Haiti s charcoal, DR forests

[waytogo]

Maybe if the President would "visit" the D.R. as much as he visits other countries, he would see the problems that exist HERE.

[Keith R]

Originally Posted by mountainannie

There is a German NGO named GTZ which has a project growing Jatropha on the border.

GTZ is not a nongovernmental organization (NGO). It is a federal enterprise, organized under German corporate law as a GmbH, "working on a public benefit basis" with the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) as its principal client. Its corporate structure aside, GTZ de facto is Germany's technical cooperation agency.

[George Holmes]

I have a few questions about this debate:
Who are the people who are burning charcoal? I mean, it is easy to blame Haitians, but do we really know who is out there in the forests?
Who are they burning the charcoal FOR - what is the market? Is it Haiti or DR demand (I would need more evidence to believe it is majorly cross-border trade), subsistence or commercial, urban or rural market? How is this related to economic fluctuations/price of propane/exchange rates etc?
Maybe if we answer these questions we might get some solutions.

On a related note, I would never call people burning forests "arsonists" - there are many political, ecological, agricultural reasons why people burn forests in the DR. If we just label it "criminal", we can't solve it.
(will get stuck into this debate when I have more time)

[mountainannie]

I would think that it is not a great leap to assume that the market is primarily in Haiti, since charcoal is big traded commodity there and I have never actually seen any charcoal for sale in the markets in the DR,,,, maybe it is there and I just have not seen it,

Certainly there is constant burning on the north side of Lac Etang near Jimini, which is an area which is theoretically in Haiti but has no road access from there. The only boats on that lake are carrying bags of charcoal (this despite the fact that there are indeed tilapia in that lake, unlike Enriquillo on the DR side which has a higher salt content).


I know that in the market down in Pedernales, wood is sold by Dominicans to Haitians so George is right that we cannot just assume that Haitians are the ones cutting the trees-- clearly Dominicans are as well.

Only one of the border towns on the Haitian side even has electricity-- that is Belledare, which just got it restored two years ago with the binational fair. Ouanaminthe does not have power, neither does Malpasse or Anse a Pitres. Now I know that electricity has no correlation with gas stoves but I did want to just keep pointing out the vast difference in resources between the two countries. Charcoal is Haiti's PRIMARY fuel.

There does seem to be a rather public thrust from the DR (media, anyway) to protect the border regions more, after a big report which said that 70$ of the medical expenses in that region are used on treating Haitians.... then another report from the local parish priest down in the South that most of his congregants were Haitian (notwithstanding the fact that there are still, indeed, many more Dominicans in the area but perhaps they are simply evangelical!) Leading up to the posting of some military families on the border.
Already there is a hue and cry from the Haitian diaspora on the DR "militarization" of the border -- with no back story about the forests, of course.

[Matilda]

Originally Posted by mountainannie

I would think that it is not a great leap to assume that the market is primarily in Haiti, since charcoal is big traded commodity there and I have never actually seen any charcoal for sale in the markets in the DR,,,, maybe it is there and I just have not seen it,

Charcoal sold widely here (Juan Dolio/San pedro). Available in my colamdo at 20RD$ a bag and also in the market in San pedro and most colmados there. Not only used by local Haitians and Dominicans but of course also for those people who want to Barbecue. Every night the air is filled with the smell of charcoal and very often we have to take people to hospital who have been badly burnt by pouring trenentina on the fire to get it going.

With the price of a tank of gas, who can blame people - domincans and haitians alike for using it. It is produced in the local woods across the street from me - by the local priest!!

matilda

Matilda

[George Holmes]

From my research (which was about related issues) I would venture that there is a strong correlation between charcoal and wood burning with both propane prices and household incomes. Most people will use gas as a preference for cooking (not that more expensive, easier, cleaner, though some people prefer the long, slow cooking effect of wood and charcoal for some dishes - e.g. cooking rice on gas but habichuela on charcoal in the same house). However, when finances are tighter or propane prices higher the same family will use wood/charcoal until they have enough spare cash to refill their propane tank. Using charcoal is a sign of economic stress.

