DREFF Arrives in Barahona for the First Time

Dozens of students from the health and education fields at the Catholic University of Technology of Barahona (UCATEBA, by its acronym in Spanish) participated in the screening of the documentary Extinction in Progress, as part of the year round environmental screenings of the Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival (DREFF). This activity is part of the interagency agreement signed this year between the DREFF and the Red de Universidades
Ambientales (RAUDO), through which, among other things, a schedule of projections is developed all-year-round.

Porfirio López Vasquez, Administrative Vice Chancellor of higher learning said that "the full activity surpassed all expectations for us and for a lot of our students because of the message with the film."

Extinction in Progress is a documentary directed by Jürgen Hoppe and filmed in Haiti, the
poorest of the Western Hemisphere, which relates the problem of the degradation of country’s natural resources. Today, the ecosystem of forests cover less than 2% of its territory and scientists predict a massive loss of biodiversity. During filming they discovered nearly 50 new species and rediscovered species that were originally thought to be lost, including one of the most endangered mammals in Hispaniola, the solenodonte (Solenodonparadoxus).

In this sense, the intention of DREFF is "to organize and support initiatives for sustainable development and protection of natural resources, and promote environmental awareness in the Dominican Republic," explains the coordinator of environmental programs of GFDD/Funglode, Shamir Omar Reynoso.

The Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival, which this year celebrates its 5th edition from September 8 to 13, has created and developed five
programs that operate freely throughout the year and contribute significantly to sustainable socioeconomic development in the Dominican Republic: EcoHuertos, ReCrearte, RDescrubre, the Globo Verde Dominicano Award,
and Year-Round Environmental Film Screenings.

More information:
www.dreff.org