27.05.2014 Views

GEO Haiti 2010

GEO Haiti 2010

GEO Haiti 2010

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

Create successful ePaper yourself

Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.

<strong>GEO</strong> HAITI • <strong>2010</strong><br />

160<br />

State of the<br />

Environment<br />

Urban Growth in<br />

Coastal Areas<br />

Socioeconomic<br />

Situation<br />

- Forest Cover and Biodiversity<br />

One of the major challenges to sustainable solutions lies in the fact that <strong>Haiti</strong> is<br />

generally unable to ensure the continuity of its environmental restoration and<br />

conservation programmes when institutional political changes take place.<br />

Few national actions intended to protect biodiversity are carried out. Despite the<br />

endangered status of some indigenous species, no efforts have been made to<br />

protect them.<br />

Very little of the budget is allocated to management and conservation activities<br />

designed to preserve vegetative cover and biodiversity.<br />

International conventions signed by the State as well as local environmental laws<br />

are rarely enforced.<br />

Little research is done on indigenous species and biological inventory.<br />

- Air Quality<br />

Industrial emissions continue to increase moderately. Fumes from charcoal<br />

production (deforestation) are greater in the rural areas. There are tentative efforts<br />

to offset carbon through reforestation. Pressure on forests due to additional<br />

human settlement also has a negative effect on these efforts.<br />

- Waste<br />

Garbage collection is irregular. Microenterprises specialised in recycling and<br />

composting were created to treat waste. International organisations join the<br />

efforts but field reports still indicate mixed results. Overlapping occurs in certain<br />

areas where the population is ill-informed on waste management.<br />

- Infrastructures and Services<br />

Services and infrastructures are all centralised. The provision of basic services is<br />

lacking in many rural areas. Indeed, some have only been able to benefit from<br />

minimal facilities due to the efforts of local and international organizations.<br />

Educational standards, particularly at elementary level have not really improved.<br />

Both the establishment of school facilities and the necessary innovations are<br />

slow in coming. Current measures have faced barriers due to traditionalism and<br />

opposition to change. To overcome these obstacles, the government plans to set<br />

up mechanisms which will help bridge the gaps in educational standards.<br />

- Health<br />

Insufficient health services in rural areas; the main hospitals are located in the<br />

cities. Public information programmes on preventive measures are lacking in<br />

remote areas throughout the country.<br />

Low sanitation coverage giving rise to numerous microenterprises offering water<br />

treatment in order to counteract this deficiency.<br />

- Employment<br />

The majority of those of working-age, whether trained or untrained and with or<br />

without experience, is unemployed. However, there could be the possibility of<br />

a need for trained personal in technical fields such as construction, information<br />

technology (creating specific programmes for specific domains), geology and<br />

telecommunications.

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!