Municipal Issues

Drinking Water

Service Quality:
-despite strong efforts and continued government support, quality and continuity are inadequate in the Dominican Republic
        -scarcity increasing because of excessive consumption in urban areas
        -  only about 10.5% of the population connected to the water system receive water on a continuous basis
       -many people living under the poverty line cannot afford to pay for water

Services	By System	By Service Population
Continuous	40%	10.5%
Inadequate	60%	89.9%

Drinking Water Quality:
-there are often poor conditions at the purification systems
       -38.4% of systems have no chlorination filter installed
       -a major effect is the high rates of Cholera throughout the country

Problems:
-government has been trying to improve the water systems but very expensive
-there is no specific government agency in charge or water or sanitation

Recommendations:
Suggestions
      -put in rain barrels to catch the rain and use as drinking water
      -work to create cleaner and safer purification systems in larger cities
      -truck water out to people living under the poverty line for lower price
      -use rain water for agriculture
-although my suggestions would be costly, it would save lives
      -because my suggestion is to only fix the purification systems in large cities it would save money
      -that money can be used to purchase water basins and truck water out to people
           -with these rain basins that water caught can be used for agriculture


Waste water Treatment:
-about 49% of waste water is collected and receives some kind of treatment
     -insufficient treatment
Major Projects:
- the Interamerican Development Bank is partnering with Hazen and Sawyer to create a sanitary sewage master plan for Santo Domingo
      -will treat waste water collection, treatment and disposal



Solid Waste Disposal:
-solid waste is not being disposed of properly
      -direct correlation between inadequate disposal of solid waste and sickness
-the waste is not being recycled or sorted
-being put into streams and landfills
       -not regulated at all
       -piling up and creating pollution for nearby neighborhoods and cities
-because clean water is such an issue, solid waste disposal is not the major concern

Major Projects:
-a 5 million dollar project is currently being worked on to put in a recycling center and to create a safe solid waste disposal center

Recommendation:
-to implement recycling to help reduce the amount of waste going into landfills and proceed to dispose of this waste properly separating any chemical products or toxic waste
-although my solution would be very costly it would benefit in the future and would reduce the amount of sickness from poor solid waste disposal



Air Pollution:
-MAJOR issue
-many companies came over and set up factories and disregarded environmental standards
     -Blacksmith Institute set up many factories in Bajos de Haina disregarding all environmental stands and now Bajos de Haina is considered in the top 10 most polluted places on Earth
            -many high levels of lead and other chemicals
            -extremely dangerous to live there, many health problems
-overall the air quality is very poor
      -in certain areas it is worse
Policies:
-to use more alternative energy
     -building wind turbines and installing solar panels
     -trying to make factories cleaner(coal brushes)

Water Pollution:
-water is not safe to drink in the Dominican Republic
-pollution is mainly from depletion of groundwater and unregulated solid waste disposal
      -poor purification systems make this pollution irreversible
-better purification systems are being put in place to improve quality of water

 

Analysis:
-I think the worst pollution problem facing the Dominican Republic is the poor quality and scarcity of drinking water. With purification systems lacking important steps in the purification process, such as chlorination, the water is not considered safe to drink. Even though the water is not considered safe, it is the only water being provided for the people, therefore they drink it and get sick. Being that there is a direct correlation between unsafe drinking water and illness I think this is the most important pollution problem facing the Dominican Republic.

Land/Water Use

Land/ Water Use:

Food
Access to clean water:
-90% of the country has clean water
      -there are still about 1,005,619 people without clean water
-areas that struggle to find clean water
      -people in villages struggle to find the amount of clean water to sustain their villages
      -towns on the boarder of Haiti are struggling to find the amounts of clean water to supply the people of the Dominican Republic and also the people who have come over from Haiti
               -especially after the earthquake many people came over to the Dominican Republic
-people by the coast and in large cities have an easier time finding clean water
-there are many chlorination systems being installed in small towns and villages for clean drinking water
       -in 2012 the American Development Bank(IDB) gave the Dominican Republic a $25 million loan to improve access to drinking water
-there have been many outbreaks of Cholera since 2010 reporting deaths of about 8,000 people
        -Cholera is caused by untreated sewage
        -the Dominican Republic is making strict rules on how waste is to be disposed of and where to help protect from cholera and ensure clean water

