Haiti – Dominican Republic - Disasters and Conflicts - UNEP

Members of the assessment team interviewing a Haitian reforestation brigade in Capotille, in the Massacrewatershed in the northern part of the border zone.© UNEPlivelihood groups to the various vulnerabilities theyface. Refer to annex III for a figure representing thesustainable livelihoods framework that was used.The assessment processThe assessment commenced in April 2011 andwas completed in 2013 with the finalizationand publication of this report. The 4 stageprocess followed for the assessment is summarizedbelow:1) Background research and scoping missionThe initial part of the project involved reviewingthe available literature pertaining to the borderzone. It also included a scoping mission tothe region in May 2011 that sought to identifyand understand the key issues, geographicalscope, and practical constraints on both sidesof the border – all of which information wasneeded in order to design the appropriateassessment methodology.2) Detailed information gathering and followupfield missions• This stage began after the scoping missionin May 2011. It included follow-up fieldmissions to the border zone in November2011 and April 2012, and set out to identifyand gather additional information relevantfor the study that was not available in thepublic domain. One such category of datarefers to information the official record ofwhich had been lost or destroyed duringor after the 2010 earthquake and copiesof which existed on paper or as institutionalknowledge. Another category containeddata that was in the possession of theauthorities in one of the two countries andwas available only on request.• The field teams consisted of specialistsfrom UNEP’s Post Conflict and DisasterManagement Branch, representatives of theGovernment of Haiti (Soils and EcosystemDirectorate of the Ministry of Environment),the Government of the Dominican Republic(representatives of the Ministry of environment)and UNDP personnel in Haiti. The fieldmissions were complemented by shortermissions, as well as bi-national meetingswith the two governments.3) Analysis of findings and writing of the reportThis stage was divided into four consecutivestepsa. Background chapters. Development ofreport structure and drafting of chaptersincluding background and general information(chapters 1-3).16 Haiti – Dominican Republic: Environmental challenges in the border zone