Haiti – Dominican Republic - Disasters and Conflicts - UNEP

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EarthquakesHispaniola is located on the border of two tectonicplates: the North American Plate and the Caribbeanplate. Two major, active fault lines cross mostof the island from west to east, 113 leaving both Haitiand the Dominican Republic equally exposed toearthquakes. The island has a long history of severeearthquakes, the latest being the devastating 7.0Richter Scale event of 12 th January 2010, which hadan epicentre just 30 km west of Port-au-Prince. Thisearthquake killed 225,000 people, injured 300,000more, and left a million homeless and displaced. 114Port-au-Prince sustained massive damage andeconomic losses to Haiti were estimated at US$7.8billion, which is 122% of its GDP. It is important tonote that Hispaniola has experienced severalearthquakes of this intensity over the last 300years and further earthquakes are expected, withthe northern region currently facing the highestrisks. 115 A study suggests that future earthquakesnear Port-au-Prince could be similar or larger inmagnitude than the 2010 earthquake. 116 All thenorthern part of the Dominican Republic has ahigh seismic risk, 117 with some studies claiming thatDominican seismic risk is higher than that of Haiti. 1182.5 SocietyHispaniola population evolution and ethnicityHispaniola has not seen large-scale immigrationsince the end of the 17 th century. Migration sincethat time has been largely limited to internalmovement and emigration. As a result, the socialfoundations of both Haiti and the DominicanRepublic were laid early in the history of Hispaniola.During this time, both the African and Caucasianpopulations were spread across the islandand mixed relatively freely. As a consequence,ethnicity today in Hispaniola is not fully defined bythe boundary between Haiti and the DominicanRepublic. People of African and mixed backgroundare found in both countries, with much more of theformer in Haiti and much more of the latter in theDominican Republic. 119Haitian populationThe population of Haiti is currently estimated atapproximately 10 million with a population densityof 362.6 inhabitants/km². 120 The ethnic compositionof the Haitian population is 95% black and 5%Caucasian and mulatto (mixed African andThe earthquake that struck Haiti in January 2012 caused unprecedented damage to the capital Port-au-Prince, and killed 225,000 people.© UNEP28 Haiti – Dominican Republic: Environmental challenges in the border zone
Caucasian descent). 121 The mulatto minority isrelatively powerful and economically more securethan the majority.Over the years, a demographic explosion hasoccurred in Haiti. Its population was estimatedat 5,000 inhabitants in 1804 122 and had reached3.2 million within one hundred and fifty years. Thepopulation then almost tripled between 1950 and2005 and is now estimated at around 10 millionpeople. 123 The population is very young: 35% ofpeople are under the age of 15, and every year,200,000 people reach that age.Half of the Haitian population lives in urbancenters 124 , of which the most populous are Portau-Prince(home to 25 percent of the populationof Haiti and representing 62% of all urban population)125 , Jacmel, Gonaïves and Cap-Haitien.Dominican populationIn 2011 the population of the Dominican Republicwas 10.1 million, with a population density of 205.4persons/km². The registered Dominican Republicpopulation is ethnically very mixed with 11% African,73% mulatto, and 16% Caucasian. These figures,however, do not include up to one million illegalHaitian immigrants and temporary workers. 126 Justas large numbers of Haitians come over the borderto the Dominican Republic so, many Dominicansmigrate from Hispaniola entirely, usually to the USA.Just like its Caribbean neighbors, the Dominicanpopulation is very young (31.4% are aged under15) and birth (19.67 births/1000 inhabitants) andfertility rates (2.44 children/woman) remain high. 127The Dominican population is now predominantlyurban 128 as a result of a rural exodus. Indeed, thenumber of people living in urban areas increasedfrom 62% of the total population in 2000 to 71% in2010. 129 Most of those people live in the capital,Santo Domingo (2.2 million inhabitants), San Pedrode Macoris and La Romana in the south andSantiago de los Caballeros, in the north.2.6 Environmental GovernanceHispaniola governance and stability interlinkagesThe governance and stability situations in Haiti andthe Dominican Republic have been historicallyvery independent of each other. Each countryhas managed its affairs and endured its own criseswith relatively limited interaction with its neighbor.The Dominican Republic has managed to movebeyond a long dictatorship to develop rapidly andrelatively stably over the last 30 years, whilst Haitiunfortunately moved from a long lived dictatorshipto major instability and social-economic decline.This independence is however now effectively atan end. One in 10 inhabitants of the DominicanRepublic is a temporary or illegal immigrant fromHaiti, and the Dominican Republic is now a majorplayer in the post-earthquake reconstructioneffort. 