REDUCING POPULATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE VULNERABILITY IN THE SOUTHERN DEPARTMENT PHASE II PROGRESS REPORT (OCTOBER 2012 AUGUST 2013) August 2013 1 Table of contents Page 1. Summary 3 2. Outputs and targets of Phase 2 of the Project 6 - Output 1 : Improve the situation of the South Department affected by 6 erosion and flooding issues - Output 2 : Increase natural resource management to achieve sustainable 8 development - Output 3 : Strengthen the capacity of the department for the development 10 and implementation of co-management plans 3. Intervention Approaches 12 4. Intervention Areas and monitoring of activities 13 5. Summary of the projects of Phase 2 14 6. Budget of the 1st installment of Phase 2 15 7. Projections for the 2nd installment of Phase 2 15 8. Conclusions and recommandations 16 Annex 1. Logical Framework of Phase 2 (in English) 17 2 1. Summary Since March 2011, the Government of Norway has been funding the Project "Reducing Population and Infrastructure Vulnerability in the Southern Department”, whose objective is to reduce the socio- economic and environmental risks associated with the natural hazards affecting the populations and infrastructure in the watersheds of the Southern Department. These risks are increasing because of the mismanagement of the natural resources and the lack of land planning. The project was divided into two phases: Phase 1, which took place between March 2011 and August 2012 as part of a joint program between UNDP and FAO, funded through the Haiti Reconstruction Fund (HRF) and Phase 2, currently implemented, which began in October 2012 and will end in December 2014. Funding for Phase 2 was divided into two amounts: the first amount of NOK 33,000,000, equivalent to USD 5,759,162, was paid to UNDP in 2012, and a second amount of NOK 12,000,000 which will be paid in 2013 . The activities implemented during Phase 2 fall into these three outputs: Output 1: includes construction of project infrastructure and river bank protection works, including gabion walls and drainage channels. These works have helped mitigate the problems associated with erosion and flooding in the downstream area of the targeted watersheds. Output 2: covers activities of reforestation and sustainable agriculture. Output 3: supports activities to strengthen the capacity of the departmental institutions in order to improve the management of the natural areas and land planning. Since the start of Phase 2, eight projects have already been implemented and eight will start before the end of October 2013, meaning that the entire budget of the first phase will be absorbed. Budget allocation by Output is as follows: Output1 (34%); Output 2 (40%); and Output 3 (26%). The main partner is the Ministry of Environment (MdE) whose South Department has seen its performance greatly improve from the project. This follow-up report concerns the activities carried out as part of the first round of Phase 2 , from October 2012 until the end of August 2013 . Map 1 : The departments of Haïti 3 Map 2 : The communes of the South Department 1.1 Phase 1 : March 2011-September 2012 Phase 1 of the Project was approved in 2010 by the Interim Commission for the Reconstruction of Haiti (IHRC) and was funded in the amount of USD 6,439,419 from the Government of Norway through the Haiti Reconstruction Fund (HRF). During this phase, 15 projects were implemented in the areas of river bank protection, reforestation, agricultural production increase, soil conservation, land use and planning and environmental education. The implementing partners were the Government of Haiti, including the municipalities of Les Cayes, Chantal and Coteaux, and the South Departmental Directions (Environment, Agriculture and Planning) as well as some Haitian and international organizations (MOPROPS, GIPPN, KPP, MLFM, GRET and Oxfam Italia) Table 1 : Projects funded in Phase 1 (March 2011 and August 2012) Nº Municipality Project Partner 1 Chantal River bank protection and dredging of the Acul River Town council of Chantal 2 Les Cayes River bank protection of Ravine du Sud South Agr. Dept. Direction 3 Torbeck Drainage at Poteau and bank protection of the Torbeck River Dept.Direction/Environment. Section DDS/MdE 4 Les Cayes Dredging of the drainage channels in the city of Les Cayes Town council of Les Cayes 5 Aquin Soil Conservation in Colline DDS/MdE 6 Port Salut Soil Conservation and gulley control in Port Salut MOPROPS 7 Coteaux Drainage and embankment in Ravine Empereur Town council of Coteaux 8 Port a Piment River bank protection and dredging of Grand Passe River GIPPN 9 Cavaillon Reforestation and agroforestry in Boileau OXFAM-Italia 10 Aquin, St. Pilot project on environmental education MLFM Louis 11 Aquin, St. Establishment of strategic nurseries DDS/MdE Louis 12 Aquin, St. Regeneration of the protective vegetative cover DDS/MdE Louis 13 Port à Piment Rehabilitation of the drinking water distribution system in Port- KPP à-Piment. 