Rural-urban migration, Plan Sierra, Plan Quisqueya and reforestation

Chirimoya

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Dec 9, 2002
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I am taking the liberty of following up this comment by Tom F. in the Haiti thread in the DR Debates forum:

Plan Sierra, Plan Quisqueya, reforestation projects, lets start a new thread on the environmental forum.

After working in rural areas in various parts of the country, it is evident the younger generation is not staying. If the road is maintained and it isn't too difficult to get back and forth, it happens less. Maybe thats why the government does such a poor job on the roads in the campos.


I am carrying over my comment from the Haiti thread, which was tangential to the discussion there:

Plan Sierra sounds like an astoundingly ill-thought out concept. Cost-effective maybe, but what about the long term consequences of excessive urbanisation, such as we see now? Sprawling marginal neighbourhoods with little or no infrastructure, high unemployment and underemployment, rising crime rate... talk about environmental doom and gloom!

In the seventies the DR, like many other Latin American countries had a 30-70 urban rural demographic balance. This figure (again, as in most other comparable countries) is now reversed.

A more sensible and sustainable plan would have been to promote realistic economic alternatives for the rural population that do not have a negative impact on the environment. Coffee production is just one example, others would be managed forestry programmes, like the acacia cultivation in many areas in the eastern Cibao region, and locally marketable food crops. Preventing migration to the cities is far more productive in the long-term.


What are people's thoughts on this? Is it in anyone's interest to have a situation where people from rural areas flock to the cities?

Chiri
 

Tom F.

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Jan 1, 2002
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People from rural areas are already flocking to the cities. If the road is maintained and easy to travel, I found more people stay and commute (depending on proximity). We noticed while offering solar energy services in the campos, that the most remote systems were usually a couple of old timers. Many times the women stays in the campo and the husband visits on weekends.

As far as the reforestation projects go. My brother-in-law and a compadre both have fairly large fincas north of San Francisco de Macoris in an area called La Colonia. Plan Sierra paid for the manual labor and organzied brigades of men (mostly from the area) to plant ten of thousands of trees in the area. Much of the other land which could be used for the same reason is untitled and I would assume inelgible for the program. The trees were paid for by the owner of the land. I think there was ascasia sp?, roble, and caoba hondurano. My brother-in-law is using as sort of a retirement plan as is happy thus far (5 years in to it). I guess some can be harvested after 10 years.

I don't know if any sort of biodiversity is part of the planting program. I know that around Quita Espuela biodiversity is practiced.

It seems that when ever any sort of successful rural development projects are completed, they tend to benefit the large landowners who most often do not even live in the campo (my brother-in-law does). I saw this happen with solar, ceramic stoves, and most other activities which require the user to pay the market value for what ever technology is used. Than to turn around and give it to people, and it is usually collecting dust shortly there after. This is why real development work takes many, many years and commitment. You fail much of the time but can always learn from your mistakes.
 

Hillbilly

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Jan 1, 2002
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About Plan Sierra

I suggest that you go to the area affected by the Plan and talk to the people.

The idea is to get the non-productive people out of the Sierra and into the cities where they can be educated, trained and employed in less destructive ways. It is cost efficient, of course it is.

Those that remain in the sierra are gainfully employed in the forests that are being re created and exploited in a rational and practical manner. At least that is the plan. I mean, : Cattle farms in the hills??? That is all that is there besideds trees....

Believe me that Plan Sierra was not ill-conceived...

HB
 

Chirimoya

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Dec 9, 2002
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The idea is to get the non-productive people out of the Sierra and into the cities where they can be educated, trained and employed in less destructive ways. It is cost efficient, of course it is.

What sort of follow-up was done with the people who migrated? Were they given any sort of support and advice? Is it known what percentage became successfully educated, trained and employed?

It really does look like shifting the problem somewhere else...

Chiri
 

Tom F.

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Jan 1, 2002
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I have been impressed with the work I have seen in various parts of the country under Plan Sierra and the others. The poor are asked to stay and work for the standard minimum wage, move to an urban area or figure out how to get out of the country. Their kids are the lowering functioning kids in the schools and are basically preparing themselves for a life of servatude. My sister and brother-in-law employ German, pay him a minimum wage and two of his daughters were servants for them being the father didn't make enough to raise his own kids. Everyone is happy, but seems a bit strange to me. Whenever you work in a rural area you want to have success and you naturally end up working with the middle class in the campo or the wealthier absentee landowners. This is includes my observations with Peace Corps, the German Development organziation, the Janpanese volunteers, the Canadian grant program and the rest.

I few other points. In the late eighties you would see multiple carbon pits burning in the distance everyday in most mountain areas. This doesn't happen anymore. Candalier got credit for putting people in jail for this. Hopefully the price and availability to get propane won't push people to use carbon again.

Those that stay are not always gainfully employed. You find more and more Haitains working in regions where you never saw haitians 15 years ago. Dominican farmers only paid RD$100-150/day to swing a machete or a colene sp?. I would be curious to know what it is now with the changing value of the peso.
You have to go pretty far up the mountain to find Dominicans willing to work for that.

Tom F.
 

Johy

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www.worldisround.com
Here is the article in spanish. This is from List?n Diario, March 19, 2003. By Modesto Rodr?guez.

NOTE FROM THE MODERATOR: I removed the article text because I tried the link and it works, and Listin has a copyright on the article.

Your Environment Forum Moderator :glasses:
 
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