Access to nutrition:
-in 2006 about 30% of the country was suffering from malnutrition and undernourishment
-vitamin A and iron deficiencies are often the nutrition problems of people in the Dominican Republic
-poverty stricken areas tend to have lower nutrition levels
-many people in the lower class eat mostly fruits and vegetables grown locally that are cheap and have meat sometimes for dinner but not as a regular part of their meal
-many people in the upper class eat meat and seafood and have great nutrition levels
-about 7% of children under the age of 5 suffer from malnutrition
      -causes stunting in growth, underweight issues as well as anemia


A typical diet:
-a lower class person
       -for breakfast will have a piece of fruit
       -for lunch will have some more fried plantain, rice and beans
               -often times this rice is lacking in vitamin A
       -for dinner they will eat vegetables as well as more rice and occasionally some stewed meat for the whole family to share
-people in the lower class tend to eat a lot of rice because it is cheap to purchase in large quantities
-because bananas are so abundant on the island people not only eat them as a fruit but they fry them for plantains
-an upper class person
      -for breakfast will have fruit, eggs, toast
      -for lunch will have meat, rice and fruit
      -for dinner will have meat, seafood and vegetables
-the fruit and vegetables often come from local markets
-the seafood comes from the coast
      -often times people living along the coast will eat seafood as well

Farming Methods:
-the soil is rich, well drained and of volcanic origin
-the Dominican Republic is one of the leading exporters of organic products
      -they export mostly sugar, coffee, tobacco and cocoa
      -they also export many fresh fruit, vegetables and flowers

-30% of the land is suitable for crop production
-17% of the labor force is farming
-irrigated land: 2,590 sq km
      -this is the primary occupation
-farming is a growing occupation in the Dominican Republic will numbers growing a half percent in the past 2 years
-it is popular to grow fruit and vegetables to sell at local markets
       -because there is not fresh water to waste, people use rain barrels to catch the rain and store it to water their plants
-the climate in the Dominican Republic is very warm and sunny, therefore plants have to be able to handle the hot climate
-the key to growing is using trees to shade the plants
       -farmers can use banana trees as shade to protect other plants such as tomatoes from the sun
-the farmers use horses and cattle to manuevure the land rather than tractors
-because of the small plots of land farmers have for farming, they grow multiple crops in rows on the plot
-there is also beef cattle ranching and dairy farming


Fishing:
-fishing is underdeveloped in the Dominican Republic
      -even though the country is surrounded by water they import most of the fish that are eaten
-the fish living in the waters around the country include: Marlin, Barracuda, Tuna, Mackarel and Sailfish
-the fishermen do not have to technology(sonar, high-tech nets and boats, refrigerated boats) to catch large amounts of fish
-the Dominican Republic caught 17,490 tons of fish
      -China caught 11,500,600 tons of fish

Food Production:
-because of the hot conditions, it is difficult for plants to grow
-because of the sunny conditions, plants need a lot of shade
-because of the little rain, plants need to be adapted to being watered not very often
-with growing food, farmers often have to worry about bacteria and disease getting into the plants
      -typhoid fever can be caught by contact with food or water that is carrying the disease
-food production has been increasing
     -the food production indicator for the Dominican Republic is 116
     -the food production indicator covers food crops that are considered edible and contain nutrients
-food production drops around 1998 in the graph below because of the tragic hurricane season
     -Hurricane Georges in 1998 costed $1 billion in damage with some of the worst damage reported in history


Landscape:
-1,288 km of coastline
-land area: 48,380 sq km
-water area: 350 sq km
-irrigated land: 2,590 sq km
-terrain consists of rugged highlands, mountains and valleys
-Arable land: 30%
     -farming
     -nutrient rich soil
-Permanent crops: 9%
-Permanent pastures: 43%
     -lots of hills, mountains and meadows
     -very green grass with rich soil
     -partially used for grazing
-Forests and woodlands: 12%
-other: 6%
    -roads, cities, villages


Forests:
-there is 1,376,000 hectares of forests
-one of the biggest problems the Dominican Republic is facing is deforestation
-in 1995 about 25% of the land was forests
-in 2012 12% of the land is forests
-the timber cut if for land clearing and fuel
     -to build for new resorts,housing, and farming
-by cutting down the forests, many animals are forced to relocate
-there are many conservation initiatives to protect the remaining forests and help to rebuild more
     -use 200 hectares to protect wildlife
           -birds
           -insects
      -trying to set up regulations for how much forest can be cut
      -trying to set up regulations to conserve the timber cut


Communities:
-70% of people live in urban areas
-30% of people live in rural areas
-lots of small towns and villages
-some big cities
    -Santo Domingo

