Citizen perception and inter-institutional management of the environmental degradation of the Pove Rive

Abstract

The pollution of the Pove River in Santo Domingo constitutes a socio-environmental problem that transcends the strictly ecological to become a reflection of the tensions between citizens and public institutions. Although various organizations have recognized the severity of the riverbed's deterioration, progress in its restoration is scarce and fragmented. This situation is largely explained by the lack of inter-institutional coordination and weak links with the communities settled along the riverbanks, whose participation is crucial to reversing the accumulated damage. The research focuses on examining how these dynamics of dislocation impact the persistence of harmful daily practices, such as the dumping of household waste and the lack of effective control over productive activities that intensify environmental degradation. Analyzing citizen perceptions of the problem, it is evident that the river is simultaneously conceived as a vital resource and a disposable space, which generates contradictions in the construction of a collective environmental consciousness. There is a need to move beyond isolated approaches that reduce environmental management to occasional campaigns or specific cleanup interventions, and instead propose a strategy that integrates social co-responsibility and sustained government commitment. This perspective allows us to understand that the recovery of the Pove River is not only a technical matter, but also a process of cultural and political transformation.