14 St. Louis Dredging and rehabilitation of the irrigation systems in Fidel GRET 15 Aquin, St. Watershed co-management plan of Aquin-St. Louis du Sud DDS/MdE Louis 4 Map 3 : Communes where projects were implemented during Phase 1 Outcomes of Phase 1 1,320 linear meters of riverbank protected by gabion structures Outcome: . 34,000 people are protected against the flooding of certain rivers and ravines, and live without worry of being affected by floods 730 linear meters of drainage canal constructed Outcome: . Over 150 families protected against flooding from heavy rainfall in the Poteau community, located in the Torbeck commune . Reduced risk of crop losses in the rice fields (a coverage of over 1000 hectares) with the evacuation of rainwater that normally remains in stagnation in the rice fields during and after heavy rainfall . Level of food security improved for both farmers and the local population with access to the harvest from the rice fields 30,550 linear meters of irrigation and drainage canals cleaned Outcome: . Increased access to water for irrigators in the rice fields, especially on the FIDEL system (River Milionnaire) in Saint Louis du Sud over a coverage of 150 hectares which had been dysfunctional for 10 years but was made operational and functional. Level of food security improved for both farmers and the local population with access to the harvest from the rice fields . 80,000 to 100,000 people protected against flooding in the urban centers of the cities of Coteaux and Les Cayes 14,000 linear meters of gullies and water retention dikes built Outcome: . Reduced loss of arable land on both sides of gullies over an area of 56,000 m2 1.5 million seedlings produced and 1,000 hectares of land reforested Outcome: . Reduction in the rate of erosion which normally causes the downstream of rainwater from the hills . Reduction in the volume of alluvium descending downhill into the urban centers and raising the level of riverbeds near the riverside communities . Existence of woodland thereby contributing to the increase of forest cover in the areas of intervention 1 Co-management Plan for the Hydrographic Unit of Aquin-Saint Louis du Sud elaborated 5 Outcome: . Help authorities at both the national and departmental levels make decisions related to land use and watershed management 1 Methodological Guide for the development of co-management plans produced and shared Outcome: . Serve as a guiding pilot instrument for comparative studies by other partners in the country . Already used as subject of research for university students . Motivates the departmental authorities of the South to ask for the work to be replicated for the Hydrographic Units of Les Cayes and Port Salut/Tiburon. 3,600 temporary jobs created in the intervention areas of the project and sub-projects Outcome: Integration of women . Female participation rate of at least 30% for a total of about 1080 women . Increase the capacity of the women to manage the sustainability of their small business 1.2 Phase 2 : October 2012 - December 2014 Phase 2 is currently being implemented and is an extension of Phase 1. Under the agreement signed in September 2012 between the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and UNDP, the funding for Phase 2 was divided into two parts: the first amount of NOK 33,000,000, equivalent to U.S. $ 5,759,162 was paid to UNDP in 2012 and a second amount of NOK 12,000,000 which should be paid in 2013. 2. Outputs et targets of Phase 2 of the Project The project document for Phase 2, submitted by UNDP to the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has established 3 Outputs: Output 1: Improve the situation in the Southern Region affected by erosion and flooding issues. Output 2: Increase the management of natural resources to achieve sustainable development. Output 3: Strengthen the institutional capacity of the department for the development and implementation of co-management plans. The current status of the project (August 2013), as for the Outputs and targets established in the project document for Phase 2 will be further analyzed in details. Output 1 : Improve the situation in the Southern Region affected by erosion and flooding issues In Phase 1, more than 1,300 linear meters of gabions were built on the river banks of the watershed of Les Cayes and of Tiburon- Port Salut. These structures have helped mitigate the problems caused by erosion and flooding in the downstream area of the targeted watersheds. In Phase 2, the project carried on funding the establishment of such infrastructure, and to increase their performance, an evaluation was conducted on the works of Phase 1. This evaluation found that, in general, the banks have withstood against Hurricane Sandy in October 2013, only a portion of the gabion structure along the Chantal River was affected, but the structures will be repaired and improved.