Miches

Miches
Miches
Coordinates: 18°58′48″N 69°3′0″W / 18.98°N 69.05°W / 18.98; -69.05Coordinates: 18°58′48″N 69°3′0″W / 18.98°N 69.05°W / 18.98; -69.05
Country	Dominican Republic
Province	El Seibo
Area[1]
- Total	442.36 km2 (170.8 sq mi)
Elevation[2]	2 m (7 ft)
Population (2002)[3]
- Total	21,198
- Estimate (2008)	23,588
- Density	47.9/km2 (124.1/sq mi)
- Urban	9,575
Distance to  – Santa Cruz de El Seibo	44 km
Municipalities	2

Miches is a town in the El Seibo province of the Dominican Republic. Miches is a small town with many smaller towns surrounding it. Historically, it has its roots as a fishing town, deriving much of its income and protein from the surrounding waters. With the advent of commercial fishing and increased local populations, however, Miches is feeling the strain of overfished waters, coupled with silted coral reefs as a result of the increase in agricultural runoff from the land^[4]. In 2009, the Fundacion Tropicalia (Fundacion Cisneros - Cisneros Group) proposed a business, social and ecological project plan in cooperation with the government of the Dominican Republic for responsible development with the hope of positioning Miches as one of the top tourist destinations in the Caribbean. With a total investment of approximately US$2 billion, Fundacion Tropicalia aspired to become a dynamic force in the economy of the Miches and the region. An initial contribution of $485 million was to be made during the first 3 years and from that time through the next 20 years, $1.5 billion additional dollars was to be allocated. The planned result was to generate 3,000 jobs in the short-term, 6,000 medium-term and 14,000 long-term positions for local citizens. That summer, the President of Dominican Republic signed a contract with the investors that forced the President to begin paving all of the streets of Miches in order to make the town look more presentable. As of 2011, the paving/re-paving had been completed and many schools have been updated and renovated as part of the project.

Notable Geographic Points

• Costa Esmeralda (Beach)
• Monte Redondo (Mountain)
• Laguna Redonda (Lake)
• Laguna del Limon (Lake)

Playa Esmeralda, an undeveloped beach in Miches.

Agricultural

Theobroma cacao Cocoa

Notable Artist from Miches

Olivia Peguero

Sources

• World Gazeteer: Dominican Republic – World-Gazetteer.com
• [1] Fundacion Tropicalia
• Columbia University Miches Story [2]

References

1. ^ Superficies a nivel de municipios, Oficina Nacional de Estadistica
2. ^ De la Fuente, Santiago (1976) (in Spanish). Geografía Dominicana. Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic: Editora Colegial Quisqueyana. 
3. ^ Censo 2002 de Población y Vivienda,Oficina Nacional de Estadistica
4. ^ ESSEG http://cees.columbia.edu/programs/esseg