The launch of the AdaptCCDR project took place on March 15, 2023, at the facilities of the Pontifical Catholic Mother and Teacher University. The event was attended by distinguished guests, including Dr. Juan Gabriel Faxas, Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation, Engineer Julio Ferreira, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Ms. Nathalie Flores, Director of Climate Change at the Ministry of Environment, and Dr. Orisell Medina Lagrange, Dean of Postgraduate Studies and leader of the project.
Additionally, the event was attended by Prof. Mariano Rodríguez, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Humanities, and Arts. Dr. Graham King, leader of the HIT RESET Caribbean project and director of the Saint Augustine Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center at the University of West Indies, Trinidad and Tobago, as well as Dr. Perry Polar, General Coordinator of the HIT RESET Caribbean call, and Ms. Ana García Sotoca, director of the Bayahibe-La Romana Tourist Cluster, also participated in the meeting.
The event also saw the participation of numerous researchers, teachers, and representatives of environmental organizations, all of whom demonstrated their commitment to the cause and their interest in contributing to the sustainable development of the region.
The day began with remarks from Dr. Juan Gabriel Faxas, who highlighted the need to address the challenges of climate change and its impact on beach tourism, a crucial sector for the country. Faxas emphasized that AdaptCCDR is an invaluable tool for obtaining accurate and reliable information used by decision-makers to improve public policies and integrated management plans for the Caribbean.
Dr. Faxas mentioned that AdaptCCDR is based on research, innovation, and collaborations, expressing gratitude to the team of researchers and wishing success for the project and future similar initiatives.
Next, Dr. Perry Polar gave an introductory presentation about the HIT RESET Caribbean project, highlighting its main objectives. These include the use of digital technologies and modeling for predicting the impacts of climate change and natural disasters, as well as planning and managing coastal communities. Polar also presented projects from other participating countries in the Hit Reset Caribbean, including Jamaica, Dominica, Trinidad and Tobago, among others.
Subsequently, Dr. Orisell Medina Lagrange presented the AdaptCCDR project, whose goal is to address the challenges posed by climate change in the coastal tourist areas of the Dominican Republic through the implementation of digital information technologies. She emphasized the vulnerability of Caribbean coastal cities to climate change, mentioning the increase in the intensity of hurricane seasons, rising sea levels, and coastal regression and flooding as major challenges.
Bayahibe, in La Altagracia, was selected as the study site due to its location next to a national park and private properties, which limits urban development and makes it highly oriented towards tourism. The project aims to collect and analyze historical and real-time data on climate, the built environment, marine and coastal ecosystems, and tourist behavior in the area, generating accurate and up-to-date information for decision-making on climate change adaptation and sustainable management in Bayahibe, which could be replicated in other coastal communities.
In addition, the project will implement communication and awareness tools targeted at the tourism industry and the local community to promote understanding of climate challenges and encourage environmental and built environment best practices. Medina Lagrange emphasizes that the ultimate goal of AdaptCCDR is to provide relevant information for the formulation of public policies and management plans taking into account climate change adaptation. To achieve this, research tools and digital technologies will be used to detect, analyze, and predict the effects of climate change, as well as adaptation strategies.
Dr. Medina Lagrange also introduced the working team, composed of experts from various faculties, such as Social Sciences and Humanities, Economics and Business Administration, Science and Engineering, and the Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation: Dr. Virginia Flores Sasso, Dr. Víctor Bohorquez, Dr. Manuel Peralta, Dr. Víctor González, and Dr. Antonino Vidal.
The project also includes environmental monitoring and an urban study of environmental quality. To carry out this ambitious task, collaboration with the Ministry of Environment of the Dominican Republic, the Municipality of Bayahibe, and the Bayahibe-La Romana Tourist Cluster is essential.