Climate Adaptation Activity

Reliable
access to safe water saves lives, improves livelihoods, and makes
communities more resilient. While the Dominican Republic’s economic
dependence on agriculture and tourism require effective natural resource
management for the overall welfare of the population, the country is
ranked as one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to climate
change. 

With tourism focused on coastal areas representing nearly 20% of the
economy, current and future economic growth are dependent on the
governments and the communities’ ability to effectively balance the
social, economic, and environmental dimensions of water ecosystems. The
livelihoods of many rural communities, however, are dependent on the
country’s natural resources, vulnerable to the effect of climate change,
and have limited access to climate information to reduce risk.
Vulnerable communities, particularly those along the Dominican
Republic-Haiti border, are among the poorest in the country and have the
most limited access to basic services, including water. Water security
indicators show that the country is approaching thresholds of water
stress and is already experiencing water conflicts and shortages.

Climate change not only affects the welfare of Dajabón communities,
but is also exacerbating cross-border conflicts, displacing people, and
reversing development gains along the border. The increased frequency
and severity of meteorological threats such as tropical storms, floods,
reduced precipitation, and droughts—expected to worsen with climate
change—is threatening water resources, reducing aquifer recharge and
water availability, destroying farms and livelihoods, and exacerbating
food security, especially for marginalized communities.