The TAI coalition in the Dominican Republic seeks to understand and improve the current state of access rights in order to achieve the implementation of Principle 10. More specifically, the coalition focuses on the problem of poor participation of the community during the EIA process and the lack of general awareness about environmental rights.The national lead organization for the Dominican Republic is the Instituto de Abogados para la Protección del Medio Ambiente (INSAPROMA). INSAPROMA works to promote conservation and the sustainable use of natural resources and the environment, as well as the protection of human rights, environmental health, the rights of consumers and the promotion of good governance.INSAPROMA worked with WRI and several other Caribbean TAI partners on a project to build the capacity of civil society to shape public policy reform in the Caribbean to protect biodiversity and ecosystem services. INSAPROMA focused on the Reserva de Biosfera Jaragua-Bahoruco-Enriquillo as a case study. The TAI coalition in the Dominican Republic has also been involved in the Principle 10 process for Latin America and the Caribbean. They play an important role in the process, since the government of the Dominican Republic has helped to coordinate the regional process.
Dominican Republic
1.74
Environmental Democracy Index Score
The Dominican Republic scored well on the Transparency and Justice pillars, and received a fair score on the Participation pillar. Although there is a clear right to access environmental information on request, only a few ministries are required to proactively disclose environmental information to the public. For the Participation pillar, the public is granted the opportunity to participate in decision making relating to most projects that relate to the environment. The law, however, does not require state agencies to account for public comments when making decisions on environmental matters. Regarding the Justice pillar, the courts recognize broad legal standing in environmental cases and members of the public are able to challenge government decisions relating to the environment on both substantive and procedural grounds. However, there are no legal mechanisms in place to assist the poor and women in accessing review procedures. By building on its strengths and addressing these gaps, the Dominican Republic could further promote environmental democracy.Visit the Environmental Democracy Index to explore the EDI score.