Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies

Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies
AGE-GROUP
80 and over
75-79
70-74
65-69
60-64
55-59
50-54
45-49
40-44
35-39
30-34
25-29
20-24
15-19
10-14
5-9
0-4
600 400 200 200 400 600
POPULATION IN THOUSANDS
Source: Haitian Institute for Statistics and Information Technology in Pan American
Health Organization, Health Situation Analysis: Haiti, 1996, Port-au-Prince,
1996, 153.
Figure 12. Haiti: Population Distribution by Age and Sex, 1995
Sustainable agriculture in lowland areas requires vastly
increased forest cover in Haiti's upper watersheds. From an
environmental perspective, a significant portion of the highlands
should be returned to forest and perennial crops, and
existing forest cover should be protected and better managed.
The decline in quality of water resources reflects the destruction
of forest cover. According to one report, the volume of
spring water in the Port-au-Prince area has declined by more
than 50 percent within a five-year period. The decline of natural
forest cover also has a serious impact on the remaining
endemic species of flora and fauna.
Haiti is faced with a number of pollution problems. The two
most pressing pollution-related problems are assuring safe
water and the sanitary disposal of human waste. Contamination
of surface and groundwater from human waste and other solid
and liquid wastes is increasing. Water-related diseases are preva-
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