In my research of the mountain communities around Constanza I would venture that fuel wood use here is "sustainable" because demand is relatively low that there are enough dead dry branches to provide for supply. I wouldn't know if this could be extended to the very different ecosystems and economy of the southwest. If anyone wants to know more about forest and charcoal in the SW in the 1990s, can I recommend reading both these papers, which are very revealing.
Roth, L. C. 1999. Anthropogenic change in subtropical dry forest during a century of settlement in Jaiqui Picado, Santiago Province, Dominican Republic. Journal of Biogeography 26 (4):739.
Roth, L. C. . 2001. Enemies of the trees? Subsistence farmers and perverse protection of tropical dry forest. Journal of Forestry 99 (10):20-27.

[mountainannie]

This piece was posted on the Corbett Haitian list serve by LeGrace Benson, a Haiti scholar. Thought it might be of interest here.

On earlier postings on this list and from other sources I have read that one
of the largest users of charcoal in Haiti are dry cleaning enterprises. Are
there statistics or other reliable references to this? If there is a heavy
use of the diminishing forests of Haiti then is dry cleaning, typically used
for silks and woolens rather than for tropical cottons, a priority use?

It is apparently true, if one reads the early travelers and naturalists
reports, that the clearing of forests was in progress during the French
occupation after 1657.The logs of Columbus indicate that he envisioned
clearing the land for agricultural production as early as December of 1492.
At that time, retro-estimates suggest a forest cover of no less than 93%. It
is now less than 3%, according to some reports. To put the figures in
perspective, The United States also has only about 3% of its original forest
cover.

Traditional beliefs of African captives, native Taino and other First
Peoples held trees in special regard, some trees as sacred. They seem to
have understood something about ecology that eludes our current
environmental and entrepreneurial planning. Let us not be mystical about it.
Clear cutting tress in tropical and sub-tropical regions leads to
laterization of the soil. This happened in Italy millenia ago. There are
places where farming is now forever impossible. The up side is that the once
arable soils have for several centuries furnished the building materials for
various imperial structures. After the Roman Empire collapsed the stones
were still there. Mussolini quarried some of them. It is lovely material
--travertine. Maybe Haiti has a future as an exporter of Caribbean
travertine to make kitchen counters for chic Beijing apartments.

[dieselguy]

I used to fill up my truckette w/ free wood for making charcoal. Plenty around if you keep looking. I brought it to my friends farm and he'd laugh. What a waste of time ,energy and hope. Never made any charcoal or will I bring or buy a chain saw.
My friend had to cut two trees and he had to get permission from the dept of forest. An inspector came and looked and I think he had to pay a small fee. Process took a month.
Hopefully one day the authorities will realize that other people are cutting their trees and take action. Re-forestation projects are under way. Bill Clinton knows...
It is big $ in Brazil and the u.s. Trees are cut and sold everyday. Not for charcoal but building lumber... Housing -building.

[suarezn]

Oh boy...things are beginning to get ugly in this part of the country. This is no way to defend our forests...

Matan 4 haitianos dicen quemaban carbón Jimaní - ElNacional.com.do

[mountainannie]

Originally Posted by suarezn

Oh boy...things are beginning to get ugly in this part of the country. This is no way to defend our forests...

Matan 4 haitianos dicen quemaban carbón Jimaní - ElNacional.com.do

there is just not enough population on the border, not enough opportunities, not enough development, not enough interest.

Even when I talk to Dominicans about the border they say no... why would I go there, over there is Haiti...

ten cuidado...

So the Haitians will just keep moving in since they do not have enough land to support their population.

And there does not seem to be the political will to stop this. I mean true that Leonel announced that 30 or so military families would move in... which of course on the Haitian list servs was greeted with "The DR Militarizes the Border!" but the reality is that if there is land that you are not using and someone else needs it, guess they are going to take it....