Transportation:
-other than walking or biking, cars and trucks are the main methods of transportation
-if a family cannot afford a car they will buy a scooter to fit as many members of the family on it as possible
-3 main trucking highways that connect the 3 largest cities in the country
     -DR-1: departs from Santo Domingo to Cibao
     -DR-2: departs from Santo Domingo to Sur
     -DR-3: departs from Santo Domingo to El Este
-there are 2 other alternative routes connecting the large cities
-the government has started construction of other highways that connect smaller towns to the 3 major trucking highway
-many of the roads and highways are unpaved and in need to maintenance
-for public transportation there are two main bus companies
-the government is constructing the first public Santo Domingo Metro and Santiago light rail system

National Parks:
-there are 12 national parks in the Dominican Republic
     -many of the national parks usually consist of either caves, animal species, mountains or pools
-there are 5 scientific reserves
-national parks used for recreation, beauty, sightseeing and conservation
     -conserve the land and protect wildlife, protect plants
-for conserving land there are many policies to set regulations on the amount of land used for timber, building and agriculture
    -ways to conserve is to make land a national park


Mining:
-accounts for 2.5% of the countries GDP
-nickel is the biggest material mined
-the next two materials mined are gold and silver
-still a lot of gold in the country because did not become popular to mine until the 1980's
-other materials mined such as iron, limestone and copper
-in 2011 there was 14,103 annual-thousand barrels of crude oil and other fuel products

Energy Installment

Energy Installment:
Energy Use:
-in total:13461000000 kWh
-per capita: 1,392 kWh

-The graph below shows energy use per capita from 1990 to 2012. Between 1990 and 2000 the energy use was much lower than the energy use between 2001 and 2012.



Energy Distribution:
-Residential: 44%
-Commercial:10%
-Industrial: 30%
-Public: 16%


Where does the energy come from?
-82% from fossil fuels
        -imported gas and oil
-14% from hydroelectric
-2% from wind
-2% from solar/other

Hydroelectric:

-The Dominican Republic has been trying to rely less on important oils and gas to move towards hydroelectric power. With being surrounded by water, hydroelectric power is easily accessible as well as efficient.
-there are currently 20 hydroelectric plants
-the plan is to boost hydroelectric power to 25% by 2020
-the graph below shows hydroelectric power from 1990 to 2012. As shown hydroelectric power has been becoming increasingly popular over the period of time

Wind:
-only 2% of the power is wind
-the plan is to increase this to about 7% by 2020
-the Dominican Republic is currently working on a project that will spend around $100 million on installing wind farms. There will be 19 wind towers built and overall they will contribute 33 megawatts to the national electricity. That 33 megawatts will save 200,000 barrels of oil a year.
-the Inter-American Development Bank loaned $78.3 million for two new wind projects

Solar/other:
-about 1.5% is used on solar power
-with the Dominican Republic being located so close to the equator solar power would be very efficient. The disadvantage to solar power is the cost. With many people living below poverty line, people cannot afford to install solar panels.
-steam and gas turbines are sometimes used
           -expensive and not efficient


Energy Policy:
-National Energy Plan
           -because of high demand of fossil fuels, high oil prices and the reliance upon other countries
           -Dominican Republic started plan to become more self-sufficient and start developing and using renewable energy sources versus using fossil fuels. This plan was started in 2004 and has goals to meet by 2020. These goals for example are to increase hydroelectric power to 25% and wind to 7% by 2020.

-Indicative Plan of Electricity Generation
         -to increase the use of renewable energy
         -the National Energy Commission is promoting the use of renewable energy by creating tax incentives for those who use renewable energy
-in the graph shown below it is the fossil fuel consumption from 2000 to 2012. As shown the fossil fuel consumption has decreased, proving the energy policies to be successful.


Sustainable Sources of Energy:
-with trying to convert to self-sufficiency, the Dominican Republic's main sustainable source of energy is hydroelectric power. With being located on the water it is extremely sustainable to build turbines for tidal power as well as dams in the rivers.

Recommendations:
-increase hydroelectric power
-increase solar power
-increase wind power

-the Dominican Republic should increase the use of hydropower by building turbines to capture the energy of the waves. They can do this using tidal power. In addition to using tidal power, the Dominican Republic should build solar panels. They should ask for a loan to build the panels, because given that they are located so close to the equator this will be a successful project. Lastly they should continue to try to increase wind power by building wind turbines off the coast. By doing this it will not take up valuable farming space and will also be able to capture the sea wind.

