Environment - Haiti Observer Blog

In Haiti, Drought is usually believed as a natural disaster beyond human control. But as researchers carefully look into the earth's changing bio climate, and the symbiotic relationships between livings organisms and climatic forces - They come to realize the crucial role of Deforestation.

For decades, we've been ecologically destructed our own habitat in the pursuit of financial stability without reminding the consequences of our mass destructively demolition. No mistake about it, deforestation brings lots of unexpected effects on our own Soil and results in many consequences.

Deforestation also leads to soil erosion, floods, climate change, health issues, ecological degradation, biodiversity, and wildlife extinction, and lastly community devastation to name a few. Even though, all of these actual facts are scientifically proven to be true, Haitians seem to be careless, selfish, and even ignorant about the problematics/consequences. Instead, they cut down massively the forestall trees to make Charcoal as the primary source of fuel consumption for cooking. Consequently, Haiti remains still one of the most deforested nations in the western hemisphere.

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Park MACAYA...is one of the greatest Conservation Park that the world has been acknowledged in recent years, but yet absolutely neglected by our governments since long after our independence. It baffled me a lot on how past Governments have been categorically blind to make this ecological Heaven into a profitable source of Revenue for the country and the locals especially the "Village of Rendel" near Port-a-Piment. It saddens/pains me to see how these surrounding areas are deprived of the basic human Needs but yet sit on a "Gold Mine".

Like "El Yunque" in Puerto Rico, which is considered for the USDA and the Puerto Rican Government as a Money making Machine...WHY Pic MACAYA, a World Wonder, Couldn't Even BE more Lucrative than El Yunque?

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In Haiti, FATRA is one of the worst toxic enemies of our Honey Bee cultivation and production. As a Chemist, I use Sirop De Miel as a Substitute for granulated white sugar (sucrose). I, even use Sirop de Miel Sporadically to Make Intense Love.

During my recent trips to the motherland, I Experienced and Witnessed how Our Honey Bee Cultivation (Apiary Culture) Has been affected by the Immense Presence of the FATRA throughout the entire nation. Well, For the Sake our good HEALTH, and our Well-being as a nation...Could We Please STOP being Nocive to ourselves?

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...Witnessing The shadow of Hunger, Desperation of Crowds Queueing for Foods(Kits),and the spread of recent Unrests facing the local authorities make me Understand profoundly how worse the economic situation of the Grand SUD could ever BE.

Before The arrival of Mathew, we were heavily imported foods and other primary products into our local economy to sustain the peoples' needs. We were even on the verge of importing "Fritay".

Now, after the tragedy of this devastating natural disaster, Le Grand SUD who represented 1/3 of our food production sources, find itself at its lowest production rate that one could ever imagined. This Dire situation has worsened the current economical state of the country, Even Retrograded it into a Greater Growth Rate, and even a Higher Inflation.

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The full moons of September and October are called by the name 'Harvest Moon'. It is the full moon that occurs closest to the date of the autumn equinox in the Northern Hemisphere, which marks the beginning of fall in the Northern Hemisphere. During this time, the full-looking moon shines from dusk until dawn because the path of the sun, moon, and earth makes a narrow angle with the horizon at sunset. The moon officially turns full when it reaches the spot opposite to the sun. Although, full-looking harvest moon is not always a supermoon, but it is no ordinary full moon; it behaves in a special way. It is special because during the months around the autumn equinox, days close to the full moon, the time of moonrise becomes very close to the sunset time for several evenings in a row and there is an abundance of bright moonlight early in the evening. It shines brighter and more golden than during normal full moons and there is very little darkness between sunset and moonrise. The rising and setting moon looks bigger than we see it high in the sky. In other times of the year, on an average, the moon rises 50 minutes after the sunset. But, on September and October evenings, the moon rises 15 to 35 minutes later of the sunset depending upon the latitude of the location-- it rises only around 30 minutes in the United States and even less in Canada.

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Our country of Haiti is being used as an example of what the world will likely look like by 2015 and it is not a good picture. Considered to be one of the world's most endangered places in the world in term of environment, Haiti is giving the entire world a glance of the future with climate change and global warming. As a result of climate change and deforestation, farmland in Haiti countryside has been reduced in their capacity; consequently, this has led to massive emigration into urban areas, a wave of internal migration from rural to urban areas. Ultimately, his has caused the development of slums areas.

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The site of La Hotte has been added by UNESCO as a Biodiversity Reserve along with 19 other sites to the World Network of Biosphere Reserves during its meeting in Lima, the capital of Peru on March 18 and 19. So far, UNESCO has a total number of 669 biosphere reserves around the world, scattered in 120 countries under its International Co-coordinating Council of the Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Program created in 1971.

It is an intergovernmental scientific endeavor for the improvement of the overall relationship between people and their environment. Biosphere Reserves are geographical areas that are representative of the planet's diversity of habitats. Every biosphere reserve represents an ecosystem with plants and animals of unusual scientific and natural interest. 'Biosphere Reserve' is a title given by UNESCO to help protect the sites. The plan is to promote management, research and education in ecosystem conservation. MAB has been formed with three main objectives: Minimizing the loss of biological diversity; Making people aware of how cultural diversity and biological diversity affect each other; and Promoting environmental sustainability through the World Network of Biosphere Reserves.

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This is a study that took place recently. It analyses the probability of an extreme natural disaster and the vulnerability of the people affected in term of their response capacity, and also the level of prevention measures in place against future risks.

First the group conducting the study looked at Haiti geographical location. The country is highly vulnerable to hurricane. In addition, as a result of several seismic faults that cross the territory, Haiti is highly vulnerable to earthquake.

Another criterion where Haiti scored poorly in the study was hunger. Haiti was among the top seven countries most exposed to the problem of hunger. In that list we find: Bangladesh, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Madagascar, Niger, Sierra Leone and Chad.

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The site of la Hotte which is located in the Massif o La Hotte in Haiti has been selected by UNESCO as a Biosphere reserve. This decision was made in Peru by UNESCO as they added 20 additional sites to the World Network of Biosphere Reserves. This brings the total number of biosphere reserves around the world to 669, scattered in 120 countries.

Haitian Kreyol:

Massif de la Hotte chwazi pa UNESCO kòm Biosphère mete an rezèv

Massif de le Hotte te chwazi pa UNESCO kòm yon rezèv byosfèr. Desizyon sa a te fè nan Perou pa UNESCO pandan ke yo te ajoute 20 sit anplis nan Rezo Mondyal byosfèr Rezèv. Sa a pote kantite total rezèv byosfr atravè mond lan a 669 ki gaye toupatou nan 120 peyi.

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How many people thought that the problem of gentrification currently faced by the residents of Little Haiti has anything to do with climate change and sea level rise in Miami? Probably, not too many. This is the reality my friend, Little Haiti is a prime land in Miami because it has higher elevation and thus less prone to long-term effect of sea-level-rise. And as a consequence, developers are buying up land in areas such as Little Haiti like crazy. As sea levels continue to rise, investors in Miami are buying up land with higher elevation, often displacing low-income residents

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