Organic waste flow as an ASF vulnerability: a multi-sector participatory systems workshop in eastern Dominican...

Following its confirmation in 2021, African Swine Fever (ASF) has been endemic on the island of La Hispaniola since 2023, remaining the only active outbreak in the Americas. Several backyard pig producers in the eastern Dominican Republic depend on organic food waste from a major Caribbean tourism region to feed pigs, creating a complex risk network amongst waste generators, collectors, and pig producers. A participatory systems approach was needed to map this network, identify vulnerabilities, and develop mitigation strategies.

A two-day workshop in Santo Domingo (February 24-25, 2026), as part of the PROCINORTE project, brought together hotel representatives, councils, the Ministry of Environment, DIGEGA, pig producers, and academics. The workshop framed ASF as a systemic vulnerability of the organic waste chain. Day 1 covered ASFV epidemiology, swill transmission, Caribbean practises, and Puerto Rico's regulations around thermal treatment of swill, followed by system mapping and focus groups. Day 2 used scenarios, STEEP analysis, and an Impact/Effort Matrix to prioritise recommendations.

Mapping revealed informal waste chains with poor traceability, the general absence of thermal treatment, and shared collection vehicles as transmission risks. STEEP analysis identified barriers: cultural reliance on untreated waste, existing but underused thermal technology, disproportionate costs to producers of regulating organic waste processing, potential environmental benefits, and regulatory delays. The Impact/Effort Matrix prioritised the enforcement of regulations governing landfill and animal access, whilst infrastructure improvements for small producers require significant investment and reform.

ASF biosecurity requires coordinated One Health governance across tourism, waste management, and pig farming. Enforcing existing regulations is an immediate step. The workshop's approach provides a replicable model for participatory ASF risk governance in the Caribbean.