This study used an Ecosystem Services approach to generate information for land use planning within the context of climate change adaptation. This approach employed science-based indicators that classified ecosystems and their functions and potential services to evaluate the influence of social, economic, and environmental service flows on human well-being, with the ultimate goal of guiding land-use planning. Reducing the impacts of urbanization and climate change has been a primary target of ecosystem services research, but research activity of this type in the tropics had been limited. The i-Tree is a public domain model provided by the USDA Forest Service and was used to aid planners and managers in the valuation and management of urban forests by quantifying the ecosystem services they provide. Although the i-Tree tool has been widely used in many U.S. cities and internationally, its use in the Caribbean had been very limited as well. The proposed project assisted in gathering scientific information that could be readily used to set ecosystem function and services management goals and evaluate climate change scenarios that were appropriate for a tropical ecosystem context, thus expanding the i-Tree model. Additionally, this project established an innovative collaborative platform that integrated multiple scientific disciplines with outreach and education towards greater understanding of urban infrastructure and sustainability.

 

As many small island nations, the Dominican Republic is vulnerable to climate-related impacts, including sea level rise, flooding, heat, prolonged droughts, and disruptions in water supply. State and local agencies in the DR addressed these potential impacts and worked towards developing adaptation strategies in collaboration with U.S. based agencies, including USAID and the USDA Forest Service. Urban areas, such as Santo Domingo, were of particular concern because of the greater number of people living in particularly poor, marginalized communities located in high-risk areas. The extensive and aging infrastructure throughout the city and the lack of forest vegetation created added risks such as urban flooding and water quality issues that would exacerbate climate-related impacts and biodiversity impoverishment. The Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo (INTEC), in partnership with the Municipality of Santo Domingo, USAID, Universidad de Puerto Rico, and USDA Forest Service, took steps to develop adaptation strategies, such as the use of green infrastructure at the watershed level to minimize flood risks throughout the city. The i-Tree tool, which is a widely used application in cities worldwide, was used to assess and manage community forests and their faunal communities, and link urban forest management to environmental quality and community livability in the Santo Domingo area.