Haiti – Dominican Republic - Disasters and Conflicts - UNEP

tuna, sea bream, yellowtail, hake, marlin, andswordfish. This includes the placement of semipermanentDCPs (Dispositif de Consentration dePoissons – a type of off-shore fishing structure) inHaitian waters for their own use. 277The many Haitians, who cross the border to fish, runthe risk of being caught by the Dominican coastguard or police. If they are caught, especially ifconducting illegal activities, such as fine nettingor catching protected species, their fish and insome cases their equipment, are confiscated, orthey are imprisoned for days.7.4 Mangrove cuttingand salt productionMangroves are important nurseries for fish andmarine life that protect the coastline from erosionand trap sediment. They are relatively abundanton the north coast of Hispaniola, including in theborder area. There are very few mangroves alongthe southern coast of the border zone, but thereare large numbers further west on the Dominicanside of the Pedernales watershed between thecity of Pedernales and Cabo Rojo.The already degraded mangroves of the borderarea are under further threat from people fellingthem for fuel and clearing to make way for saltproduction. Those threats are serious in Haiti 278but less so in the Dominican Republic, wherethe majority of the damage is historical and theauthorities are actively protecting the remainingmangrove stands.In Haiti, the main threat to the mangrove iscutting for use as fuel wood. There are evensemi-commercial fuel wood operations that supplybakeries and laundries in Cap Haïtien. Althoughboth mangrove cutters and fishermen live in thesame communities, fishermen do not generallyparticipate in the cutting of mangroves – they saythat they know that it is detrimental to their fishinglivelihood.Artisanal salt production takes place on the Haitianside of the border area. Only limited quantities ofSalt is being produced on an industrial scale in areas once occupied by mangroves. Here large salt flats canbe seen close to the city of Montecristi on the Dominican side of the border.© UNEP82 Haiti – Dominican Republic: Environmental challenges in the border zone