Puntacana Foundation Launches Coral Restoration Farm in Dominican Republic

The Puntacana Foundation inaugurated the Marine Innovation Center (CIM), a new facility designed to promote research, environmental education, and the restoration of coral reef ecosystems throughout the Caribbean. Located in Playa Blanca, within the Puntacana Resort, on one of the country's most iconic coastlines, the CIM represents the next step in a conservation commitment that began more than thirty years ago.

The inauguration, held in conjunction with Earth Day on April 22, 2026, brought together partners from the environmental, business, and philanthropic sectors, including the Puntacana Group, the Dominican Foundation for Marine Studies (FUNDEMAR), The Nature Conservancy (TNC), and Oceankind, as well as the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources of the Dominican Republic, Armando Paíno Henríquez.

The CIM has a specialized laboratory with 32 tanks, expandable to 64, which will support coral restoration, marine monitoring, and the reproduction of key reef species. This facility integrates controlled laboratory environments with active programs in the adjacent marine sanctuary, enabling scientists and technicians to quickly move from research to field application.

Coral reef restoration in the Caribbean has historically faced a fundamental contradiction, as traditional techniques rely on extracting fragments from already declining natural populations. This new center was designed to directly address this challenge, incorporating tools such as machine learning for monitoring coral health, molecular biology for disease detection and prevention, assisted evolution, and sexual reproduction techniques to develop more resilient corals. The goal is not just to restore reefs, but to do so at the speed and scale demanded by their accelerating loss.

Beyond its scientific mission, the CIM will open a permanent interactive exhibit to the public this summer, inviting both resort visitors and the community at large to learn about the threats facing reefs and the solutions being developed to protect them. Fundación Puntacana has maintained that scientific credibility and citizen participation strengthen each other, and that lasting conservation requires not only better tools, but also a society that understands the importance of reefs.

The Center is also the anchor institution of the Dominican Republic's Marine Innovation Hub, a national platform that integrates Fundación Puntacana, FUNDEMAR, and The Nature Conservancy under a shared mission of applied research and large-scale reef restoration. This Hub, supported by Oceankind, operates through two world-class facilities: one in Punta Cana and FUNDEMAR's laboratory in Bayahibe, and is actively working on developing a legal and financial structure to ensure its long-term sustainability.

The Marine Innovation Center was made possible through the vision and investment of Grupo Puntacana, the philanthropic partnership with Oceankind and numerous private donors from the Puntacana Resort community, as well as the scientific collaboration of The Nature Conservancy, FUNDEMAR, and a network of international partners.

The inauguration also featured a Moda Jumbo pop-up shop, showcasing its latest Parrotfish collection, developed in collaboration with Socrates McKinney. Inspired by the key role of this species in coral reefs, the collection promotes its protection and discourages its consumption. Under the concept "the parrotfish makes the sand and we raise awareness," the collection transforms fashion into a platform for environmental education. Through this initiative, Jumbo, along with other companies, joins in promoting actions that protect our ecosystems and foster greater environmental awareness.