GEO Haiti 2010

GEO HAITI • 2010
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Morin and at Grande-Rivière, where mangroves
expanded over a length of 500 to 600 m.
Mangroves were also visible at Limonade-Cove,
Caracol-Bay, Acul Bay (to the west of Cap-Haïtien),
along the coast of La Tortue Island facing Port de
Paix, along the Saint-Nicolas bank, and at Gonaives
Bay at St. Marc. These extended over a distance
of 20 km long and 6 km wide, serving as filters
against the deposits coming from the Artibonite,
Esther and Salée rivers.
Mangroves forests were also mentioned at Saint
Marc l’Arcahaie, extending 15 km to the Bretelles
river, as well as from the mouth of the Boucon
Brou river mouth, after l’Arcahaie, up to the Croixdes-Bouquets
region. Mangroves forests were also
found at Port-au-Prince and at the Trou-Bordet
River going towards Leogane, and up north
towards Source Puante. The small island of Grand-
Goave, at the mouth of the Tapion River, registered
a low quantity, while the coast of St. Louis-du-Sud,
the Cavaillon region, the extreme-South region
of Baradere and the area of d’Aquin also had
mangrove forests.
The mangroves trees however have been cut
down and used as lumber in construction and
as firewood for domestic and industrial purposes
(REPUBLIQUE D’HAITI, 1997). This exploitation
began at the end of the 18 th century when
mangroves were used as a source of fuel, for
example, on the Arcadins coast (to the north of
Port-au-Prince). Some species were used for the
fabrication of curves for dinghies and row-boats,
as well as in the construction of houses. In other
regions, such as Leogane, they were cut down
to make the area healthier or more attractive
(Hatzenberger, 2001).
The area occupied by mangrove forests in Haiti has
been drastically reduced over the last decades, and
data from FAO (2007) reveal this. The considerable
decline in the country’s mangroves is explained
in part by the difficult socioeconomic situation
of the last decades, and also by the poverty and
demographic increase. The table below shows
the evolution of the area occupied by mangroves,
reduced from 17,800 hectares to 13,000 hectares
between 1980 and 2005.
Table 19: Status and Trend in Mangroves in Haiti from 1980 to 2005
Most reliable estimate 1980 1990
1980-1990
Evolution
2000
1990-2000
Evolution
2005
2000-2005
Evolution
ha Year of Reference ha ha ha % ha Ha % Ha ha %
15 000 1988 17,800 15,000 –280 –1.7 14,300 -70 –0.5 13,700 –120 –0.8
Source: FAO, 2007 : http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/a1427e/a1427e00.htm (Février 2009)
Although not recent, the available data on Caracol,
a town in the northern part of the country, follow
the same trend as the overall situation in the
country, showing the progressive disappearance
of one of the largest remaining mangrove forests
in Haiti (Figure 42).
Unit A (Height: 8.08 m
and diameter 29.8 cm)
Unit A (Height: 5.13 m
and diameter 21.3 cm)
Unit A (Height: 2.37 m
and diameter 11.6 cm)
Figure 42: Evolution in the Surface Area of the
Different Types of Mangrove at Caracol Bay
Area (ha)
2000
1500
100
500
0
Source: UEH. 1994
1957 1978 1989
Period