Biodiversity Without Borders

Agent-x - July 7 2012, 11:33 AM

According to Interpress Services on 07 July 2012 article by Patricia Grogg, Ernesto Reyna, environment minister, Dominican Republic, advocates the Caribbean Biological Corridor.

Credit: Patricia Grogg/IPS

SANTO DOMINGO, Jul 7 2012 (IPS) - The protection and conservation of biodiversity figure among the most daunting challenges posed by climate change in the Caribbean islands, home to a wealth of endemic species of flora and fauna.

The Caribbean Biological Corridor (CBC), an initiative spearheaded by the Dominican Republic, Cuba and Haiti, with the support of international cooperation agencies, offers an opportunity for joint projects that will benefit biodiversity not only within their own borders, but in the Caribbean region as a whole.

In an interview with IPS, Ernesto Reyna, minister for environment and natural resources in the Dominican Republic, described the CBC initiative as a strategic alliance of essential importance for small island nations threatened by climatic variations, such as an increase in average temperatures and rising sea levels.

Increasingly severe storms, droughts and floods are also predicted for the region, posing a serious threat not only to the populations of Haiti and the Dominican Republic but also to their flora and fauna, which include numerous threatened and endangered species.

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