The Second Dominican Republic Environmental Festival Concludes with the Message that Protection of the Natural Environment is Beneficial from an Economic Standpoint As Well

Santo Domingo, September 10, 2012

The second edition of the Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival (DREFF), organized by Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD) and Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (FUNGLODE), came to a close this past Sunday, September 9, with the screening of the film Wild Wealth and the panel presentation “The Economic Value of Nature.”

The film was produced by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and National Geographic. The panel following the film featured the participation of Jorge Requena, Chief of Operations of the Inter-American Development Bank in the Dominican Republic, and Roberto Herrera, President of EcoRed.

Closing Night was attended by the Former President of the Dominican Republic and President of GFDD and FUNGLODE, Dr. Leonel Fernández, along with leaders in the area of environment and business, students, film aficionados and individuals that identify with the Festival’s message of environmental conservation.

During the event DREFF Director of Operations, Yamile Eusebio, and DREFF Director of Programming, Emy Rodríguez, spoke of the highlights and achievements of the 2012 edition of the Festival.

The presentation of the film Wild Wealth was delivered by DREFF Director of Institutional Relations, Asunción Sanz.

With striking images, Wild Wealth illustrates why Latin America and the Caribbean are considered a biodiversity superpower. Six of the world’s 10 most biodiverse countries are in the region, and are home to 33 percent of the world’s mammals, 35 percent of reptiles, and half of all tropical forests.

The case of Costa Rica, which was presented in the film, was later discussed by experts in the panel that followed. The country’s position towards national protected areas, which encompass 25% of land and coastline, has allowed it to generate 2,000 million dollars to date.

Referencing the example of Costa Rica, Requena and Herrera referred to the economic value environmental initiatives. The Representative of IDB referred to the “Biodiversity Platform,” an project that will be implemented by the Bank in 2013, to be able to establish with certainty the economic value of biodiversity.

Requena underscored the important role of Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival in elevating awareness of the critical importance of biodiversity importance.

The panelists also spoke about how communities can work together to achieve economic, environmental and social objectives, in turn conserving the environment and it’s natural resources for future generations, utilizing the environment as a source of economic development.

Globo Verde Dominicano Awards
Closing Night of the Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival also served as a forum in which to announce the winners of the Globo Verde Dominicano Awards, which recognize excellence in short film and public service announcement on topics related to the environment.

The 2012 Awards were bestowed to:

“De espaldas al mar” (“Turning Our Backs to the Ocean”) - Armando Larrauri (1st Place, Short Film)

“Barquitos de papel” (“Paper Boats”) - Gustavo A. Ricart (1st Place, Public Service Announcement)

“Mi único ruido” (“My Only Sound”) - Angelly Gisell Méndez Then (2nd Place, Short Film)

“Ruido” (“Noise”) - José Luis Quiñones Almonte (2nd Place, Public Service Announcement)

“Angelito” - José A. Montás Díaz (3rd Place, Short Film)

“Broadcasting Mars” - Joel Marte Torres (3rd Place, Public Service Announcement)

Visit our webpage to view the work of award winners and finalists: http://www.muestracinemedioambientaldominicana.org/ganadores_globo_en.asp

Collaborators:
The realization of DREFF 2012 has been made possible thanks to support and contributions from our collaborators:

Centro Cuesta Nacional (Arrecife), Banco de Reservas (Colibrí), Fundación Vida Azul, Panorama Verde, Odebrecht, Uepa.com, Uepa Radio, PUNTACANA Resort & Club, el Proyecto Nautilius, the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources of the Dominican Republic, Sueños de Colores (Dreams in Color), la Revista Flow (Flow Magazine), el Centro Cultural Perelló (Perelló Cultural Center), the Embassy of Spain in the Dominican Republic, , Universidad Nacional Pedro Henríquez Ureña (UNPHU) (Pedro Henríquez Ureña National University), the Ministry of Culture of the Dominican Republic, Clúster Turístico del Destino Puerto Plata (Tourism Cluster Destination Puerto Plata), la Universidad Católica Nordestana de San Francisco de Macorís (Catholic University Nordestana de San Francisco de Macorís), el Centro Cultural Narciso González (Narciso González Cultural Center), Centro León, CEDAF, Terra and RENAEPA, among others.

Related links:
www.drenvironmentalfilmfestival.org
www.environmentaldictionary.org
www.globoverdedominicano.org
www.iadb.org