation, and providing help to partner organizations that undertake economic and community development projects to build support for conservation work and alternative livelihoods.

Madre de las Aguas Los Dajaos *

La Paloma Los Dajaos Arroyo Dulce Piedra Llana El Manguito Los Marranitos Josafá El Bolo Los Dajaos watershed

Agriculture on high slope

A plot ready to be planted

Conuco

Strawberry

Nursery - Strawberry

Strawberries are kept in bags

Strawberry bundle

Strawberry nursery on deep slope

Nursery 300m² = ½ tarea MaterialsUnitAmountCost/UnitTotal RD$Total US$ 1.Plastic roll Roll3x6 0m15, Natural structure frame (poles) 110, Irrigation system for plastic bags 140, , Instalation 13, Plants 4, , Plastic Bags 4, , Substratum - gravel/sandm³71, , Total 80,8652, hectare = 16 tareas

AreaProductIncome/month Conuco10,000 m²Corn+Yuca+Plantain+ Sweet potatoes+beans +others RD$500 US$1428 Nursery30 m²StrawberryRD$12, US$ Tarea Hectare Average production (Pounds) 2,780 44,480 Average price (Per pound) RD$40.00US$1.14RD$40.00US$1.14 Total income (8 months) 111, , ,779, , Cost12, , , Profit98, , ,578, , CONUCO VS NURSERY

Small farmer’s income Before the innovation of the greenhouses Working from 1 to 50 “tareas” = to 3.13 hectares Less than RD$ = US$14.29 per month In rare cases they made up to RD$1, = US$28.57 (exchange rate = 35)

Small farmers’ income After changing the agricultural practice (nurseries) Working from 1 to 3 “tareas” = to 0.2 hectares RD$12,333 = US$352 to RD$37,000 = US$1,057 per month (exchange rate = 35)