The Dominican Republic will joins a handful of other countries committed to conserving 30 per cent of its ocean waters
With humpback whales, manatees, wrecks, caves, drift dives and coral reefs, mangrove swamps and, not forgetting of course, the idyllic Caribbean climate and delicious beaches, the Dominican Republic is a sure-fire favourite with divers. But now the island and its surrounding waters are about to get even more enticing with the announcement earlier this month that the Dominican Republic is committing itself to protecting over 30 per cent of its waters. In doing so it becomes one of only a handful of countries in the world to make such a commitment and it means the country will meet one of the targets of the Global Biodiversity Framework to conserve 30 per cent of lands, waters and seas by 2030.
Announced by ocean conservationist Sylvia Earle, the 30.8 per cent officially designation for protection includes a critical transboundary marine protected area – the first in the Caribbean – straddling the Colombian boundary on the Beata Ridge seamount, an area of critical importance for cetaceans, sea birds, and sharks.Â
Surveys, funded by Blue Marine Foundation, Blue Nature Alliance and Wyss Foundation, have shown that the seamount serves as both a feeding ground and travel route for rare seabird species such as the black-capped petrel, cetaceans (sperm whales, pilot whales, dolphins), and also acts as a nursery for diverse marine species including the critically endangered oceanic whitetip shark.Â
One particularly vital area that will fall under the new protections is the Silver Bank, one of the most important breeding and calving grounds for the North Atlantic humpback whale population. Every year, between January and April, thousands of these giants migrate to the warm, sheltered waters of the Silver Bank to mate, give birth, and nurse their calves.
Commenting on the announcement of the new protections, Jonathan Delance, Deputy Minister of Environment of the Dominican Republic government said, ‘We are very proud to have our new marine protected areas. The fact that we’re expanding our protected ecosystems is a huge achievement for the Dominican Republic. We’re reaching 30 per cent today, six years before the goal. We are very happy to have been in contact with so many allies around the world who shared with us their technical expertise, funding our priorities of research, so we can finally have reached this incredible goal to have protected 30 per cent of our ocean.’
Meanwhile, Dr Judith Brown, Project Director of Blue Marine Foundation, said, ‘The Government of the Dominican Republic has taken a momentous step toward marine conservation leadership with this evidence-based designation. It will preserve migratory pathways of key species like sperm whales and advance MPA connectivity across borders, hopefully acting as a catalyst to accelerate the establishment of a network of marine protected areas throughout the Caribbean.’
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