Abstract

In the last decades, coastal and marine ecosystems have been under several global and local pressures, with coral reefs being one of the most affected ecosystems. Given the current and future scenario, it is urgent to implement conservation and restoration measures, particularly in countries whose economies highly depend on the goods and services provided by these ecosystems. Here we present the results and achievements of community integration as an elemental piece in restoration programs in the Southeastern Reefs Marine Sanctuary, in the Dominican Republic. Since its inception, the Dominican Foundation for Marine Studies has incorporated volunteers from the local community (fishermen, captains, youth) in conservation activities. Currently, 15 young people from the local community are constantly trained as technicians in reef monitoring techniques, asexual and sexual propagation of corals, marine mammal monitoring, etc. Through this integration, in just 3 years, more than 5.3 hectares of reef have been intervened, 6 regional reef health evaluations have been carried out, and 13 new manatees have been registered in the area. Additionally, these technicians have been training people in other regions of the country to replicate conservation efforts, promoting horizontal knowledge transfer. These results show that community integration, together with strategic alliances with the private tourism sector and direct users of the ecosystems, is necessary not only for the success of marine conservation programs, but also to endorse their permanence