Haiti – Dominican Republic - Disasters and Conflicts - UNEP

Improving cooperation and governance7. Improve existing transboundary cooperationmechanisms that deal withenvironmental issues and transboundarywatersheds: Build on the mechanisms andplatforms for cooperation that already exist onvarious levels, to create a functioning networkof cooperation, both across the border, as wellas between the local and national levels. Theoverall cooperation framework, under whichthe other mechanisms should exist, should onthe highest level be chaired by the presidentsof the two nations, in order to ensure necessarypolitical will and allocation of resources.Design & scopea. Use the findings and recommendations of thisstudy to inform on-going initiatives under theJoint Dominican-Haitian Bilateral Commission(“Commission mixte binational haitianodominicaine”),including the memorandumof understanding between the ministries ofplanning, the memorandum of understandingon border security, the Bolivarian fund forsolidarity with Haiti, as well as the memorandumof understanding on cross-bordertransportation.b. Strengthen the Haitians’ capacity to interacton an equal level with their Dominicancounterparts on national and community levelcooperation mechanisms, ranging from thebi-national commission to community levelmayors associations. This process would involveimproving information sharing and technicaltraining and sourcing of operational funds.c. Emphasize information sharing between thetwo countries, as well as information sharingand coordination between on-going andfuture projects in the border zone.d. Formalize and support the existing local levelinformal transboundary cooperation mechanisms,and that currently to a large extent isbased on interpersonal relationships, to ensurethe long-term survival of such successfulinitiatives. This would include the bi-nationalcommune/mayors forums and partnershipsbetween livelihood groups from both sidesof the border (associations of fishermen andbeekeepers etc).e. Create dedicated policing, conflict resolutionand information exchange mechanisms atthe different levels, from national to local,including cooperation between authorities ofboth countries to resolve disputes and combatcross-border illegal activities and crimes.f. Ensure any large scale mining, energy orwater resource projects with the potential fortransboundary impacts are integrated intothe agenda of the high level cooperationmechanisms.g. Promote open exchange of informationand the development of joint projects onthe bi-national level. This includes improvingthe management of transboundary naturalresources: fish stocks, forests and water.RationaleTransboundary/bi-national co-operation structuresalready exist on various levels, but lackresources for effective implementation. Existingmechanisms include the Joint Dominican-HaitianBilateral Commission, the border developmentagencies, the Haitian parliamentary commissionfor the border, bi-national projects implementedby international organizations, associationsof mayors in the border zone and informalcooperation between community leaders andlivelihood groups. These various mechanismsand structures represent good cooperation/conflict resolution platforms which should befurther strengthened and institutionalized, as theyare perceived positively by stakeholders in bothcountries.However, all stakeholders point out the lack of balancebetween Haiti and the Dominican Republic,where most of the Haitian structures currently lackhuman, financial and technical capacities and tosome extent suffer from a lack of political weightand backing. In addition, the flow and exchangeof information on the border landscape is stillinsufficient, be it across the border or from thelocal to the national level in Haiti.Cost: USD 2 million per annumSchedule: 5 years+Responsibility: Ministry of Foreign Affairs in theDominican Republic and in Haiti.Haiti – Dominican Republic: Environmental challenges in the border zone113