Haiti – Dominican Republic - Disasters and Conflicts - UNEP

the agriculture, construction or tourism industry. 159A majority of Haitians crossing the border, however,stay in the border region, where the main sourceof income is to work within agriculture as unskilledlabour (see chapter 4 for more on transboundaryagriculture). 160 It is estimated that up to one millionHaitians live in the Dominican Republic, and thatmore than 90% of the agricultural workforce areHaitians, the majority of them undocumentedmigrants.Many Haitians cross the border for short periods oftime. There are five main reasons for this:––Purchasing food.––Looking for employment or land to farm.––Engage in trade at the bi-national markets thatexist along the border.––Take advantage of services offered on theDominican side, such as schools, hospitals oruniversities.––Engage in illegal activities such as charcoalmaking or collection of firewood.The border zone is the poorest and least accessiblepart of the Dominican Republic; many Dominicanshave sold or are leasing their land and havemoved to the cities. 161 Nevertheless the Dominicanside of the border area is still more prosperous thanmost places in Haiti, and so is attractive to Haitiansin search of a livelihood.When seen together, the Haitian and Dominicanpopulation and poverty trends for the borderzone indicate that a very significant change istaking place. Simply put, Illegal immigrants fromHaiti are replacing the vacating Dominican ruralunderclass in the border zone. The pace of thischange increased dramatically after the 2010earthquake, when a surge of Haitians immigratedillegally to the Dominican Republic. 1623.4 Transboundary tradeTrade is one of the key features of the borderzone, connecting the two countries, and creatinginterdependencies between the two populations.Haiti is the Dominican Republic’s second mostimportant trade partner, receiving 16.9% of itsexports in 2011. 163 The most frequently tradedgoods were cotton fabrics (appr. 38%), steel rods(6%), cement (4%), and food, for example wheatflour and rice. 164 The Dominican Republic is Haiti’sthird most important export destination. 165 The mostcommon Hatian exports are cotton products (71%),ropes (7%), mobile phones (5%), pants (4%), andshirts (3%). 166In 2010, 872 million US dollars worth of goodspassed though official channels from DominicanRepublic to Haiti, and 24 million US dollars worthwent the other way. 167 The real volume of trade is ofcourse much larger than those numbers suggest,as there is a great deal of unofficial trade betweenthe two countries.Commerce is important to the people of theborder area. Only agriculture generates moreincome, and there are 14 bi-national markets scatteredaround the border, the largest of which arethose at Ouanaminthe-Dajabon, Comendador(Elias Piña)-Belladére, and Pedernales-Anse. 168Twelve of these fourteen bi-national markets are inthe Dominican Republic but most of the vendorsare Haitians, who either live in the DominicanRepublic or who have crossed the border onmarket day.The agricultural products that are most frequentlysold by Haitians to Dominicans in those bi-nationalmarkets are avocadoes, pois congo, mangoes,livestock, such as goats, cows and free-rangechickens, coffee, passion fruits, chadeques,oranges, rice, corn, garlic, beans and clairin (astrong, alcoholic drink). 169 There is a healthy tradein fish at both the coastal extremities of the borderarea. Generally speaking Dominicans buy bigfish that are destined for restaurants and hotels,whereas Haitians tend to buy smaller, cheaper fishthat they consume at home.The increase in trade between the two countriesis a very positive development that presents thepeople of the border area with opportunities tocreate better living conditions for themselves,gain access to capital, and to improve relationsbetween communities on both sides of the border.There is a good deal of illegal trade betweenthe two countries and it is driven entirely by thedifference between the two import tariff regimes.Goods that are cheap on one side of the border –because they are subsidized or lightly taxed – can42 Haiti – Dominican Republic: Environmental challenges in the border zone