GEO Haiti 2010

State of the Environment Report 2010
2. Sea and Coastal Areas
2.1 Geography
According to UNESCO (1998), the country has
a very narrow continental shelf, measuring
5,000 km 2 . The underwater topography presents
a significant incline. The 200 m isobath which
forms the limit of the continental shelf is often
located less than 300 m from the shoreline. The
length of Haiti’s coastline is estimated to be
1,500 km (REPUBLIQUE D’HAITI, 2004).
2.2 Potential
Haiti’s coastal marine heritage possesses
exceptional wealth. It comprises three large
ecosystems: hard bedrock occupied by reefs or
coral communities, sand beds of seagrass beds,
and finally the low-lying wetland coasts, and
estuarial zones (Bouchon et al, 2000). Given that
the country is located in a tropical zone, mangrove
forests were formed in these areas.
Figure 41: The coast of d’Aquin in the South
Moreover, Haiti’s specific wealth in fish and coral
reefs is very high. With territorial waters of more
than 30,000 km 2 (REPUBLIQUE D’HAITI, 2004),
which exceeds the land mass of Haiti, the country
Source: Hilaire, 2007
has a strong fishing potential. In 1990, FAO
estimated it to be 14,000 metric tons (Bouchon
et al, 2000).
The high-level productivity in the coastal and
marine ecosystems of Haiti is recognized.
Ottenwalder 34 confirms that “[the] estuaries
[located in the central part of the country] are
among the largest and most productive in the
Caribbean.
2.3 Overview
The crisis that exists in the sea and coastal areas
of Haiti are many and varied. The overexploitation
of mangrove forests and of fishery resources,
urbanization, solid waste, soil erosion and the
emptying of fuel tanks into the territorial waters of
Haiti are mainly the determinants of this situation.
Due to various types of pressure, the marine and
coastal ecosystems have been severely impacted.
Therefore, the mangrove forests, coral reefs and
fisheries are almost completely ravaged or are in
serious danger of destruction.
2.3.1 Mangroves
Over the last few decades, the mangrove forests,
an exclusive ecosystem of the inter-tropical zone
in Haiti, have undergone excessive pressure.
According to FAO (2007), they constituted only
approximately 20,000 hectares in 1980, and were
made up of four mangrove species (Avicennia
germinans, Conocarpus erectus, Launcularia
racemosa and Rhizophora mangle). Nationally,
they are all suffering from an irrational exploitation.
This is only slightly controlled, as there is no coastal
protection in Haiti (see table below).
As early as the end of the 18 th century, historical
documents already referred to mangroves on the
coastal strip of Haiti, as being very significant in size,
both in terms of length and width (Hatzenberger,
2001). Almost all the coastal areas of the country
were covered by mangroves, especially along
the coast of the Haut-Cap River up to Quartier
95
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