MONITOREA: A roadmap for monitoring mangroves, seagrasses, and coral reefs and its first implementation in the Dominican Republic

Mangroves, seagrasses, and coral reefs provide ecosystem services for three billion people worldwide. Studying these ecosystems is essential for their effective management. With the financial support of the French Embassy in the Dominican Republic, FUNDEMAR leads the MONITOREA program with the technical support of TNC and the Ministry of the Environment. The project created the national capacities and developed a manual based on recognized Caribbean protocols, allowing multiple actors to monitor the health of these ecosystems in space and time. The goal is to detect significant ecosystem changes and design policies for their conservation. During the implementation of the monitoring program, we have already detected that small losses in coral cover (2.6%) result in major losses in reef structural complexity (50-70%). The project also includes extensive national monitoring and intensive training to ensure local capacity and promote awareness about the value of these ecosystems. Here, we present the results of the 1rst national monitoring in Dominican Republic, which will contribute to existing monitoring networks in the region.