GEO Haiti 2010

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GEO HAITI • 2010 118 Therefore, given the magnitude of the problem, the situation creates a constant risk and the extraction of building materials particularly threatens some highly-populated cities. The lack of oversight in recent decades regarding the extraction of construction materials, has inevitably led to a significant degradation of the sites and to a serious ecological imbalance. Irrational mining, not to mention illegal of quarries in Haiti, has caused a serious impact on the environment. 6.2.1 Types and Location of Quarries The material extracted from quarries is used mainly in the construction industry. This includes sand and rock, according to the national entity responsible for management of quarrying in Haiti (BME, 1998). The extraction of these materials is limited to mountains and riverbeds. The mountains account for 80% of sand and rock production, while the other 20% is collected from riverbeds (HOLLY, 1999). Figure 64: Carrrière de sable dans la Fontamarat, Commune de Carrefour The vast majority of quarries (80%) are located in Port-au-Prince (BME, 1998). Approximately fifty active quarries throughout the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince produce 1.7 million cubic Source: Jean Vilmond Hilaire 2004 meters of material whereas total production in Haiti is estimated at just over 2 million cubic meters. 6.2.2 Pressure from the Construction Industry The construction industry, despite the difficult economic situation in Haiti, is still very active. In fact, the demographic pressure is such that it promotes the construction of all kinds of buildings. This has meant that the number of quarries has increased during the past two decades at an accelerated pace. In fact, the number increased by 52% in the 1980s and by 17% during the first half of the following decade (ibid.), which however, showed a downturn in overall activity due to the economic measures taken by the international community against the country. The quantity of materials extracted from quarries was estimated at 2.5 million cubic meters per year in 2002 (REPUBLIC OF HAITI/SNU, 2002). However, despite the ever-increasing demand for building materials, there could have been less environmental mutations due to quarrying, if laws and operational guidelines had been respected. 6.2.3. Geological Instability Mountains provide most of the material produced from the quarries, and this has led to their overexploitation. Some of these mountain ranges even possess slopes exceeding 40 o , and there is little respect for the operating rules established by the Mines and Energy Bureau, the institution that controls the extraction of this resource. On the other hand, materials and techniques used in the extraction of construction materials are fairly rudimentary (ibid.). Consequently, the sites become geologically unstable. There are some reports which mention (HOLLY op. cit.), that “mining in [certain quarries] is being carried out in areas at risk of landslides”.
State of the Environment Report 2010 6.2.4 Vegetation The extraction of building materials from the mountains requires direct contact with the bedrock, that is to say the subsoil area. In order to achieve this, vegetation is inevitably destroyed. But enterprises do not always comply with these rules, as already mentioned, despite the existence of legislation with explicit prohibitions, also meaning that mining activities are under no protection or rehabilitation programme. The obvious result of this lack of management within the quarrying sector is, among other things, the total disappearance of vegetation. It is no exaggeration to speak of “a lunar landscape” when speaking of quarry sites. 6.3 Serious Consequences 6.3.1 Destabilization of the Coastal Ecosystem Quarries provide raw materials which, depending on their use, will undergo transformations and waste will be produced from the process. This waste, discarded indiscriminately, will be washed down to the sea during rainfall, via drains. Some say that this process contributes to the silting and sedimentation of coastal and marine areas 51 . This results in the migration of marine animals and the destruction of their spawning grounds. Researchers say that, for example, conches have migrated to less turbid water (SAFFACHE, 2006). There is concern that fishing in Haiti has suffered severely from this problem and that coral reefs are also affected. There is not much quantitative information on the subject, however, it has been confirmed that sedimentation in Haitian waters is causing the necrosis of coral reefs. (Ibid and DESS, 2002). PELOSATO (2005) highlights the decline of coral reefs, together with a reduction of level of light penetration, and a decrease of photosynthesis as well as in the level of oxygenation in the water. With specific reference to Port-au-Prince, this turbidity and extreme pollution could have caused the death of the coral reefs. Figure 65 shows the endangered ecosystems in the Gulf of Gonâve. 6.3.2 Falling Rocks and Landslides Geological instability, resulting from the disorganized mining activities in quarries, sometimes leads to telluric movements. In fact, rockslides and landslides are very frequent, causing situations often bordering on disaster. Quarries can easily be transformed into dangerous places to work. GEORGES 52 say that landslides occur every day in the quarries, while SAFFACHE and al. (2002) state “that often, dwellings as well as workers are all swept away”. Figure 65: Endangered ecosystems of the Gulf of Gonâve Source: DESSE, 2003 6.3.3 Erosion Mountainsides and riverbeds are ideal places for the extraction of construction materials however their geological and natural recovery process takes a long time. Moreover, there is no mechanism nation-wide for the rehabilitation of these environments. Therefore, the degradation caused by the extraction itself is compounded by erosion from 119 51 RÉPUBLIQUE D’HAÏTI/SNU, 2002 52 Facts relating to the development of the mining sector in Haiti in UNDP/ECMU 1999.
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GEO Haiti 2010

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