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THE
REMARKABLE ABSENCE OF HAITI AT THE 22ND MINISTERIAL FORUM ON THE
ENVIRONMENT
By: Nicole Siméon, Panos Institute
Port-au-Prince, 12 February 2003 (Panos). Haiti,
very well-known among other things for the degradation of its environment,
nevertheless was conspicuously absent from the 22nd Ministerial
Forum on the Environment, held from 3 to 7 February 2003 in Nairobi,
Kenya. No environment minister, no delegation, no non-governmental
organizations. No representation.
The forum, organized by the United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP), follows up to the World Summit on Sustainable Development,
held in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 26 August to 4 September
2002. There were about 800 to 900 representatives, about 130 delegations
and nearly 60 Ministers of the Environment from member as well as
non-member countries of UNEP, from all over the world. Among them
there were more than a dozen Caribbean and Latin American countries
represented, Mr. Eric Falt, the UNEP spokesperson, said.
"The representation of the Latin American and Caribbean region
has been very important and as they came from so far away, the delegations
and officers of these countries told about their involvement in
the search for solutions," Mr. Falt emphasized.
It is important to notice that, with regard to the problems of
the region, Haiti cannot feel any pride in its environmental situation
and has a bad press at the regional level, according to various
Caribbean experts working on environmental issues.
"Haiti is the Caribbean country with the least cultivable
soils, the watersheds are the most eroded, and more pollution is
caused by household solid wastes," Professor Al Binger said,
Director of the Center for Environment and Development at the University
of the West Indies in Jamaica.
The cutting of trees for charcoal production for household fuel
worsens the problem, the amounts of mud generated during rain pollutes
the water, and the bad water quality results in big health problems,
he reminded.
The political and socioeconomic situation, which Haiti experiences
since too long, does not help to sort things out. And the worse
the situation becomes, the less possibilities for recuperation.
However, efforts to re-launch tourism should be associated with
a new environmental policy. And, advice in this sense and collective
Caribbean action does not appear superfluous.
On the other hand, the lack of dynamism of Haitian leaders in Caribbean
meetings, as mentioned by several participants, makes one wonder
on what importance the Haitian government attaches to the environmental
problems of the country.
Mr. Binger informed that he had prepared a project for Haiti, and
had handed it over to the Haitian representatives at the summit
in Johannesburg. However, no reaction has been forthcoming. According
to Mr. Binger, "this project should help to address problems
related to the degradation of watersheds, as well as to develop
alternative sources of energy for marketing and household use. All
this could create jobs in the rural areas.
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