130Environmental governance in the DominicanRepublicIn the Dominican Republic, most major environmentalissues are covered by the general orframework law 64-000, which came into effectin August 2000. It covers issues such as air andwater quality, pollution control, habitat and speciesconservation, protected areas, and environmentalimpacts. The design and implementation of theregulatory regime is overseen by the Ministry ofEnvironment and Natural Resources, which wascreated to bring all public institutions dealing withenvironmental issues under one umbrella.The legislature has been obliged to develop manyspecific or “sector” laws pertaining to the detailsof the broad topics referred to in 64-000, but thelength of that process has delayed the address ofurgent environmental issues.The Constitution of the Dominican Republic, (whichwas proclaimed on the 26 January 2010), makesspecific and extensive reference to the environmentand natural resources. 131 In it, reforestationof the country and protection and conservation offorests, high river watersheds and endemic, nativeand migratory biodiversity zones are declared asnational priorities.A cornerstone in the national process towardssustainable development has been set forth byOrganic Law 1-12 on the National DevelopmentStrategy for the Dominican Republic 2030. 132 Ofparticular relevance is section 2.4.3, which pertainsto the sustainable development of the borderzone (see sub-sections 2.4.3.1 – 2.4.3.6). In generalthe law envisages a society with a sustainableHaiti – Dominican Republic: Environmental challenges in the border zone29
Page 1: Haiti - Dominican RepublicEnvironme
Page 7 and 8: We congratulate all those who contr
Page 9: countries. These issues include the
Page 13: The differing levels of tree cover
Page 16 and 17: A member of the assessment team col
Page 18 and 19: Members of the assessment team inte
Page 20 and 21: Consultation workshops were held in
Page 22 and 23: Table 1. Key facts and statistics f
Page 24 and 25: wandering over depleted fields and
Page 26 and 27: ClimateThe different parts of Hispa
Page 28 and 29: Natural river flow variability due
Page 32: consumption and production culture
Page 36 and 37: Map 6. The northern coast and the M
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Page 41 and 42: although it is estimated to be much
Page 43 and 44: Figure 3. Seasonality of food insec
Page 45 and 46: e sold for a profit on the other si
Page 47 and 48: viCase study 2. Comité Intermunici
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Page 64 and 65: 5.5 Collection of fuel woodFuel woo
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crust substantial enough to be the
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7 Coastal and marineresources7.1 In
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tuna, sea bream, yellowtail, hake,
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Mangroves are being cut to be sold
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Case study 6. Cooperation between f
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private sector better informed. Cus
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carrying money, and missing their d
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etween these two cordilleras), but
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Mineral exploration is starting in
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assessment team are all small scale
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Extreme poverty is a key driving fo
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it is present. The Haitian populati
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Atlantic storms will double in the
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A charcoal kiln burning inside the
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Table 5. Summary of the key recomme
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Ten recommendations are provided un
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oth environmentally damaging and li
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Improving cooperation and governanc
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f. Create and formalize fishing agr
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g. In the long term, aim for variou
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Haiti - Dominican Republic: Environ
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Annex I - Report terminologyArgumen
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Annex II - List of Acronyms and Abb
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Annex IV - Table connecting thereco
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23. United States Census Bureau. (2
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73. UN Development Programme - Haï
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117. Urban Design Lab, Columbia Uni
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161. Miniel, L. (2012, 20 April). I
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204. Peralta, C. (2012, 18 April).
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246. González Sánchez, F.F. (2012
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290. Laboratoire des Relations Hait
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Annex VI - AcknowledgementsContribu
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Claude PhanorMartin RapillyAdelita
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José Cristino CastilloRobert Crowl
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