|
As would be the case after any
natural disaster, water-borne illness could run rampant and chemicals
and oil could leak out of damaged storage facilities as a result of the
magnitude 7.0 earthquake that ripped apart Haiti on January 12.
Surprisingly, no large industrial spills have been found during initial
post-quake rescue efforts, but of course the focus has been on saving
human lives and restoring civil order.
|
 |
|
Even before
the quake Haiti had major environmental problems.
Intensive logging beginning in the 1950s reduced Haiti’s
forest cover from 60 percent to less than two percent
today. This lack of trees causes huge soil erosion
problems, threatening both food and clean water sources
for throngs of hungry and thirsty people.
|
|
According to the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP), the biggest issue is the building waste;
some 40 to 50 percent of the buildings fell in Port-au-Prince and nearby
towns. “Thousands of buildings suddenly become debris and this
overwhelms the capacity of waste management,” says UNEP’s Muralee
Thummarukudy, who is directing efforts to collect the waste for use in
reconstruction projects.
“If you have forest cover, when
heavy rain takes place it doesn’t erode the land,” UNEP’s Asif Zaidi
reports. “It doesn’t result in flash floods.” He adds that, due to its
lack of forest cover, Haiti suffers much more during hurricanes than
does the neighboring Dominican Republic.
Compounding these ecological
insults is Haiti’s fast growing population, now 9.7 million and growing
by 2.5 percent per year. This has pushed millions of Haitians into
marginal areas like floodplains and on land that could otherwise be used
profitably. “Most fertile land areas are often used for slums, while
hillsides and steep landscapes are used for agriculture,” reports
USAID’s Beth Cypser. The resulting sanitation problems have stepped up
cases of dysentery, malaria and drug-resistant tuberculosis among
Haiti’s poverty-stricken population. Trash-filled beaches, smelly
waterways, swarms of dead fish and tons of floating debris stand
testament to Haiti’s water pollution problems—now exacerbated by the
earthquake.
“We need to…create mechanisms that
reinforce better use of natural resources," says UNEP’s Zaidi. Prior to
the quake, UNEP had committed to a two-year project to bolster to
restore Haiti’s forests, coral reefs and other natural systems
compromised by the island’s economic problems. Providing access to
propane to encourage a shift from charcoal-burning stoves is an
immediate goal. Longer term, UNEP hopes the program will help kick-start
reforestation efforts and investments in renewable energy infrastructure
there.
Perhaps the silver lining of the
earthquake in Haiti is the fact that millions of people around the world
now know about the plight of the country’s people and environment, and
donations have started to pour in. Anyone interested in helping relief
efforts in Haiti can send a text message triggering a small donation to
the American Red Cross (text “HAITI” to 90999 and $10 will be donated
and added to your next phone bill). Those concerned about clean water
specifically should donate to World Water Relief, a non-profit focusing
on the installation of water filtration systems in Haiti and other
distressed areas of the world.
CONTACTS: USAID,
www.usaid.gov;
UNEP, www.unep.org; American Red Cross,
www.redcross.org; World Water
Relief, www.worldwaterrelief.org. |
