COBAHOR Council for the Eastern Bahoruco Dominican Republic

Prospecting Possible Nature Trails

The Ecological Society of Paraíso (SOEPA), in coordination with the Fundación para el Desarrollo y Protección de la Cuenca del río Nizaíto en Paraíso (FUNDEPROCUNIPA), are in the first stage of a project, within COBAHOR, that could allow visitors, dominican and foreigners, to see by themselves the landscapes and resources of Eastern Bahoruco.

In this first stage, they are trying to identify trails that, by their beauties and/or peculiarities, could be of interest for visitors; it is not contemplated to modify the trails but to use them such as they are right now, and preparing written guides so visitors could identify easily the different points. It is proposed that peasants could be the guides to those visitors because they know very well the region and, besides, it could mean an extra income for them, increasing their interests for conserving the natural resources of the region.

For this stage of prospecting for potential trails, Espri Beauregard, of Goshen College (Indiana, United States) has been collaborating, as a volunteer, and has been walking along the coastal zone and in some points of the Nizaíto river watershed. In the photograph, Espri is besides Miguel Ángel Espinal, President of FUNDEPROCUNIPA, close to the Paraíso beach and the mouth of the Nizaíto river.

For the identification of potential trails, a guide has been developed which is presented so it could be used by others (and if anyone has any suggestion, we would appreciate it very much).

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