Creating an Environmental Manual for Watershed Conservation in the Dominican Republic

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Review meeting with volunteer Peter Phillips, APEDI director Saul Abreu, Fondo Agua Yaque del Norte director Walkiria Estevez and F2F field officer Gabriela Rosa.

The Yaque del Norte Basin is the most important hydrographic basin in the Dominican Republic, with an area of more than ​​7,000 square kilometers, equivalent to 15% of the national territory. It affects 40 municipalities within six provinces in the Central Cibao and Northwestern Cibao regions, where approximately 1.8 million people live. The main river that gives its name to this basin is the Yaque del Norte, the longest in the Dominican Republic, with a route of almost 300 kilometers from its source in Jarabacoa, in the Central mountain range, to its mouth in Montecristi.

Because of its importance, many organizations work towards the conservation of this river and basin. The Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) Program in the Dominican Republic has been working with two special ones: The first one is Fondo Agua Yaque del Norte, an association focused on raising funds and building a fund managed as a trust, whose income is used for environmental conservation and recovery efforts that promote water generation in the Yaque del Norte river basin. The second one is Asociación para el Desarrollo, Inc. (APEDI), a non-profit organization created with the objective of promoting economic and social development in the Dominican Republic. APEDI was founded in 1961 and was the first organization of its kind in the country.

As both organizations promote initiatives and projects that advocate for the conservation of water and other natural resources, they wanted to create an environmental education manual focused on ecological conservation that could be used by universities, schools, and other educational programs. A very special F2F remote volunteer was recruited to guide the organizations’ staff and advise them on the topics and content for the manual: Peter Phillips, a Biology Professor Emeritus from Winthrop University in South Carolina. Peter is very familiar with the Yaque del Norte Basin, as he has extensive research and teaching experience in marine and aquatic resources, tropical biology, research methods, bioremediation, zoology and general biology in both English and Spanish.

Local Volunteer Rashel Santana presenting the first designs to APEDI and Fondo Agua Yaque del Norte, with the appropriate social distance due to COVID-19.

Since June 2020 Peter has been working remotely with the Dominican Republic F2F team in the creation of this manual, which will include both printed and digital modules covering the environmental and social aspects that influence the basin’s management. This educational tool contributes to the broader goals and objectives of the Rural Adaptation and Resilience strategy of the F2F program in the Dominican Republic by enhancing natural resource management in the country. 

Due to the continued international travel disruptions caused by the COVID-19, in July USAID approved a waiver for its traditional F2F program format, pairing U.S. remote volunteers (like Peter Phillips) with local volunteers in host countries, for collaboration, support, and assistance. Therefore, local volunteer Rashel Santana, a finishing graphic design student, started volunteering for this assignment in mid-September. She will be in charge of the graphic design of the manual. 

From Santiago and Santo Domingo to Washington and Seattle, virtual teamwork has proven to be effective and has opened new opportunities we could never have imagined!

Presentation of local volunteer Rashel Santana to the team. 

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