The Netherlands and INTEC address climate change adaptation solutions in the Dominican Republic

Representatives from Dutch companies held an open dialogue with Dominican authorities and explored opportunities for cooperation in the area of ​​sustainability.

SANTO DOMINGO - The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo (INTEC) held the third edition of Orange Conversations, with a meeting in which they presented nature-based solutions from both countries for the management of watersheds, rivers, coasts and riverside urban areas.

During the event, the Vice Minister of Climate Change and Sustainability, Ana Emilia Pimentel, highlighted the Dominican Republic's vulnerability to climate change and the need to strengthen the resilience of watersheds, coasts, and communities. She emphasized the importance of incorporating integrated approaches and considering the full life cycle of interventions, as well as community participation and inter-institutional coordination.

In her opening address, Flora Wiedijk, Minister-Counselor of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, explained that traditionally, a significant part of the Dutch water infrastructure was based on controlling and protecting against water. Over time, she said, the Netherlands has learned to work with nature, to give water space, and to use natural processes as part of the solutions.

“The Dominican Republic and the Netherlands share something fundamental: we are countries connected by water. This reality has led us to develop knowledge and solutions that we now want to share with Dominican experience and needs,” he said.

Meanwhile, the rector of INTEC, Arturo Del Villar, raised the need to create spaces that allow for the dissemination of knowledge in the search for solutions to national problems. “Faced with challenges as complex as climate change, academia has the knowledge and the capacity to connect sectors to generate real solutions. At INTEC, we are promoting this collaboration so that it translates into decisions applicable to our needs as a country,” he stated.

Referring to the experience of international cooperation in the country, Filippo Berardi, Senior Climate Change Specialist at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), cited adaptation projects financed by that organization in the Dominican Republic. These projects include the Yuna River Basin Management Project, with an investment of US$270.5 million; the Sustainable Coastal Management Project, with US$70 million; and the Universal Sanitation Program in Coastal and Tourist Cities, with funding totaling US$970 million.

In this regard, Aguie Lendor, executive vice president of the Dominican Republic Hotel and Tourism Association (Asonahores), pointed out that coastal protection has a direct impact on tourism and employment. She indicated that more than 800,000 people in the country depend on this activity and emphasized the need for coordinated action between the private sector and public institutions. Presenting the Dominican tourism sector's experience at the meeting, she stated that environmental sustainability should not be considered an accessory or solely a matter of corporate social responsibility. "It's not an accessory. It's the foundation of the sector," she emphasized.

Frida Ruiz Fernández, representing the International Finance Corporation (IFC), presented the Building Resilience Index (BRI), a methodology for assessing the climate resilience of buildings. She also addressed financing instruments related to biodiversity, the blue economy, and the circular economy. The specialist emphasized the need to transform adaptation projects into sufficiently structured proposals to attract funding.

Carlos Sanlley, Director of Research at INTEC, presented a diagnostic report on the lower basins of the Ozama and Isabela rivers, as well as a project to monitor river waste using cameras and artificial intelligence, developed by INTEC in partnership with The Ocean Cleanup. He explained the relationship between the problems facing both aquifers and various urban, environmental, and socioeconomic factors, concluding that, in addition to the technical analysis of the situation, there are significant social and economic dimensions.

The meeting brought together representatives from the Government, the tourism sector, multilateral banks, academic institutions and engineering companies from the Netherlands.

Experience in the Netherlands

Representatives from the Dutch consortium EcoShape and the companies Haskoning, Witteveen+Bos, Fugro, Van Oord and Dutch Dredging presented projects developed in that country for coastal protection, mangrove restoration, environmental monitoring, dredging and sediment management.

Matthijs Bouw, who spoke on behalf of EcoShape, explained how that company works hand in hand with design, engineering, construction and other specialized companies, knowledge and research centers and NGOs to identify nature-based solutions from the very conception of projects, when it is possible to establish the conditions for sustainability.

Freddy Paya, from the company Fugro, spoke about the use of geospatial information to understand the physical and environmental conditions of a territory before designing an intervention. Among the most relevant types of information, he cited topography, bathymetry, coastline, environmental studies, and information on infrastructure.

In presenting Haskoning's experience, Danielle Conway shared several international examples of resilient infrastructure and nature-based solutions. She explained that these solutions do not completely replace traditional infrastructure but rather often involve developing hybrid solutions that combine conventional infrastructure with natural elements.

Manuel Suárez, CEO of Witteveen+Bos Panama, presented solutions from the field of maritime and coastal engineering. He emphasized the need to understand the natural dynamics of these systems and to properly evaluate how robust infrastructure can be combined with natural processes.

Meanwhile, Alejandro Cacicedo, Commercial Manager of Van Oord Group, and Aleyda Ortega, Regional Manager of Dutch Dredgin, spoke about the implementation of maritime dredging and coastal restoration projects. One of the key principles highlighted during the presentation was the consideration of dredged material not necessarily as waste, but as a resource that can be reused. They cited the use of sediments from port or canal maintenance to create or reinforce beaches, salt marshes, wetlands, or other natural areas.

Finally, the round table discussion "How should the Dominican Republic strengthen its climate resilience?" was held, with the participation of Davis Aracena, Aguie Lendor, Filippo Berardi, Frida Ruiz Fernández and Matthijs Bouw, who discussed the importance of ecosystem approaches to mitigate the impacts of climate change.

The meeting concluded with a commitment from the participants to establish a technical working group with the participation of the public, private, academic and financial sectors to coordinate climate change adaptation projects in the Dominican Republic.

About Orange Conversations

Orange Conversations is a series of forums, conferences, and panels organized by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Dominican Republic and the Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo (INTEC).

INTEC is a Dominican institution of higher education of a private, non-profit nature, which since its founding in 1972 has stood out for its academic excellence and its contribution to the social transformation of the country through science and technology.