New app streamlines environmental reporting in Dominican Republic

Santo Domingo.- The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MMARN) has launched its “Línea Verde RD” app as part of its efforts to strengthen its relationship with the community and empower citizens to participate in environmental protection.

“We are creating a new department, Citizen Services and Social Participation, which will be our meeting point with society,” highlighted the Minister of Environment, Miguel Ceara Hatton, at the launch event for the app, which was attended by ministry officials from the provinces and representatives from the Zero Bureaucracy and Government Ethics Directorate.

The “Línea Verde RD” app represents a significant step forward in transparency and citizen participation in environmental matters, said Ceara Hatton, emphasizing that the app facilitates the monitoring of citizen complaints and the ministry’s philosophy of “acting with transparency and making adjustments where necessary.”

The app will allow citizens to make their reports with photos and videos, if they prefer, and to know when they reported an environmental problem, where it occurred, and the type of problem identified. The ministry’s thematic areas are committed to ensuring that the user receives, within a maximum period of 15 days, a response on the actions taken regarding the complaint.

The launch event for the app, held in the MMARN’s Multipurpose Hall, was attended by the directors of Social Participation and Information and Communication Technology, María del Carmen Vargas and Luz Félix, respectively. They are responsible for the incorporation of this new option to Línea Verde, a service focused on receiving, classifying, processing, and monitoring environmental complaints, grievances, and claims from citizens.

Also present were the head of the MMARN’s Provincial Directorate, Erasmo Pichardo, and the National Environmental Protection Service (Senpa), Captain of the Navy René Rodríguez Álvarez.

María del Carmen Vargas highlighted the importance of the app, stating that it makes it easier for the ministry to provide the necessary assistance to citizens and offer people a greater opportunity to participate and express themselves regarding the conservation of natural resources.

The “Línea Verde RD” app allows users to report environmental damage directly from their mobile devices, with the ability to upload real-time evidence, such as photos or videos, and automatically register the location. It also offers the possibility of tracking the status of reports made.

This option is in addition to the one that citizens have to make their reports through the website https://lineaverde.gob.do/, the WhatsApp platform 1 (849) 356-6400, or by calling, during working hours, the phone number (809) 567-4300 ext 8000 and from the interior, toll-free, at 1-809-200-6400.