The Dominican Republic: A Brief Introduction

The Dominican Republic is a country in the Caribbean. Its population of 11.1 million is approximately 17% rural.1 The Dominican Republic constitutes the eastern two-thirds of the Caribbean island Hispaniola, with a predominantly tropical climate and small arid regions in the north and southwest.2 More than 60% of the Dominican Republic’s population (which is around 6 million people) are concentrated in urban areas along the coast or in areas that are at high risk of extreme hydrometeorological events.3 Through a turbulent colonial history under both French and Spanish rule centered around sugar cane exports, the Dominican Republic declared its independence from Haiti in 1844.4 Today, sugar cane remains an important part of the Dominican Republic’s economy with the Haitian minority making up a large portion of the agricultural labor force, despite being marginalized politically and socially.5

Mapping Major Climate Events and Climate-Induced Displacement

The Dominican Republic is ranked as the 50th most climate vulnerable country due to its susceptibility to hurricanes, floods, and tropical storms. The northeast of the island is more susceptible to floods, mudslides, and storms, while the northwest is vulnerable to rising temperatures and drought, affecting agriculture.6 For example, Hurricane Maria (2017) and Hurricane Fiona (2022) led to the deaths of 7 people in the Dominican Republic, creating devastating effects for communities with homes destroyed, energy and water infrastructure damaged, and leading to many people impoverished.7  8 Hurricane Fiona also led to the displacement of at least 43,540 people, all of whom were relocated temporarily.9 Additionally, in 2021, 10,338 people were displaced by a storm.10 Displacement, especially due to climate, is a fairly common phenomena in the Dominican Republic especially due to the population’s proximity to the coast– however, relocation is complicated by turmoil in Venezuela as 114,000 Venezuelan refugees have sought asylum in the Dominican Republic.11  

Mapping the Costs of the Climate Crisis

The Dominican Republic has a GDP of $94.24 billion, the largest in the Caribbean region.12 Between 1961-2014, losses due to natural disasters have been estimated at 0.69% of GDP or US $420 million per year.13 In 2022, damage incurred by Hurricane Fiona cost about 20,000 million pesos, which is about 9.2% of the country’s GDP.14 Disasters largely affect the agricultural sector of the Dominican economy as, while agriculture represents only about 4% of GDP, it accounts for 68% of land use and remains crucial for income and food security.15 Hurricane Fiona led to the damage of cattle farms, banana plantations, cassava, cocoa, rice, vegetables, and fruit trees.16 Agriculture employs about 20% of the population and small farmers are more susceptible to natural disasters, despite making up 72% of total farmers and accounting for 28% of agricultural land.17 Additionally, these costs disproportionately affect women, as their work in the informal sector, services sector, and in community work leads to instability in employment and vulnerability to natural disasters.18 The climate crisis is also expected to reduce food and nutrition security through its effects on agriculture and fisheries as it exacerbates water insecurity, increases the dependency on food imports, and increases the risk of food-related disease.19

Mapping Resilience and Mitigation Pathways

The Dominican Republic’s NDC is centered around a commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 27% by 2030. Sectors targeted within the NDC include coastal zones, improved disaster risk management, protection of ecosystems and biodiversity, forestry, health, increased tourism, and water security. The Dominican Republic has also taken steps towards a low-carbon economy, emphasizing green employment policies and increased education for workers.20 Regarding ongoing climate-induced migration, the Dominican Republic has developed the National Climate Change Adaptation Plan (PANA) which includes the introduction of land-use control, relocating settlements on riverbanks, in the vicinity of dams, and in areas susceptible to landslides. Additionally, the Strategic Plan for Climate Change (2011-2030) creates incentives for the formation of programs to address environmental migration.21 The Dominican Republic’s NDC includes many protections for vulnerable industries, incentivizing sustainable and eco-friendly tourism as well as improving agricultural practices (implementing climate-resilient crop varieties and livestock breeds, water-use efficiency, and an integrated farming system).22             

Necessary Changes

The Dominican Republic has already taken major steps towards climate mitigation and resilience, as seen through PANA and other major programs created to combat the climate crisis. However, the Dominican Republic must confront historical political institutions that affect the effectiveness and breadth of its climate capabilities. After a turbulent period of civil war, dictatorships, and military intervention, the Dominican Republic restored civilian rule in 1966 with the election of Joaquin Balague. However, neopatrimonial models of government remained throughout Balague’s presidency and the decades following it. The recent Medina administration struggled to implement progressive education and health reforms and reduce poverty due to the legacies of this neopatrimonialism and the patronage-based operating systems of parties that cater to the political elite.23 This creates obstacles to progressive climate action and dissuades responsiveness to the masses or extremely vulnerable communities. Additionally, as a small island nation, the Dominican Republic contributes very little to the worsening of the climate crisis but suffers from the worst effects. The international community must step up to provide more tangible disaster relief aid and mitigate their contributions in order to assist the Dominican Republic. Additionally, certain communities in the Dominican Republic, like women and the impoverished Haitian minority, suffer disproportionate effects and require more government assistance. While projects addressing the gender disparity exist, the Haitian minority, who tend to be undocumented immigrants, face deportation as well as displacement, with many fleeing to the mountains instead of evacuating and dying at higher rates from flooding and mudslides because of this.24 ​​​​​​​ Internationally-backed adaptation and mitigation efforts should support the work already being done on the ground to ensure that affected workers’ voices are amplified in the process of just transition, and also help bolster the participation of directly impacted local communities in decision-making. Through this collaborative approach of capacity building for climate action, the movement towards climate resilience in the Dominican Republic can also be sustained and expanded.