In a landmark gathering focused on safeguarding one of the Dominican Republic’s most critical natural assets, the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Technological Institute of Santo Domingo (INTEC), has convened the country’s First National Oceans Forum in the capital city of Santo Domingo. The cross-sector event brought together a diverse cohort of stakeholders, including senior government representatives, leading academic researchers, private sector leaders, civil society advocates, and global organization experts, all aligned around the shared goal of advancing progressive ocean governance and responsible long-term management of marine resources.
Framed by the theme “The Ocean as the Foundation of Sustainable Prosperity,” the forum carried a clear core mission: to elevate ocean conservation from a niche environmental concern to a central priority on the Dominican Republic’s national policy agenda, while establishing a collaborative foundation for the development of the country’s first formal National Ocean Strategy.
Speaking at the opening of the event, Environment Minister Paíno Henríquez framed the forum as a transformative milestone for the nation’s approach to marine and coastal ecosystem management. He underscored that the long-term future of the Dominican Republic is inextricably linked to the ecological health of its surrounding seas, noting that continued degradation of marine habitats would put economic and social progress at risk across multiple sectors.
Attendees across sectors echoed that sentiment, emphasizing a little-known but critical fact: the ocean makes up approximately 90 percent of the Dominican Republic’s total national territory. Beyond its ecological importance, this vast marine resource is the backbone of many of the country’s most vital economic sectors, from world-renowned coastal tourism that draws millions of visitors annually to small-scale and commercial fisheries that support millions of livelihoods. It also underpins the social and economic stability of hundreds of thousands of residents living in coastal communities across the nation.
Over the course of the forum, participants dove into robust discussions centered on the most pressing threats facing the country’s marine ecosystems. Key challenges highlighted included accelerating climate change impacts such as ocean warming and acidification, growing levels of marine plastic and chemical pollution, worsening coastal erosion that threatens communities and infrastructure, and unsustainable overfishing that depletes fish stocks critical to food security and economic activity. Alongside these challenges, attendees explored a wide range of untapped opportunities to expand the country’s sustainable blue economy, balancing economic growth with long-term conservation of marine resources.
officials also used the forum to call for urgent systemic changes to ocean management, including more effective coordination across disparate government agencies, the adoption of science-backed policy frameworks to guide decision-making, and scaled up investment in conservation initiatives across all levels of governance. Organizers confirmed that the National Oceans Forum is set to become an annual recurring event, designed to sustain cross-sector collaboration, strengthen national ocean governance frameworks, and advance the long-term protection of the Dominican Republic’s irreplaceable marine resources for future generations.