Population

Population Growth Over Time:
The Dominican Republic has had a steady population growth over time

        -in 1940 there were about 3 million people

        - the population growth rate was about 2.9%

        -in 1950 there was a spike in growth rate to 3.6% due to a positive economy 

                 -because of this sudden peak the government began implementing family planning

        -late 1970's early 1980's the growth rate declined to 2.5% due to the successful implementing of family                planning

       -the population growth continued to grow and by the 1990's the population was 7 million

Current Population: 

       -the population has grown to 10,225,482 as of July 2012

       - the growth rate as of July 2012 is 1.305%

                  -ranked 90 for population growth rate among other countries

       -although the growth rate has declined because more people are staying in school to become educated, the population is still growing every year 

       -ranked 85 in the world for current population

Dominican Republic Distribution:

      -most people live in the urban areas

                  -7,074,135 which is about 69.2%

      -a smaller portion of the population lives in the rural areas

                  -3,151,347 which is about 30.8%

      -many people live in coastal cities for the job opportunities with tourism and large companies such as the sugar industry in the city and also for clean water, sewage disposal and electricity

                  -for example Santo Domingo is one of the largest cities

      -many people also live in urban areas near big rivers

                 -for example the Rio Yaque del Sur river

Fertility Rate:

     -2.41 children born/woman

     -ranked 90 for fertility rate compared to other countries in the world 

Graph:

     -the peak in the graph in the 1950's was because of a good economy 

     -the dip in the graph was when family planning was implemented in the late 1970's

Death Rate:

   -4.41 deaths/1,000 people

           -ranked 200 in death rate compared to other countries

  -the death rate has decreased since 2000

Life expectancy:

   -77.44 years on average for the entire population

           -male: 75.28 years

           -female:79.69 years

           -ranked 64 in the world for life expectancy among other countries

Chart:

  -the death rate peaked between 2003 and 2005 because all the people who were born during the peak of the 1950's were dying 

           

Country	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012
Dominican Republic	4.72	4.7	4.68	6.88	7.1	7.35	5.73	5.32	5.3	5.28	4.3	4.35	4.41

Growth Rate:

  - the growth rate as of July 2012 is 1.305%

                  -ranked 90 for population growth rate among other countries

  -the growth rate has decreased

                 -due to education and schooling becoming more popular women are waiting longer to have children 

                -with implementing family planning still in effect the growth rate has been controlled so there are only minor decreases or increases

Country	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012
Dominican Republic	1.64	1.63	1.61	1.36	1.33	1.29	1.47	1.5	1.5	1.49	1.36	1.33	1.31

Doubling Time:

 -53.44 years

     -this has remained a constant for the past 20 years give or take a few minor fluctuations in increasing or decreasing growth

Demographic Transition:

 -currently in stage 2 with a high birth rate and a declining death rate

 -with birth rates slowly declining the country is looking at many more years until they move toward the beginning of stage 3

 -still high birth rates because not many people go to school and family planning is an important issue

                -the government is trying to encourage more people to stay in school and implement family planning however it will take time to move through demographic transition

 -there are still reasonably high death rates compared to other countries because of the lack of clean water, sewage disposal and electricity in many areas of the country

Age Structure: (as of July 2011)  -0-14 years old: 29% (male 1,487,058/female 1,435,903)  -15-64 years old: 64.3% (male 3,311,791/ female 3,178,705)  -65 years and older: 6.7% (male 311,811/female 363,330) Current Structure:  -compared to the past age structure, the current age structure is becoming more rounded between all the ages instead of having a bigger population between the ages 0-34 years old and the elder people having a longer life expectancy than in 1990 1990's Structure:  -the past age structure of 1990 had a smaller population in the elder people and a larger population in the younger people because of the high death rates and having a shorter life expectancy in 1990's 2050's Structure:  -the future age structure of 2050 is predicted to be well rounded among all the ages with elder people having a smaller population because of slightly higher death rates however still a bigger population than the 1990 structure because of a much longer life expectancy Sustainability of Population:   -the current growth and size is not sustainable            -with a large population there is not enough food or water for all the people            -there are not enough jobs and since many people are moving to coastal cities there is limited space Diseases:  -food or water born diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, typhoid fever  -water contact disease: leptospirosis Hunger:  -21% of population suffering from hunger            -2,147,351 suffering from hunger Strategies to Sustain the Population: -implementing better family planning programs -transfer money to improve health care systems -get a stricter immigration policy -work to create water treatment plants -work to create proper sewage disposal Recommendations:  -create incentives for kids to stay in school longer to help keep the growth rate down -continue to implement family planning policies -incentives for families with less children (ex. cash benefits)