The Dominican Republic, on the other hand, has made laws to conserve and protect its resources, and to stay open to the outside world. The dichotomy is perhaps best understood by looking at the Caribbean's second largest island on GoogleEarth or similar satellite images. Haiti's forest cover has been reduced to only 2% of the entire country. Haiti viewed through satellite images reveals a mismanaged nightmare land of dirt and ghettos.
The Dominican Republic, comparatively, looks like an emerald jewel.
But if you remove the comparison to Haiti, the Dominican Republic still comes out poor and overpopulated. That's a bad combination; and the mess of shacks, and busy, dangerous roads.
Tourism is crucial to the Dominican Republic economy; and that fact is obvious throughout the country. But as we drive through Santo Domingo, the nation's capital, and east towards the Atlantic coast, the landscape is consumed by something very eerie.
