Haiti – Dominican Republic - Disasters and Conflicts - UNEP

Extreme poverty is a key driving force leading to unsustainable practices and further environmentaldegradation.© UNEPIt is important to note the scale of this mobilelabour force and the source region. Withunemployment in Haiti estimated to be inthe order of 41% or four million people, 305 thepotential mobile rural labour pool searchingfor alternatives is crudely estimated to be wellover one million.Finally, population growth needs to befactored into any proposed solution. The currentestimated growth rate of the populationof Haiti is 1.3% per annum, with a projectedgrowth of 25% over the next 20 years, reachinga population of 12.5 million by 2030. 306 Thegrowth rate in the border zone is much higherthan this, between 3-4 %, in most areas alongthe border zone. It is clear that the artisanalfarming population on the Haitian side of theborder zone has already surpassed sustainablenumbers, so all future growth adds to themobile labour pool.This large and growing mobile labour force hascritical implications for solution development.For example, targeted investment in livelihoodcreation in Haitian communities close to theborder will have only limited impact if the issuesnoted on both sides are driven by the mobilelabor pool drawn from all over rural Haiti.2) Haitian environmental degradationThe three most important forms of environmentaldegradation are: deforestation, soil erosionand marine environmental degradation.Environmental degradation on the Haitian sideof the border zone already has had three substantialmaterial impacts: a) it has dramaticallylowered the productivity of farming and forestryland; b) increased the severity of river floodpeaks; and c) has decreased the fish stocksin the coastal waters. Lowered productivityhas fed into the problems of artisanal farmersfurther exacerbating rural poverty and unskilledlabour mobility. The increased flooding hasalready impacted the towns of Fonds Verrettes,Jimani and Pedernales / Anse-à-Pitre.Deforestation and devegetation of slopingland is a primary cause of much of the problem.The deforestation process is not completeanywhere in the border zone, however it isHaiti – Dominican Republic: Environmental challenges in the border zone99