Speeches: 2006- 2005

USAID/DR Mission Director, Elena Brineman’s,
Remarks for the Biodiversity in Agriculture Symposium

Good morning to all our Dominican and Foreign Guests

I am honored to be here today representing the U.S. Government, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the American people. For this opportunity, I would like to thank Virginia Tech, the Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resource Management Program, and the Integrated Pest Management Program that worked with USAID in organizing this important activity.

I would also like to extend a special thanks to our good friends at the Punta Cana Resort and Club and the Punta Cana Ecological Foundation for hosting this symposium, and for their leadership in preserving the Dominican biodiversity and environment in this region. I cannot think of a more appropriate, or more beautiful, setting for us to exchange ideas and experiences in biodiversity conservation and its importance in sustainable agriculture.

USAID recognizes that in order to improve people’s lives, special attention must be paid to conserving biodiversity and protecting the environment. The Agency believes that sound environmental protection policy, public education and good governance are necessary for economic development. This is true anywhere, but working and living in a fragile island environment and its economy brings the wisdom of this necessity home even more quickly. Because of its importance, USAID missions worldwide include biodiversity conservation as a critical component of their programs and strategies.

Biodiversity conservation touches many parts of our work. For example, by conserving natural resources we are protecting and improving the livelihoods of farmers, fishermen, those involved in tourism, and all people who directly depend on these resources, thus improving economic opportunities.

The U.S. government is currently one of the largest bilateral supporters of biodiversity conservation. Each year, the U.S. Congress sets aside $165.5 million for USAID support for biodiversity. These funds go to programs that focus on protected areas management, community-based conservation, policy development and reform, and sustainable use of natural resources, to name a few areas. In many of these cases, special attention is paid to agriculture.

There is an undisputable link between agriculture and biodiversity conservation. Unsound agricultural production practices can lead to soil degradation, erosion, water contamination, habitat destruction, and natural resources depletion. Yet agriculture needs to continue its development and growth in all our countries, not only because of the need for food – which will continue to grow in the future – but also because of the millions of men and women around the world that depend directly or indirectly on agriculture for their livelihood.

In missions all around the world, USAID and its partners are working to promote environmental, economic, and socially sustainable agriculture. The Dominican Republic, a country rich in natural resources, is not an exception. Our USAID mission in the Dominican Republic places great importance on promoting environmental, economic, and socially sustainable agriculture. In fact, our Improving Policies for Environmental Protection Program (IPEP), and our work on enhancing competitiveness through cluster development, were designed to help fulfill this objective.

Through the IPEP program, USAID has worked with the Dominican Government on revising and finalizing a set of environmental norms to guide the sustainable use of forest and water resources. We have also helped the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources finalize the Strategic Management Plan for the Dominican Biosphere Reserve, which includes three national parks: Enriquillo, Baharuco and Jaragua. These plans will provide a blueprint for simultaneously protecting the rich bio-diversity in the parks and promoting sustainable economic growth in one of the least developed areas of the country.

Another important part of IPEP is the Environmental Protection Investment Fund (called FIPA for its Spanish acronym) which provides technical assistance and funding for environmentally-friendly small business projects. Through this program, 26 projects are currently being developed throughout the country. One of them is a series of greenhouses in the northern region of the country that produce organic vegetables for local distribution. These greenhouses are increasing their owners’ income and at the same time, protecting the land they plant and aquifers they use, by switching from chemical to organic compost and insecticides.

Our FIPA projects are a successful example of how the private, public and civil society sectors can come together to implement voluntary environmental protection mechanisms, and generate income in vulnerable populations. During this event, you will hear my colleague, Bill Kaschak, speak about the successes we have had with these projects. The successes help the country promote respect for its environmental policies and the conservation of its protected areas, which currently represent 15% of this country’s total area.

Another example of public-private synergies is our work with small Dominican agribusinesses involved in niche market agriculture clusters producing and exporting oriental vegetables, mangos and coffee.  Our work with these groups has increased the use of integrated pest management in production systems and the cultivation of organic coffee. This work has also substantially increased incomes of the producers involved.

The seven tourism clusters we work with around the country, including the Punta Cana Tourism Cluster, all are actively working on protecting the natural resources around their regions and are incorporating destination communities in this task.  Some of the tourism clusters are now exploring forging direct links with surrounding farmers to produce “healthier foods” for the tourism trade. In fact, the link between the future of Dominican tourism and protection of the island’s unique biodiversity and environment is so strong that the Dominican Hotel Association is now one of the principle public advocates for protection of the island’s parks and protected areas.   

USAID/DR is also promoting environmental awareness in the general public. Last September we supported a media campaign called “Cuida tu Conuco” or “care for your homestead”. This campaign combines press, television and public radio announcements to teach people that, just as the conuco had to be cared for to continue to sustain the “family”, the country’s environment and natural resources must be cared for to sustain the economy. That is, everyone in the country has the responsibility to protect water resources, to control noise pollution, to protect the country’s forests and to dispose of waste appropriately.  
All of these efforts have relied, not only on the expert hands that execute them; but on the political will of the country’s leaders and citizens to implement them.
If I had to summarize the lessons that USAID/DR’s work for environmentally friendly, economically sustainable projects show, I would say that they teach that it pays to protect the environment and our unique biodiversity; that our land is our home or conuco, and that if we care for it, we will be rewarded with rich, beautiful fruits.

I hope that all of us present here today will echo this message and take it with us wherever we go, so that biodiversity conservation becomes a priority of all governments, everywhere.

I look forward to hearing about your experiences and best practices in biodiversity and agricultural management here and in other parts of the world.
Thank you.