Anticipated Outcome: Edwin’s Turtle Lake will become a financially resilient, locally owned model for conservation-led tourism in The Bahamas. Investment will improve visitor infrastructure and interpretation, strengthen marketing and partnerships, expand scientific monitoring, and complete the design and permitting pathway for a sea turtle nesting-beach rewilding pilot. The latter will relocated sea turtle eggs currently located inside this blue hole to windward beaches on Eleuthera that historically hosted nesting beaches. We envision hotels hosting nesting populations on their beach properties to ensure protection and enhance their visitor interaction with nature. Increased earned revenue will support the Burrows family, create opportunities for local guides and service providers, and finance long-term stewardship of the lake’s mangroves, blue-hole ecosystem, and resident green and loggerhead turtles. The resulting operating model will demonstrate how privately stewarded coastal sites can combine non-extractive tourism, biodiversity recovery, applied science, and community livelihoods, with potential replication at other blue holes and nature-based attractions across the Caribbean.

Anticipated Outcome: The anticipated outcome is the establishment of a validated, investable and scalable blue carbon model that enables the long-term restoration and conservation of mangrove ecosystems in Montecristi and Puerto Plata while mobilizing sustainable finance for coastal resilience and community benefits. The current ORRAA-supported phase is establishing the technical, institutional and operational foundations of this model through Verra Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) validation, implementation of an initial on-the-ground proof of concept involving 10 hectares of mangrove restoration and 5 hectares of conservation, development of robust Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) systems, and advancement of the governance and fiduciary structure of the Dominican Blue Carbon Exchange Trust. These initial interventions are intended to demonstrate and de-risk the model rather than define its ultimate scale. Building on this foundation, the project is expected to transition toward larger Project Activity Instances (PAIs), progressively advancing toward the broader landscape-scale potential identified by the project: approximately 230 hectares of mangrove restoration and 1,000–1,500 hectares of mangrove conservation, subject to financing, technical feasibility and verification requirements. Environmentally, this expansion is expected to improve mangrove ecosystem integrity, hydrological function, biodiversity habitat, fisheries nursery areas, shoreline protection and carbon sequestration, while increasing the resilience of coastal communities to erosion, flooding, storm surge and other climate-related impacts. Financially and institutionally, the anticipated outcome is a credible mechanism capable of connecting verified mangrove conservation and restoration outcomes with blue carbon and blended-finance opportunities. The Dominican Blue Carbon Exchange Trust is expected to provide transparent governance, fiduciary oversight, benefit-sharing arrangements and mechanisms...

Anticipated Outcome: The BlueCycle initiative is designed to deliver immediate, high-impact environmental, socio-economic, and technical outcomes in the Dominican Republic (specifically within the Bávaro–Cabeza de Toro coastal zone). By integrating ecosystem restoration, proactive pollution management, circular economy innovation, and community capacity building, the project will achieve the following major outcomes: 1. Ecosystem Protection and Coral Reef RestorationImproved Coastal Management: At least 5 hectares of sensitive marine and coastal ecosystems within the Bávaro–Cabeza de Toro Local Marine Management Area (LMMA) will be placed under improved conservation and management practices. Enhanced Reef Resilience: Through the establishment of a land-based laboratory featuring 24 coral larval settlement tanks and 6 sea urchin rearing tanks (expanding an existing baseline), the project will produce biological material necessary for large-scale reef recovery. Biological Control & Restoration: Assisted reproduction and deployment of Diadema antillarum (herbivorous sea urchins) combined with targeted coral outplanting and manual macroalgae removal will restore natural grazing dynamics, reduce algal cover, and increase live coral cover. 2. Proactive Marine Sargassum InterceptionOffshore Biomass Collection: Deployment of 1 operational Littoral Collection Module (LCM) system will intercept floating sargassum at sea before it reaches fragile coastlines. Preventing Ecosystem Degradation: Collecting at least 250 tons of sargassum biomass over a minimum of 30 operational days will significantly reduce toxic H₂S gas emissions, water quality deterioration, and physical smothering of coral reefs and beaches. 3. Circular Blue Economy & Value Chain DevelopmentSargassum-Based Construction Materials: The installation and calibration of a pilot processing unit will produce 500 to 1,000 sargassum-based construction blocks. These...