ICIWaRM Provides CRIDA training for Faculty and Graduate Students in Santiago de Los Caballeros, Dominican Republic

From 20-21 June 2024, Dr. Guillermo Mendoza and Ms. Kelley Baxter traveled to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic to provide training on the principles of the Climate Risk Informed Decision Analysis (CRIDA) approach as part of ongoing technical support to watershed planning of the Guayabin sub-basin of the North Yaque River Basin in the northwestern region of the country.

CRIDA is a framework for integrating climate change considerations in water resources planning and management. It does so by identifying vulnerabilities associated with wide range of plausible future climate, and formulating flexible and robust adaptation strategies that mitigate directly against those vulnerabilities.

The team members provided four hours of CRIDA training to about 40 graduate students and faculty at the Pontifical Catholic University Madre y Maestra (PUCMM). Those at the Santiago de Caballeros campus participated in-person, and those from the Santo Domingo campus participated virtually. The training was part of a regular course on Water Resources Management promoted by the National Hydraulic Institute (INDRHI) and the North Yaque River Basin Commission (CRYN). One course objective was to identify graduate students and faculty with an interest in pursuing (and supporting) graduate level research and participating in an upcoming 40-hour CRIDA certification course (a “diplomado”).

The instructors came to understand that there is significant interest and need for continued collaboration with ICIWaRM on water resources management in the nation. In particular, there are concerns about increased flood and drought risk from climate change and growth as the government seeks to continue to provide potable and industrial water, hydropower-based energy and food security.

Travel costs were provided by USAID.