GEO Haiti 2010

State of the Environment Report 2010
mainland, suffer enormously as a result of human
activity, especially from fishermen and poachers.
The environment, thus transformed, becomes
insalubrious.
The areas occupied by mangrove forests in Haiti
have been significantly reduced over the past
decades. There are currently only a few pockets of
mangroves totaling 20,000 hectares (REPUBLIQUE
D’HAITI. 2004). Although not recent, the available
data on Caracol, a locality to the north of the
country, show the progressive disappearance of
one of Haiti’s largest mangrove forests.
The country also has an enormous potential in
terms of marine and under-water recreational
activities. However, the polluting of most of
its coastal and marine regions is seriously
undermining this important potential. Several
beaches are practically unusable (MOE-MPEC,
2004), and undertaking activities such as scubadiving
and other water sports, or even a simple
swim, would expose persons to serious health
risks.
The Arcadins coastline, which is located 70 km
from Port-au-Prince, is of an exceptionally-high
ecological value and is one of the rare coastal
areas still protected from the onslaught of coastal
activity.
Under various types of pressures, the coastal and
marine ecosystems have tremendously suffered:
the mangrove forests, coral reefs and fisheries are
almost completely ravaged or are in great danger
of being destroyed.
Additionally, land vegetation has seriously
diminished. Today, the forest coverage accounts
for only between 1.5 and 5% of the country’s
surface area, whereas 16% of Haiti is alleged to
be totally devoid of vegetation. The use of wood
for fuel and of land for agriculture, seem to be the
major causes to this state of affairs.
In this context, the soil exposed to rainfall has
been rapidly eroded; forty-two million m 3 of soil is
washed away annually by rain water. Additionally,
the remaining soil has lost 75% of its productive
capacity as a result of increased agricultural
activity. Consequently, the agricultural sector, year
after year, suffers enormous losses, largely due to
the rural exodus and degraded ecosystems and
infrastructure.
There is no real strategy for land management and
this has also led to a deterioration of equipment
and services. Most are outdated, defective and
very badly distributed throughout the country.
This explains why the services offered no longer
meet the needs of the population.
According to specialists, land clearing is the second
cause of the loss of forests and wooded areas in
Haiti. Agricultural activities, those requiring an
enormous amount of land space, constitute the
most important economic activity in the country.
For this reason, an area not used for agriculture
and therefore considered useless, is cleared and
substituted by cash crops with higher market
value.
In the analysis of the causes of forestland
destruction, fire does not seem to be an important
factor. Nevertheless, large fires have been known
to break out during the summer months in the
remaining forest reserves of Haiti (Forêt des Pins,
La Visite Park or Macaya Park). These were cases of
spontaneous forest fires.
These last years, among the secondary causes of
widespread deforestation and land clearing in Haiti,
is the increasing demand for wood for construction.
One of the reasons is the demographic pressure,
already mentioned.
The consequences of the situation previously cited
are alarming. Mountains are the main features
of the Haitian landscape and this topography
predisposes to erosion from rainfall. Therefore, the
destruction of forest exacerbates the problem.
Sustained deforestation and tree clearing have
been occurring in Haiti for several decades, a
catastrophic and unprecedented situation in the
history of a continent however known for the
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