1.5% original tree cover
Haiti Can't Gain Ground on ErosionMisguided irrigation and drainage practices in Haiti's highlands, unregulated construction on hillsides and excessive cutting of endangered forests for fuel wood have combined to expose the area around Port-au-Prince to erosion that threatens to wipe out whole neighborhoods, rich and poor alike.
Damage from the heavy rain that falls almost nightly from June through November has been accelerating in recent years because every tree cut means less resistance to the water's flow. Every new home or business built in the hills above the capital scrapes away more grass and ground cover, leaving nothing to slow the runoff. Officials at the Environment Ministry blame corrupt local officials for failing to enforce laws against harvesting timber or building homes on publicly owned land.
"The problem is that the peasants don't have the means or the will to practice soil conservation," horticulturist Dimitri Norris said. "A peasant can live for a week from the proceeds of cutting one tree. He sees that as an immediate reward, whereas tending a fruit tree doesn't bring in that much income and requires a long-term commitment."
In a country with 70% unemployment, cutting trees and selling the wood to make charcoal is one of the few ways an indigent Haitian can make a living.
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Fewer than 100,000 acres of forest are left in a country that was three-quarters woods when European explorers arrived five centuries ago -- Haitians have cut down all but about 1.5% of the original tree cover. The remaining woodlands are concentrated south of here in the La Visite and Foret des Pins national parks, unapproachable by vehicle in the rainy season because the surrounding roads have been washed out.
* Ray, 11/19/2003 02:50:07 PM
