NewsWhore
05-08-2007, 05:20 PM
Deforestation in Haiti is at a critical point concluded specialists that participated in the Second International Conference on the Future of Dominican-Haitian Relations held in Cote de Arcadeins, Haiti. As reported in the Listin Diario, Wirner Jean Baptiste, in charge of Dominican affairs at the Haitian Ministry of Foreign Relations said that a collective suicide is happening now in Haiti and only the awareness of the population will be able to avert an environmental and social catastrophe. He urged that agencies be set up in Haiti to protect the environment before it is too late. Haitian Minister of Environmental, Jean Marie Germain said that 70% of the energy needs of his country come from coal, "the reason why the forests are consumed in smoke." With most of the forests in Haiti wiped out, that there is intense illegal trafficking of fuelwood from the Dominican Republic. The Listin Diario says that known clandestine but very lucrative businesses have been set up for the preparation of the coal in Las 39, Las 40, Tierra Nueva and Boca de Cachon, in the border province of Independencia.
Forest cover in Haiti is down to 1%, and with the forest cover gone, floods ravage the country at each rainfall. Topsoil washes into the sea. The DR suffered a major tragedy from deforestation in Haiti, when on 24 May flooding waters rushed east and destroyed the entire town of Jimani.
The conference was organized by the Dominican Churches Social Service, Dominican-Haitian Dialogue, with the sponsorship of the Ministry of Foreign Relations of Norway, The Natural Conservancy and the United Nations Population Fund.
The event ended with a commitment for the governments of Haiti and the DR to begin massive tree planting along the border rivers, as well as the construction of roads for the transport of farming goods. The Dominican Christian churches committed to a US$3 million fund to sponsor small and medium-sized companies along the border.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#10)
Forest cover in Haiti is down to 1%, and with the forest cover gone, floods ravage the country at each rainfall. Topsoil washes into the sea. The DR suffered a major tragedy from deforestation in Haiti, when on 24 May flooding waters rushed east and destroyed the entire town of Jimani.
The conference was organized by the Dominican Churches Social Service, Dominican-Haitian Dialogue, with the sponsorship of the Ministry of Foreign Relations of Norway, The Natural Conservancy and the United Nations Population Fund.
The event ended with a commitment for the governments of Haiti and the DR to begin massive tree planting along the border rivers, as well as the construction of roads for the transport of farming goods. The Dominican Christian churches committed to a US$3 million fund to sponsor small and medium-sized companies along the border.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#10)