Haiti - Environment : Probable causes of drying up sources of Saut d'Eau

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Haiti - Environment : Probable causes of drying up sources of Saut d'Eau
18/03/2013 15:19:11

Thursday was held a forum, in the town of Saut d'Eau on the problem of drying up of one of the sources feeding the Cascade, at the initiative of Haitian Parliament through elected representatives of Centre (Senators and Deputies) of the City of Saut d'Eau, the foundation Saut d'Eau, the Minustah and social organizations of the community.

The Secretary of State for Agricultural Recovery, the agronomist Joseph Vernet [representing the administration Martelly-Lamothe], accompanied by the engineer Brunet Georges, an excutive of Ministry of Agriculture, have in their presentation entitled "Falls of Saut d'Eau a heritage to preserve", presented the picture of the situation, stressing in the introduction about the importance of Saut d'Eau waterfall, as a site with cultural, tourism, economic and ecological values before making a description of the environment geomorphological, hydro-morphological and agro-ecological of site.

To explain the phenomenon of drying up of springs, two hypotheses were formulated: the reduction of flow of emerging sources and the water loss by permeabilization of the aquifer recharge area, probably due to a cracking of the material basaltic, of the alluvial formation, following the January 2010 earthquake.

Other causes were discussed relating to this drying up, such as the decreased of the infiltration due to the development of root crops at the expense of timber stands, to the "stripping" of adjacent slopes overlooking the headwaters, due to important anthropogenic activities in the area.

The Secretary of State, Joseph Vernet expressed several proposals

Development of a management plan concerted of the environment in general accompanied by a development plan for the site, as pillars: agricultural areas, spaces with controlled use, spaces with prohibited exploitation and the involvement of actors (local authorities, civil society and public institutions) ;
Restoration effort to engage, from an environmental perspective : zone to put in defense, establishment of a reforestation program targeted;
Establishment of economic incentive measures and of accompanying ;
Strong involvement multi-sectoral and multi-stakeholder ;
On the lega plan, publication of orders appropriate.

Through the Ministry of Agriculture, the Central Power is committed to immediately undertake a reforestation program focused on approximately 2 km2 of the lower part of the site; perform hydrological measurements on these sources and develop a hydro-meteorological observatory.

See also :
https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-8102-haiti-environment-saut-d-eau-falls-risk-of-drying-up.html

HL/ HaitiLibre