Minister of Environment Francisco Dominguez Brito says that the biggest concern of the Dominican Republic regarding Haiti is not a migratory one. He alerted the most pressing problem is the availability of water for human needs in Haiti. The scarcity of water in Haiti will have serious consequences for the Dominican Republic, he warned, as reported in Diario Libre on Saturday, 3 February 2018. Domínguez Brito speculated the situation could create a crisis with violent consequences in the next 10 or 15 years.
Dominguez Brito said that in the capital city of Haiti, Port-au-Prince, a city of three million inhabitants, only 5% of the families receive piped water. The rest of the households pump their water from wells.
“The water from the shallow wells that many residents of Port-au-Prince are using is undoubtedly contaminated and with the less rain every day, the quality of well water will certainly get worse as a result of man-made pollution and salt water intrusion from the sea”, he said as reported in Diario Libre.
Thinking out loud he asked where the water to serve seven million Haitians would come from in 5, 10 or 15 years. He also pondered the effects climate change and increasing days of drought on the situation.
Domínguez said the Dominican Republic would have to think of its own water needs, but also those of Haiti, making it even more important to care for the forests and rivers of the country.
“Dominicans should be gravely concerned about the consequences when Port-au-Prince runs out of water – the people will come running here,” warning of a crisis in the making that will be revealed in 10, 15 years.
The remarks come at a time that the Ministry of Energy & Mines has granted numerous mining exploration permits to mining companies, many of which now seek definitive permits to reap profits from mineral deposits in the border region with Haiti, not far from pristine National Parks and important watersheds. Mining operations demand large consumers of water. These same operations produce large volumes of contaminating mining residuals.
Domínguez Brito says the Dominican government has reforested around 750,000 tareas (1 tarea = 629 square meters) over the past three years. He said this translates into an additional 90 million trees planted at a cost of RD$6 billion. He urged increases in planting of fruit trees, such as avocados and cacao.
Read more in Spanish:
Diario Libre
5 February 2018
