Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies

Haiti: The Society and Its Environment
capped petrel, a seabird that nests in the high cliffs of La Selle
and the Massif de la Hotte.
The island has few remaining endemic mammals. There are
relic populations of two unusual rodents, the hutia and the
long-nosed solenodonte. A small population of manatees survives
in coastal waters. Reptiles include significant numbers of
the American crocodile, iguanas, and a variety of unusual boas
and other snakes.
The major threats to wildlife are population pressure; habitat
destruction; hunting; non-native species such as rats and
mice, feral dogs and cats, and the mongoose; lack of government
regulation; and weak national institutions for biodiversity
protection and management. Inadequate regulation of biological
exports also poses a risk to wildlife. Haiti exports live reptiles,
amphibians, arachnids, and tortoise shell and has been
the largest Caribbean supplier of raw coral and ornamental
fish to the United States.
Government decrees of 1980 and 1983 created three major
protected areas—the Pine Forest Reserve, La Visite National
Park, and Pic de Macaya National Park—but the government
does not effectively manage these resources. All three sites are
located in the southern highlands of Massif de la Selle and
Massif de la Hotte and include the nation's two highest points,
Pic de Macaya and Morne de la Selle. All three have a high rate
of species endemism. Collectively, these sites are by far the
most significant remnants of high mountain forest habitats,
including the rainforest of Pic de Macaya. In the mid-1990s, the
government initiated new programs to protect the environment
and launched a national system for direct management
of protected areas. The Pine Forest is managed as a mixed-use
facility, and the two parks are operated for protection of biological
diversity and upper watersheds.
Environmental Crisis
Haiti's resource base is under acute stress. The Haitian peasantry
is faced with overwhelming challenges to its way of life.
Agricultural production per capita has dropped at least 33 percent
since 1980 and produces a declining share of the gross
national product (GNP—see Glossary). Recent broad-based
surveys classify the vast majority of peasant farmers as indigent
according to standards of the FAO. The anarchic growth of
urban areas also reflects the crisis in rural livelihood and contributes
to deterioration of the resource base.
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