The President Michel Martelly, met yesterday Wednesday, June 8, 2011, with about 20 representatives of several associations that are part of the Ecolo Network to discuss the issue of the Environment.

This meeting held at the Karibe Hotel, in the presence of Senator Maxine Roumer, was an opportunity for the Head of State to recall his commitment to work in partnership with all partners, to ensure proper management of environmental problems.

Aware of the gravity of the situation, the President of the Republic asks to the various associations involved in this sector to initiate a broad campaign aiming promote a national consciousness "Haiti is an environmental disaster and yet it is possible to make of it a success by the implementation of an aggressive program of promotion, of rehabilitation and forest protection", declared the Head of State.

[HL] Note that according to a study of "The Earth Institute" of Columbia University in the United States published in December 2010, 12 to 30 million trees are cut down annually in Haiti for various uses: production of coal, furniture and housing construction. The widespread use of firewood for cooking (80% of production), lack of protection and inadequate management of forests, poor farming practices and extreme rural poverty are among the factors promoting the deforestation.

The capital, Port-au-Prince uses alone, more than 70% of the total coal produced across the country, what amounts to "a few over 7,000 tons of charcoal a week"... If it is true that the ponctual activities are of importance, the fact remains that, to reverse this trend, the State must have a genuine environmental policy because the problems are many and complex. In addition to the deforestation and the upstream social problems that must be fought, it is important to tackle pollution and overexploitation of resources. The survival of the environment is also at this price.

HL/ S/ HaitiLibre