Santo Domingo.- The United States Agency for International Development (USAID yesterday donated five 20 foot boats, six all terrain pickup trucks and 10 motorcycles to improve the Environment Ministry’s patrols in protected areas and other wildlife refuges along the coasts.

The USAID’s grant worth RD$13 million was carried out by it Environmental Protection Program, implemented through a cooperation agreement  with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and its partners INTEC, CEBSE and PRONATURA and seeks to improve the country’s capacity to more effectively protect the quality of the environment and biodiversity.

The USAID program also donated software and computer equipment to expedite and bolster the efficiency of environmental evaluation processes, which serve as a basic tool to issue environmental permits and licenses in the country.

Also donated were office furniture and materials and communication equipment to bolster the National Protected Areas System, as well as field equipment to manage invasive species in protected areas.

Environment minister Jaime David Fernandez Mirabal receives the contribution from USAID assistant director in the country James Watson, with the presence of The Nature Conservancy Central Caribbean Program director Marianne Kleiberg, responsible for the execution of the project through which was acquired the equipment.