A landmark environmental initiative is underway to establish a dedicated $500,000 conservation fund spanning 2026 and 2027, designed to deliver sustained, long-term protection for vital watersheds and marine habitats across four southwestern provinces of the Dominican Republic: Barahona, Pedernales, Independencia, and Bahoruco.
Dubbed Fondo Sur, or South Fund in Spanish, the project is spearheaded by three leading regional environmental organizations—SOH Conservación, Incatcaribe, and Organea Terra. It draws core financial backing from the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF), a global grantmaking body focused on safeguarding biodiversity hotspots, while the Dominican government oversees all technical coordination for the initiative.
Already, the collaborative conservation work ahead of the fund’s formal launch has delivered tangible ecological gains for the region. Partner organizations confirm that their on-the-ground efforts have supported the recovery and active restoration of more than 3,000 hectares of degraded ecosystems. These early gains include the planting of roughly 472,000 native vegetation specimens, the rollout of sustainable agroforestry systems across more than 200 hectares of working agricultural land, and the formal designation of approximately 500 hectares of private land as dedicated private conservation reserves.
Currently, the Fondo Sur project is in the phase of legal, institutional, and financial structuring, with specialized pro bono and advisory support provided by two professional firms: Headrick, Rizik, Álvarez & Fernández, a leading Dominican law firm, and Blue Compass Consulting, a regional strategic advisory group. Once fully operational, the fund will direct all its resources toward the protection of high-priority water and marine ecosystems, including mountain headwaters, productive agricultural zones, critical groundwater recharge areas, coastal wetlands, mangrove forests, coral reef systems, and seagrass beds—all of which underpin the region’s environmental health and economic activity.
For the Dominican Republic, the southwestern region covered by Fondo Sur is one of the country’s most ecologically and economically significant areas, supporting robust domestic agriculture, thriving nature-based tourism, and holding the nation’s most critical freshwater reserves. The permanent financing mechanism established by Fondo Sur aims to eliminate the gap in sustained funding for local conservation, ensuring that these vital natural resources are protected for current and future generations.