Environment of the Dominican Republic

Back in the good old days, the Dominican Republic was blanketed with lush rainforests teeming with diverse flora and fauna, including some 1500 species not found anywhere else. Today, many of the swamps have been drained and trees cut down for charcoal, but there are still isolated pockets of untamed nature enough to satisfy the most adamant ecotourist.

The main challenges facing the environment are overpopulation and poverty. It's a familiar cycle: Forests are razed to provide firewood, building materials and farmland; the mountainous countryside and heavy rains conspire to send the fragile topsoil into the ocean; and the earth is rendered all but barren. Various organizations in the DR are working to build a sustainable relationship between the growing population and the increasingly pressured ecosystem, but any such changes are difficult to make.