GEO Haiti 2010

State of the Environment Report 2010
The majority of those who no longer practice
agriculture now find themselves living in cities.
Actually, cities offer more opportunities for the
unemployed than rural areas. In the words of
Albertini (1987), “poverty in rural areas [of Haiti] is
more acute than in urban areas.”
5.3.4 Poor Infrastructure
All major Haitian cities, with one exception, are all
located near the coast, and at very low altitudes.
They are also surrounded by imposing mountain
ranges which constitute the watersheds.
It is estimated that 16,000 MT of soil are washed
away each year (Republic of Haiti, 2001). A large
part of this soil passes through the major cities
of Haiti, leaving mudslides on the roads and
bridges which then become impassable (CPD,
2006). This also affects schools, hospitals and
human settlements. The sediment-laden runoff
also causes significant damage to the tourism
infrastructures and water systems that supply
drinking water to urban populations.
Sediment (sand, gravel, stones) interferes with
the existing infrastructure and contributes to its
deterioration. The most notorious example is the
hydroelectric dam of Péligre, first in operation in
the 1970s. In fact, “a numerical analysis of the HRV
picture of SPOT revealed that in 2000, 27% of the
watershed [of the artificial lake feeding the dam]
comprised bare soil, 37% of its soil was cultivated
or covered by sparse vegetation, and about 30%
was covered by tree or shrub vegetation. The
observation of aerial photographs from 1978
showed that for the first 22 years (1956-1978),
the main sediment bank had progressed to
cover almost 5.9% of the total surface of the lake
and an analysis of the 2000 HRV image reveals
that the sediment in the lake had increased by
an additional 7.6 % with respect to the surface
area of the lake. […]. The farming practices of a
growing number of upstream residents are one
of the main causes of erosion of the watershed,
and consequently of the increase in the rate of
lake sedimentation. (LOUIS et al, 2005). Therefore,
this dam that used to supply the bulk of the
country’s electricity is working today at reduced
capacity, contributing to less than one third of
the electricity consumed in the country.
5.3.5 Affected Aquatic Ecosystems
The Haitian topography is such that its waterways
have steep slope watersheds. Therefore, a large
amount of debris coming from the mountain
ranges inevitably ends up in one of these
waterways.
As such, the continuing erosion of soil, due to
deforestation and land clearing, contributes to
the imbalance of many aquatic ecosystems in
Haiti. Actually, the sediment carried by runoff
following rainfall is discharged into rivers,
modifying the riverbeds, damaging plants and
destroying the habitat of aquatic animals. The
Port-au-Prince bay is one clear example, where
the runoff sediment has now filled it up to a height
of more than 20 m, thereby reducing significantly
the rate of catch by the fishermen in this coastal
area, now devoid of its mangrove forests which
used to serve as filters against sediment (Holly, in
GEORGES, 2008). The problems of sedimentation
of the Péligre hydroelectric dam constitute a very
pertinent example.
6. Mining and Quarrying
6.1 Mining
The Republic of Haiti is rich in mineral resources.
There are deposits, either inventoried or already
being exploited in several locations across the
country. Bauxite extraction by the Reynolds
mining company that operates on the Rochelois
plateau at Miragoâne, and the copper extraction
by the Canadian company SEDREN S. A. in the
region of Terre Neuve, are examples, among
others, that demonstrate the potential of the
country in relation to this resource.
115