Environment Minister Fernández Mirabal: “To Be Among the World’s Greenest Countries is a Challenge”

Jaime David Fernández Mirabal, Minister of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARENA) announced that the Dominican Republic ranks number 33 among 149 countries in an evaluation of environmental performance, according to a study done by Yale University. He said this position has been a challenge for the authorities, political classes and Dominican society.

The Dominican Republic ranks 33 among 149 countries in terms of environmental health, according to the Environment Performance Index (EPI) of Yale University…

“To be among the first 35 greenest countries in the world is an acknowledgment of the efforts made by non-governmental and governmental organizations, academies and the Dominican people in support of the environment and natural resources. However, this is a challenge because from now on we must strive to improve our position even more,” said the Environment Minister at the closure of the 8th technical meeting of the Caribbean Biological Corridor.

The Caribbean Biological Corridor is a project that seeks to integrate joint efforts on the part of the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Cuba, Jamaica and other Caribbean islands to draw up mutual policies in defense of the region’s biodiversity, conservation of nature and development of the region’s shared natural resources.

Throughout the three-day meeting at the Santo Domingo Institute of Technological (INTEC), the technical delegations worked on a Joint Plan of Action proposal by the countries that, so far, form part of the corridor: Haiti, Cuba and the Dominican Republic. Jamaica recently joined and still holds the position of observer.

This plan will be validated within a month-and-a-half at the fourth meeting of Environment Ministers of the member countries.

The Dominican Republic ranks 33 among 149 countries in terms of environmental health, according to the Environment Performance Index (EPI) of Yale University which carried out the study recently referred to by Roland Bullen, business attaché at the US Embassy in the Dominican Republic. The Yale research studied carbon and sulfur emissions, water resources and quality and conservation practices.