Environmental Vulnerability in Haiti Findings & Recommendations
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ENVIRONMENTAL VULNERABILITY IN HAITI FINDINGS & RECOMMENDATIONS April 2007 This publication was produced for review by the United States Agency for International Development. It was prepared by Chemonics International Inc. and the U.S. Forest Service. ENVIRONMENTAL VULNERABILITY IN HAITI FINDINGS & RECOMMENDATIONS Prepared by: Glenn R. Smucker, Editor and Team Leader Mike Bannister, Heather D’Agnes, Yves Gossin, Marc Portnoff, Joel Timyan Scot Tobias, Ronald Toussaint CONTENTS Preface.................................................................................................................................. i Executive Summary............................................................................................................ ii I. Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1 II. Population, Health, and the Environment ...................................................................... 4 Haiti’s Demographic Profile ........................................................................................... 4 Factors Influencing Population Growth .......................................................................... 5 Lack of access to family planning ............................................................................... 5 Impacts of Poverty on Access to Family Planning...................................................... 7 Current USAID Efforts in Access to Family Planning ............................................... 8 Health Services, Poverty, and Vulnerability ................................................................... 8 Environmental Health Services ................................................................................... 8 Population Trends, Poverty, and Vulnerability ........................................................... 9 Household Cooking Fuel and Indoor Air Pollution ...................................................... 10 Recommendations for Action........................................................................................ 11 E.1. Macro Level Recommendations ........................................................................ 11 E.2. Other Recommendations.................................................................................... 12 References ................................................................................................................. 14 III. Interventions in Watersheds........................................................................................ 16 Background ................................................................................................................... 16 Natural Resource Project Models.................................................................................. 18 Landscape Engineering.............................................................................................. 19 Civic Infrastructure and Job Creation........................................................................ 19 Plot-based Models ..................................................................................................... 19 Watershed-based Strategies....................................................................................... 20 Market-Driven Models .............................................................................................. 21 Cross-Border Model .................................................................................................. 21 New Mutual Interest Coalitions................................................................................. 22 Participatory Local Community Development.......................................................... 23 Mixed Models and the Convergence of Ideas ........................................................... 24 Lessons Learned ........................................................................................................ 25 Soil Conservation and Agroforestry Technologies ....................................................... 26 Linear Structures with Plant Material........................................................................ 26 Linear Structures Made with Rock or Soil ................................................................ 30 Ravine Control Structures ......................................................................................... 31 Planting Timber Trees ............................................................................................... 32 Fruit Trees.................................................................................................................. 33 Lessons Learned: NRM Project Success....................................................................... 36 Case Studies .................................................................................................................. 37 Value added and Landscape Change in Fond-des-Blancs......................................... 37 Landscape and Agricultural Change in Les Perches ................................................. 38 Site Transformation in Ti Lacombe........................................................................... 38 Tree Products and Trade ............................................................................................... 39 Recommendations ......................................................................................................... 41 Strategic Elements ..................................................................................................... 41 2. Technologies.......................................................................................................... 42 Appendix A: Discussant Response: Gael Pressoir .................................................... 47 Appendix B: Contacts for Field Interviews............................................................... 49 IV. Watershed Vulnerability and Prioritization................................................................ 50 Overview of Haitian Watersheds .................................................................................. 51 Environment, Vulnerability and Watershed Management............................................ 53 Targeting Critical Watersheds....................................................................................... 56 A Watershed Vulnerability Analysis............................................................................. 59 Soil Erosion Risk Index............................................................................................. 60 Soil Potential Index ................................................................................................... 63 The Factor of Biodiversity......................................................................................... 64 Population Vulnerability............................................................................................ 66 Infrastructure Vulnerability Indices........................................................................... 69 Overlapping Risks and Watershed Priorities............................................................. 75 Governance and Disaster Mitigation............................................................................. 77 Disaster Preparedness................................................................................................ 77 Investments in Early Warning Systems..................................................................... 78 Municipal Land Use Planning ................................................................................... 78 Capacity Building among Parks Managers ............................................................... 80 Co-management Activities ........................................................................................ 81 Recommendations for Mitigating Flood Risk & Soil Erosion...................................... 82 High Priority Watersheds .......................................................................................... 83 Sector-Based Watershed Interventions...................................................................... 84 Institutional and Policy Recommendations ............................................................... 86 Appendix C: GIS Analysis of Watershed Vulnerability ............................................... 92 V. Prospects for Solid and Liquid Biofuels in Haiti ....................................................... 101 Solid Biofuels.............................................................................................................. 101 Liquid Biofuels............................................................................................................ 103 Clean and Alternative Fuel Markets........................................................................ 103 Biofuel Background................................................................................................. 104 Biofuels in the Caribbean ........................................................................................ 105 Ethanol in Haiti........................................................................................................ 107 Haiti Petroleum Energy Sector................................................................................ 107 Biofuel Selection ..................................................................................................... 109 Prospective Markets ...............................................................................................