GEO Haiti 2010

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GEO HAITI • 2010 92 Figure 40: Geographical Distribution of Rainfall Source: UTSIG, 2003 The abundance of rainfall and its annual distribution constitute determining factors on the microclimates of the country. According to D’ANS (1978), 30% of the country’s territory receives more than 500 m of rain, while 15% receives more than 800 m, allowing every possible transition, especially at high altitudes, thus increasing its biological diversity Table 18: Main Organizations Working in Water Sanitation in Haiti. Organizations 1. Public sector CAMEP SNEP POCHEP 2. Non-governmental/international OXFAM GB GRET ACF French Red Cross APPEL 3. Private Sector Cooperation and action for sustainable development Action for Sustainable Development Source: unknown The improved access to potable water is the result of the intervention of the public and private sectors together with the support from Non-Governmental-Organizations. The public organizations are CAMEP and SNEP: CAMEP, responsible for the management of fresh water in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area, and SNEP, of the secondary towns and rural areas. The main institutions responsible of facilitating the access to water are listed in the following table: Geographic area of intervention Port-au-Prince Metropolitan Area Secondary cities and rural environment Supplying Cap-Haïtien Supplying communities of d’Aquin and Southern Saint Louis in the Southern Province Les Palmes, Delatte, Petit-Goâve, Grand-Goâve Marigot (Southeast)
State of the Environment Report 2010 Vegetation cover has deteriorated to the point of bareness, leading to a considerable increase in rainwater run-off. Deforestation has reduced the quantity of water which refills the aquifers, resulting in low underground-water levels. In many areas, this decline resulted in the drying-up of wells and a level of water too low to restore it to a level of less than 300 feet. Although underground water is generally safer than the supply of untreated surface water, many shallow aquifers become biologically contaminated because of poor waste management. With regard to groundwater, currently lakes and ponds are ecosystems generating enormous environmental problems in Haiti. The main challenges, together with the variation of levels of these ecosystems called “Eaux dormantes” or stagnant waters (Saumatre pond 11,300 hectares and the Miragoane ponds, 1,130 hectares), would be the enormous impacts in terms of damage to agricultural and human settlements in the nearby areas. According to experts, this is due either to the presence of alluvium, the effects of the rain system or human-based activities or even the hydro-dynamism in the aquifers that are in use or no longer in use. Therefore, taking into account the projected population 32 growth according to recent data, Haiti would be one of nine countries facing a serious shortage of water by 2025. However, the question of shortage is to be seen less in terms of potential and availability but rather in terms of geographic distribution and methods of exploitation, resulting in an inadequate number of water supply systems and of irrigated perimeters and in insufficient sanitation, particularly in the large towns (Gadelle in Emmanuel, 2007). According to Emmanuel et al (2002), the water problem in Haiti today occurs within a very particular demographic context, characterized by a densely-populated country with people suffering at the same time from poverty, malnourishment and deficiencies in education. 1.2.3 Reduction and Unavailability of Water There has been a marked reduction in water resources in Haiti. Indeed, as a result of the imbalance in the hydrological cycles, caused mainly by deforestation, there has been an increase in rainwater run-off. Consequently, the water-table is now showing a deficit, a situation still not well documented. Watercourses are drying up more easily and undergoing physical modifications as a result of sediments coming from watersheds. Experts have therefore observed a 50% decrease in water levels (PAHO/WHO, 2003). In addition, some bodies of water have seen their storage possibility reduced. For example, the Péligre Lake, the country’s only major reservoir, has lost at least a third of its storage capacity (USSC, op.cit.). Water is unavailable for a considerable part of the population. During the last decade of the 20th century and two years beyond that, less than 60% of the population had access to drinking water (PAHO/WHO, 2003). It should be noted that the major problem is not yet the scarcity of water, but its inaccessibility, and when drought further reduces the population’s water supply, there is evidence of a certain level of inertia on the part of the institutions concerned. 1.2.4 Deterioration of the Quality of Water Resources The deterioration of the quality of water has reached significant proportions in Haiti over the last few decades. This is manifested in its saltiness, the presence of harmful substances such as faecal coliforms, Cryptosporidium oocysts, and heavy metals in the water. Some underground waters have become salty as a result of over-pumping. The Cul-de-Sac Plain close to Port-au-Prince is one such example. Also, according to some sources, the extraction of 93 32 GADELLE, F. Le monde manquera-t-il bientôt d’eau? Sécheresse. 1995: vol. 6, 1:11-15
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GEO Haiti 2010

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