Dominican Republic

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The impacts of climate change are increasingly severe and the need for action is more urgent than ever. Caribbean islands are among the world’s most vulnerable, with storm frequency and intensity, flooding, wind damage and sea level rise all predicted to worsen, increasing threats to hospitals, power plants, freshwater sources, roads, houses and schools. Island communities must work together to prepare for disasters caused by natural phenomenon and minimize the impacts they will endure. Evidence shows that key ecosystems, like coral reefs and mangroves, can help reduce these risks while...
Panos Varangis
Panos Varangis, the World Bank Group's Global Lead for agricultural finance and agricultural insurance in the Finance and Markets Global Practice, was speaking at a World Bank event on index insurance in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic's Diario Libre reports. To an audience, Mr. Varangis was presenting index insurance as an alternative financial instrument that can protect agricultural producers in Dominican Republic from hurricanes, tropical storms, and floods. The country loses an average of US $450 million a year since 1961 by events associated with these types of disasters. Dominican...
The recent path of Tropical Storm Isaac in September 2012 caused the destruction of plantain fields in the South Region. This situation forced the national authorities to provide in-kind assistance (i.e. planting materials, fertilizers, cleaning labor, land preparation) to the most affected farmers. Although some private insurers provide agriculture insurance, the Ministry of Agriculture does not have a pre-defined budget to tackle the negative effects caused by events in the agricultural sector while it faces significant contingent liabilities in this sector. The Ministry of Agriculture of...
The recent path of Tropical Storm Isaac in September 2012 caused the destruction of plantain fields in the southern region. This situation forced the national authorities to provide in kind assistance (i.e. planting materials, fertilizers, cleaning labor, land preparation) to the most affected farmers. Although some insurers provide agriculture insurance, the Ministry of Agriculture does not have a pre-defined budget to tackle the negative effects caused by events in the agricultural sector while it faces significant contingent liabilities.