On a recent trip to Santo Domingo Dominican Republic I was shocked the see the blatent disreguard for the environment by the local people. I was staying at a coastal hotel, not at a beach mind you, but along a rocky shore. There was an enormous pile of garbage washed up on this small bit of sand between some rocks. There was all kinds of plastic bottles,bags,styrofoam containers, etc.. Then I saw a local sitting, eating his lunch,and then he threw the styrofoam container into the sea with out a second thought. Is there not some way of educating these people to protect their environment and thier livelyhood,as the tourist dollar has to be one of their biggest revenue sources. There were gross displays of garbage all over the Island. There seems to be a real lack of care,or maybe just a lazy disreguard for their own surroundings.
Trashing the carribian
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I’ve struggled with this issue, too, and I have ultimately found that the environmental situation in the DR is a little more complex than may appear at first glance. Literacy is a big problem and grade repetition is extremely high. These two problems combine to create quite an obstacle to environmental education. Add to this the ineffective government who does not see its people or the environment as priorities and you are left with the situation you experienced in Santo Domingo (one that persists throughout the country). I have worked with several education organizations in the DR and it has been my experience that literacy and quality education are the keys to affecting any kind of positive change there. One organization, called The DREAM Project (The Dominican Republic Education and Mentoring Project) might be of interest to you - they offer several ways of participating in and supporting their programs. http://www.dominicandream.org |
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