Haiti – Dominican Republic - Disasters and Conflicts - UNEP
Haiti – Dominican Republic - Disasters and Conflicts - UNEP Haiti – Dominican Republic - Disasters and Conflicts - UNEP
contaminated rivers are disease vectors, whichis an issue of serious concern now that cholera iswidespread in the region.The governance problem presented by pollutionin the rivers of the border area rivers is unique inthat is necessarily the shared responsibility of thetwo countries, neither of which has the motivationor means to clean up the rivers on their own.Therefore, the issue is an opportunity for cooperation,albeit a difficult one.Reduction of water pollution in the Massacre,Artibonite and Pedernales rivers in Haiti wouldrequire major improvements in governance onboth sides and widespread and major investmentsin solid waste management, sanitation andwastewater treatment. Given the current economicconstraints, this is considered unlikely to occur inthe short to medium term at least – so the currentpollution status of the transboundary rivers is alsounlikely to change.On the Dominican side, the General Directorateof Border Development has developed proposalsand is trying to mobilize funding for municipalsewage treatment for the effluents from Dajabonthat are currently draining into the Massacre River.This is a very positive step, but represents only asmall fraction of the required investments.6.5 Lake Azuei and Lake EnriquillofloodingLake Azuei and Lake Enriquillo are both terminallakes: they are located in the same tectonicdepression and have little or no exit drainage.Water escapes the lakes mainly through evaporation;some also escapes from Lake Azuei viagroundwater flows to the east (towards LakeEnriquillo). As a result both lakes are saline, ascontinued evaporation increases the concentrationof salts and there is no flushing drainage. LakeAzuei used to be an exclusively Haitian water body.Investments that have been made in the last five years to provide Haiti with modern custom and immigrationfacilities along the main road connecting the two countries are now inoperative and partially submerged as aresult of the rising water levels in Lake Azuei.© UNEP76 Haiti – Dominican Republic: Environmental challenges in the border zone
The main road connecting Port-au-Prince and Santo Domingo has been raised several times where it followsthe shores of Lake Azuei, but that solution can only be seen as temporary as the lake’s water levels continueto rise.© UNEPDuring a slow but sustained flooding process thelake has expanded into the Dominican territoryand is now several kilometers into the DominicanRepublic, making delineation of the border difficultbecause it is understood in some places as thelake shore, which is clearly a moving geographicalfeature.Since 2004, both lakes have visibly risen abovehistorical levels. Level changes in Lac Azuei havenot been accurately tracked but are reported unofficiallyto be in the order of 1m per year at peakperiods (please refer to map 8 for the changedshoreline of lake Azuei). This has caused a numberof problems. The main southern transboundaryroute between Port-au-Prince and Santo Domingoruns along the south side of Lac Azuei and is alsothe main transport link for goods being tradedand transported between the two countries. Since2008, the route has been gradually submergedon both the Haitian and Dominican Republicsides. The road has been raised by earthworksseveral times and is still cut frequently, and manywarehouses and some houses in the area havebeen submerged. Agricultural land has beenflooded on both sides of the border, with thegreatest losses being Haitian land at the westend of the lake. Multimillion investments that havebeen made in the past five years to provide Haitiwith modern custom and immigration facilities arealso now inoperative and partially submerged.The cause of this rise has not been technicallyassessed. Nonetheless it is possible to makean interim professional judgment, based uponhydrological principles and anecdotal evidencegathered on site reconnaissance visits.Interpretation of the potential causesof the Lac Azuei floodingStudies conducted after the 2010 earthquakeshow that there has been no change in the earth’sHaiti – Dominican Republic: Environmental challenges in the border zone77
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contaminated rivers are disease vectors, whichis an issue of serious concern now that cholera iswidespread in the region.The governance problem presented by pollutionin the rivers of the border area rivers is unique inthat is necessarily the shared responsibility of thetwo countries, neither of which has the motivationor means to clean up the rivers on their own.Therefore, the issue is an opportunity for cooperation,albeit a difficult one.Reduction of water pollution in the Massacre,Artibonite <strong>and</strong> Pedernales rivers in <strong>Haiti</strong> wouldrequire major improvements in governance onboth sides <strong>and</strong> widespread <strong>and</strong> major investmentsin solid waste management, sanitation <strong>and</strong>wastewater treatment. Given the current economicconstraints, this is considered unlikely to occur inthe short to medium term at least <strong>–</strong> so the currentpollution status of the transboundary rivers is alsounlikely to change.On the <strong>Dominican</strong> side, the General Directorateof Border Development has developed proposals<strong>and</strong> is trying to mobilize funding for municipalsewage treatment for the effluents from Dajabonthat are currently draining into the Massacre River.This is a very positive step, but represents only asmall fraction of the required investments.6.5 Lake Azuei <strong>and</strong> Lake EnriquillofloodingLake Azuei <strong>and</strong> Lake Enriquillo are both terminallakes: they are located in the same tectonicdepression <strong>and</strong> have little or no exit drainage.Water escapes the lakes mainly through evaporation;some also escapes from Lake Azuei viagroundwater flows to the east (towards LakeEnriquillo). As a result both lakes are saline, ascontinued evaporation increases the concentrationof salts <strong>and</strong> there is no flushing drainage. LakeAzuei used to be an exclusively <strong>Haiti</strong>an water body.Investments that have been made in the last five years to provide <strong>Haiti</strong> with modern custom <strong>and</strong> immigrationfacilities along the main road connecting the two countries are now inoperative <strong>and</strong> partially submerged as aresult of the rising water levels in Lake Azuei.© <strong>UNEP</strong>76 <strong>Haiti</strong> <strong>–</strong> <strong>Dominican</strong> <strong>Republic</strong>: Environmental challenges in the border zone
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