DOMINICAN REPUBLIC Law and Practice Contributed by: Guillermo Estrella Ramia, Yamel Llenas Lajud, Mariela Santos Jiménez and Valentina Gallo Botero, Estrella & Tupete
demonstrate compliance with existing environmen- tal regulations. • Category D – Certificate of Minimum Impact Regis- tration (CRIM): applicable to activities with minimal impact that only require registration with MIMA- RENA. The process begins through the Single Window for Environmental Services, which receives the project’s legal, technical and operational documentation, along with the required studies according to its category. MIMARENA reviews the information, may request clarifications or adjustments, and issues authorisation or denial through a reasoned resolution. Administrative decisions may be challenged under Law No 107-13 on the Rights of Individuals in their Relations with the Administration and the Administra- tive Procedure, through a motion for reconsideration, hierarchical appeal or administrative-litigation action before the competent courts. 4.3 Regulators’ Approach to Policy and Enforcement The approach of environmental authorities in the Dominican Republic combines a preventative and co- operative orientation with strengthened enforcement and criminal prosecution capacities. The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MIMARENA) prioritises prevention, sustainability and private sec- tor co-responsibility, while significantly enhancing its sanctioning capacity in recent years. At the public policy level, the country has consolidated key sustainability instruments such as the National Climate Change Policy (PNCC), the Green and Social Taxonomy (2023), and the issuance of sovereign green bonds (2024–2025), aimed at financing renewable energy, clean mobility, and waste management pro- jects. These initiatives reflect an environmental gov- ernance model grounded in preventative planning, energy transition and international co-operation. In parallel, since 2023 there has been a marked tight- ening of environmental control and supervision. The National Environmental Protection Service (SENPA) has expanded its operations – with over 5,000 inspec- tions and 800 sanctions between 2024 and 2025 –
while the Specialised Environmental Prosecutor’s Office has increased its territorial presence and pros- ecuted a growing number of environmental crime cas- es, particularly related to illegal aggregate extraction, deforestation and contamination of water sources. At the same time, MIMARENA has maintained a technical support and dialogue-based approach with the productive sector, reinforced through the Single Window for Environmental Services, voluntary com- pliance agreements, and co-operation with interna- tional organisations, focused on strengthening local capacities and professionalising environmental man- agement. The current regulatory approach in the Dominican Republic can therefore be characterised as preventa- tive, co-operative, and increasingly rigorous, seeking to balance the promotion of sustainable development with the effective enforcement of sanctions against serious environmental offences. 4.4 Transferring Permits/Approvals Environmental authorisations in the Dominican Republic may only be transferred with the prior and express approval of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MIMARENA), in order to ensure continuity of environmental obligations and traceabil- ity of the project’s responsible party. This requirement exists because licences, permits and certifications are designed to be linked to both the project and its origi- nal holder. In practice, when there is a sale, assignment or change of control of a company or project with an active envi- ronmental authorisation, the new owner must formally request from MIMARENA the transfer of that authori- sation. The request must include: • legal documentation evidencing the transfer or acquisition; and • a formal declaration that the new holder fully assumes all environmental obligations arising from the project. MIMARENA reviews the application and, if deemed compliant, issues an administrative resolution recog- nising the new holder and maintaining the validity of
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