Special sessions on the Haitian environmental challenges will be held tonight at 7pm in San Juan de la Maguana and tomorrow at 7pm in FUNGLODE, Santo Domingo.

The IV Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival (DREFF) is dedicating several screenings and discussion panels to analyze the environmental challenges that Haiti and Dominican Republic face and the climate change impact over the Hispaniola Island.

DREFF is being celebrated all over the Dominican Republic, September 10-14, 2014, and will be screening films such as “Extinction in Progress” and “Save the Devil” which deal with Haitian environmental and sustainability challenges. After the screenings, discussion panels with national and international experts will be moderated to go deeper into these topics.

GFDD-FUNGLODE celebrates these special screenings and activities to foster awareness on climate change and sustainable development issues in Dominican Republic and abroad.

Extinction in Progress summary: The poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti is still struggling to get on its feet from the disastrous 2010 earthquake. But the real problem Haiti faces in the near future is the complete degradation of its natural resources. Today, forests cover less than two percent of its territory and scientists predict a mass extinction of Haiti’s biodiversity. Over a three-year period, a team of scientists and naturalists travel to the most remote locations in Haiti to investigate the current state of its biodiversity. Surprisingly, they discover almost 50 new species and rediscover species thought to be lost, including one of the most endangered mammals, the Hispaniolan solenodon.

Save the Devil summary: One is a family of Haitian farmers struggling daily to feed their children and one is a family of birds formerly thought to be extinct living in the last place on Earth they can hide. As starving Haitians burn the remaining trees and move further up the mountains to grow food the birds must move or die. Haiti is almost completely deforested and it is only a matter of time before there are no trees left. The bird, called the Black-capped Petrel by scientist and the Diablotín by locals, is a speaker from the future. The bird is an indicator of what is to come. When the little devil is pushed to extinction the people are not far behind.

For more information about DREFF and its program visit: http://www.muestracinemedioambientaldominicana.org/?lang=en