Haiti s charcoal, DR forests

[mountainannie]

This story from today's DR`1 highlights a pressing and growing issue --- that most of Haiti still uses charcoal for cooking, that Haiti has run out of trees, that there is a pressing market for more charcoal,

and so,,,,,....

What to do?

Bahoruco hard hit by arsonists
The Bahoruco Mountain Range National Park is under attack by Haitians and Dominicans who are stripping the mountains of their trees to make charcoal for the markets in Haiti.
The Forum on Protected Areas is complaining that these virgin forests are being invaded by people, who when caught by the authorities accuse park rangers of accepting RD$3,000 and RD$5,000 every two weeks in return for allowing them to cut down trees in the forest.
The park only has a few rangers and they are paid very low salaries. They do not have the equipment needed to patrol the 1,000 square kilometers of forested area. To top things off, three of the main ranger cabins have been abandoned for months, according to Hoy newspaper. The only functioning guardhouse is the one at Loma del Toro located beneath an observation tower in El Codo.
Some of the slash and burn is going on near the Mulito River, one of the main tributaries of the Pedernales River, and a key area for ecological studies and ecotourism expeditions. Local sources report that the one-time "panoramic" roadway to Aceitillar, which goes from Cabo Rojo to the middle of the park, is a disaster and allows the charcoal burners to "window shop" for places to invade. The Forum says that if things continue at the present rate, the future looks very grim for our protected areas.

 

[reese_in_va]

Yes, I read that yesterday mountainannie and am VERY disturbed about this.
What the East border of this country is going to face soon is a horrible aftermath that won't be repairable for many years to come.
It's unfortunately the sad, same ol' story....bribes, curruption, injustice.

 

[minerva_feliz]

A little solution for a big problem

Wanted to share this photo of wood getting ready to be burned to make charcoal:



There were several in this location, near Laguna Rincon (aka Laguna de Cabral) in the southwest. They belonged to local Dominicans, not Haitians. People in nearby communities complain about deforestation around the lake, and claim that there used to be many trees, but nothing has ever been done about it by authorities.

As you can see, it's not like you have to put up a big operation to do this and take up a vast area. So in the case of the forests of Bahoruco and the border, you can see how they can easily sneak in here and there in isolated areas to burn a few piles worth of charcoal.

Deforestation to make charcoal is not a new problem here or anywhere else in the world. And for a while now, one of the solutions that has been used to approach the problem is to combine the use of more fuel-efficient biomass cooking stoves and education about the environmental consequences.

Here is a link that talks in general about the different types of efficient cooking stoves put into use around the world:
Cook stove - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

People use charcoal here in the DR and Haiti because it is cheaper (in the short term) than getting a gas tank and buying the gas. Even people who HAVE a tank with gas cook with charcoal on a fogon (3 rocks or metal objects, like an open fire) or with an anafe (a small charcoal stove made usually from a hubcab or large pieces of molded tin) to prepare their rice and beans. Cooking them on the stove uses up "too much" gas.

Here in the DR, the nicest and most preferred of these types of stoves is an updated/improved model of the lorena, that sits as high as a stove, is made from cement blocks, and carries the smoke through a chimney away from the house (healthier for the family).

I've never had anything to do with making these stoves, but if someone/some organization is interested in building them as a project, PM me and I will track down the info for you, such as design, local costs, educational supplements, etc.

While I do recognize that there are immigration implications with this, I hope that it doesn't turn into a way to stir up anti-immigration sentiments against Haitians. There are plenty of Dominicans who do the same, and more to encourage deforestation, such as continue to make and transport illegal furniture from caoba wood, in their own country. Let's keep it an environmental, health and poverty related issue and not one of immigration...:glasses:

 

[Matilda]

I have a finca in the mountains above Barahona and last time I was there we surprised some Haitiians cutting down our fruit trees to make charcoal. It really is a big problem. Previously we were looking to buy land in la Guasara again near Barahona and 50% of the land had been burned to plant guandules. It was just destroyed. The government really needs to do something about this to stop the total destruction of the loma above Barahona. having said that as I sit here in the woods in Juan Dolio I can smell that they have started another charcoal bonfire - the woods here are 50% decimated due to charcoal factories.

matilda

 

[RonS]

Can anyone provide an update on the Dominican-Haitian reconciliation team's efforts? Is this an issue that is being addressed in that forum, and if so, what efforts have been made in this regard? Last question: is there a vehicle that those concerned with this issue can use to assist in helping to resolve the problem of deforestation, particularly on the border, and encroachment into DR territory?

 

[mountainannie]

Padf

The one NGO (non governmental organization) that has been working on both sides of the border along the entire length is the Pan American Development Foundation, which is affiliated with the OAS.

They have a really good new interactive website at Our Border | Nuestra Frontera | Fwonty? Nou where you can post your questions and concerns.

I must say that the border region is fairly neglected by both countries, which is sad since to my mind it is one of the most beautiful regions.

