Country: Dominican Republic
Location: Sabana Yegua
Year joined IMFN: 2003
Area of model forest: 166 000 hectares
Regional affiliation: Regional Model Forest Network for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC-Net)

Contact information

President: M. Frank Moya Pons, Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources
Vice-president: Melba Segura de Grullón, Presidente, Fundación Sur Futuro
Coordinator: Dr. Abel Hernández, Directeur of Planning, Forest Resources, Ministry of Environment and Natural Resource
E-mail:info@surfuturo.org

While the web site is under construction, information on the model forest initiative will be posted on the web site of the Fundación Sur Futuro: www.surfuturo.org.

The Sabana Yegua Watershed is located on the dry southern flank of the Dominican Republic's central mountain range, or "Cordillera Central". The area is divided into three sub-watersheds that encompass the drainages of the Yaque del Sur, Grande del Medio, and Las Cuevas rivers, which feed the Sabana Yegua Dam. The topography ranges from undulating hills to mountainous with elevations that range from 400 to almost 3 000 meters above sea level. The overall watershed encompasses over 100 communities spread across a 1 600 km². The model forest site has more than 60 000 inhabitants, 18 000 of whom live in small towns while 40 000 live in hamlets in the mountains.

The highlands are almost 52% forested with pure stands of Pinus occidentalis and with mixed pine-broadleaf forest in the intermediate altitudes. The lowlands are characterized by dry forest recognized as Dominican Mahogany (Swetenia mahagoni.) and by wide-spreading thorny species such as Mesquite (Prosopis juliflora.) and by several acacias (Acacia spp.), Euphorbs, and Cacti. At higher altitudes, most of the forest has protected status as it is situated within the boundaries of two national parks (J. Armando Bermudez and Maria del Carmen Ramirez). An additional pine forest, the Sabana San Juan National Forest, is also located within the boundaries of the watershed and will be managed as part of the model forest initiative. Only remnant stands of Cipres (C. lusitanica) and Sabina (Juniperus grocilior) exist, and many of the remaining broadleaf stands are found only in inaccessible locations.

With the exception of the hearty coppice species of the dry forest, the understory of the uplands in severely degraded due to fire and intensive grazing, that favor the regeneration of vigorous alien species of grasses that readily crowd-out the slower developing tree species and dominate the area for space. Because of the accentuated topography, the soils of the area are naturally thin and, due to shifting agriculture and grazing, are of marginal fertility. The proximity of the most productive areas to the national parks and national forest has created a scenario of conflicting land-use. The model forest program seeks to harmonize areas of conflicting land use and proposed commercial and resource management solutions with the environmental and land capability characteristics of the watershed.

Economic profile

Almost the entire population found within the model forest area practices farming as their principle means of income. The electricity, irrigation, and domestic water services provided from the Sabana Yegua Dam are critical to the economic development of the southwestern Dominican provinces of San Juan de la Maguana and Azua. The long-term output from the dam is unfortunately threatened by high rates of sedimentation that limit its storage capacity by more than one per cent per year. A declining economic situation forces farmers to seek more land and employ destructive practices, such as slash and burn agriculture and overgrazing, exacerbating the sedimentation issue. The loss of soil and forest cover has increased in proportion to the dramatic increase in poverty within the mountainous communities above the dam.

Very few small business opportunities exist in the watershed region. Out migration from some areas also limits the amount of business opportunity for those that remain. Agro-industry is limited to two small coffee processing plants and two micro rice mills. Two small sawmills were in operation following Hurricane Georges. Those mills are now closed down and without approved management plans, cannot be legally re-opened. One timber area, Sabana San Juan, will be legally managed under the Model Forest Programme. It is hoped that the model forest initiative will generate new employment in the area to stimulate the rural economy.

Why a model forest?

• Development of social capital of the present and future generations to manage the initiative in the decades to come. Although the literacy rate is at 70 per cent, functional illiteracy is much higher
• Sustainable financing for targeted investigation, such as long term biodiversity and hydrologic monitoring
• Distances and inaccessible areas. A decentralized system of project government must be created in a country familiar with vertical management and central authority
• An inflationary economy-initial investment is necessary until the project generates an internal return

Partners

At the initial stage there are three main partners: The Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources, the Fundación Sur Futuro, and the Canadian Embassy, who participates on an honorary basis. The founding members are in the process of selecting a board of directors and a local management committee for the first community to be incorporated into the program: Sabana San Juan.

Strategic Goals

• Production of water in both quality and quantity for the Sabana Yegua Dam
• Decentralized community governance
• Enhancement of social capital

Forestry: Management of 40 000 ha. of natural forest and the establishment of 20 000 ha. of forest plantations on public and private lands.

Agro-forestry: including the establishment of 30 community nurseries for fruit and forage trees. The establishment of tree-crop and tree-pasture systems. Promotion of on-farm soil conservation practices. Promotion of sustainable agriculture in appropriate areas using small-scale pressurized water systems for irrigation.

Erosion control: Exclusive of on-farm soil conservation, 561 gullies and landslides have been identified that require engineering structures for torrent control, absorption or dispersion of water, and/or stabilization.

Forest Protection: Formation of fire fighting brigades and equipment for the detection and control of forest fires.

Community Development: The financing and promotion of small scale animal husbandry units complementary to the ecology of the farms and homes, community-centered development projects in health and service delivery, and stimulation of employment through training, micro-financing.

Institutional Strengthening: Creation of a local project management network through local associations. Institutional strengthening through training and evaluations.

Extension and training: Training, information and farmer-to-farmer experiences in nursery management, agro-forestry, forest plantations, animal husbandry, and fire prevention and control.

Accomplishments to date

• Initial contact between the International Model Forest Network and the Dominican Republic established
• Dominican delegation attended the World Forestry Congress and networked with Canadian and International Model Forest representatives
• Dominican Model Forest Network created
• Bosque Modelo Sabana Yegua is formally integrated into LAC-Net
• Concession for the management of the Sabana San Juan National Forest granted to the Fundación Sur Futuro to manage the resource with and for the benefit of the community of Sabana San Juan. Legal framework for the first component of the Sabana Yegua Model Forest established. This component will provide the model for forest management and expansion that will eventually be spread around the watershed