It would help if anyone here in the DR has contacts with large nurseries or growers,,, I have two Haitians who are looking for seeds... one for jalapeno peppers for an export business and another for African palms. (This was after my comments on a Haiti listserve on the fact that the UN was looking all over the hemisphere for seeds for Haiti and was optimistic that the beans from GUATEMALA would adapt.. I suggested that every plant that Haiti needs is growing right here in the DR,)

And while deforestation is certainly an issue in Haiti, right now it has not been a big priority. Security has been. Agriculture, wages, getting dual citizenship for the diaspora -- all have ranked higher. There are areas in Haiti now that are going to be facing famine for the first time.
http://v4.fews.net/docs/Publications/Haiti_FSU_2009_05_en.pdf

(do not remember if I posted this info here before,, and forgive me if it is a bit off topic but I do think it is important info)

And there is a grave concern that a good percentage of the children under the age of 2 are going to face severe malnutrition.. and those who know about this will understand that if an infant's brain is deprived of essential nutrients in the first two years of life, it will never recover its capacity.

Dominicans may remember that it was under Balaguer that the subsidized gas cooking stoves and fuel was distributed here in this country, which got the majority of the population off of charcoal. Along with his policies of putting land into the National Parks, this has resulted in the DR having more forest cover now than it did thirty years ago.

There are substitute fuels being planted, such as jatropha, although the fuel does not seem to be as good as gas and the stoves inefficient. There are small projects trying to make briquets out of bagasse.... and potentially, the sugar cane bagasse from the DR might actually be a way out for Haiti.

Alternately, there could be a planting program that actually planted trees specifically FOR charcoal use. Everyone just says,,, non non non but it is going to be years and years before the population in Haiti can burn anything else.

So all input on that would be of great use.

 

[Tropicdude]

My opinion is that the only ways to stop this is by:

1) Constant Policing.
or
2) Give them an alternative source of fuel and income.


the problem with the 1st option is that its difficult to police large areas, or keep the rangers honest. also, those that are making his charcoal are not cutting this so they can cook, but is actually a business, and because they are making money by doing this, its just not going to stop.

I mean, you can go ahead, reforest that whole area, hire hundreds of rangers to police the area, you ay be able to control it for a while, but founding changes, governments change, so do you really think that you can keep this up for years on end? the time it takes for trees to grow?

1 Solution is, find a way for these same charcoal makers to make money off of green fuels like Jatropha or other alternative fuels. since they will now be making a profit, people making Charcoal will be a competition to them and they will police themselfs ( kind of like how the transport sindicatos defend their business/routes etc )

and another solution is to satisfy the demand by making another fuel source more attractive to the consumers. Instead of spending millions on policing large areas of land, why no give away oil stoves like they have done in Africa,
heck there is even a manufacture of these stoves right here in the DR. called the Aristo. a stove like this or others like it can be distributed free or very cheap.

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what I am getting at is that, remove the demand for charcoal by making it inconvenient, more costly, and/or obsolete.

 

[Tropicdude]

Just wanted to add to my previous post, that I am not promoting any particular company, the Aristo is a nice looking product but looks like it would be a bit costly, there are similar more economical type oil burning stoves on the market.

And also I know its not practical to distribute these stoves to everyone, what could be done is distribute a few thousand around the border towns ( both Haiti and DR ) and get some locals started in the Jatropha ( or other oil ) production.

this way everyone wins, your setting up a local business, Jatropha is a fast growing plant that can grow in poor soils, and little water. although Moringa is not mentioned much for alt fuel, maybe because its oil percentage is not as high as Jatropha, but Moringa has other advantages, All parts of this tree can be used, I'll just place a video instead of trying to explain it all :surprised

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Once you have success in a few villages and towns, people in other communities will just copy whats being done, because it makes them money, and consumers will eventually prefer it because its easier, and could be even cheaper , also allows you to cook indoors without smoke at anytime.

 

[mountainannie]

GTZ Jatropha

There is a German NGO named GTZ which has a project growing Jatropha on the border. I interviewed them but the head guy was simply not enthusiatic about it-- he said that the stoves were inefficient, that the fuel simply was not that good. So it is going to take some more enthusiatic supporters to make that an option.

Indeed, the answer may well be in some alternative but the cost of gas is going to be way above what most Haitians can pay. Charcoal is a way of life in Haiti, thousands and thousands of people make their living from its production. So not only do you have to replace the fuel, you have to replace the livlihood of thousands.

It is even difficult to introduce any sort of innovation, such as a solar cooker, into a population which has followed the patterns of their predecessors for generation.

One Peace Corps worker I know, one of the last in Haiti before they pulled out in 05 said that she had great difficulty in even trying to teach them to soak the beans overnight, which cuts the cooking time down substantially.

One other thing is to reforest with fruit trees perhaps which are valuable in their own right,.

 

[mountainannie]

recyled paper charcoal HELP!

Here is something that we can ALL do to help!

Haiti project of recycled paper charcoal among 12 finalists in BBC contest - Haiti & Caribbean - MiamiHerald.com

VOTE here
World Challenge 09

It would be great if this got some publicity in the DR papers!

 

[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]

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]

market is primarily in Haiti

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]

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]

an interesting perspective

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 carb?n Jiman? - ElNacional.com.do

 

[mountainannie]

yes, and possession is .9 .....

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 carb?n Jiman? - 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....