ARTICLE - ENVIRONMENT - CARACOL

MEETING ON ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF NORTHERN INDUSTRIAL PARK, CARACOL
(Defend Haiti) -

PORT-AU-PRINCE – A meeting was held at the Hotel Montana, Petionville, on Wednesday to focus on setting environmental guidelines for the Northern Industrial Park, which is nearing completion and set to open in March 2012.

The meeting was called at the initiative of the Ministry of the Environment and was attended by representatives of the United Nations Development Program, USAid, the Inter-American Development Bank and the Global Environment Fund. The aim, according to Vision 2000 Radio, was to mobilize the necessary funding for this purpose.

The parties considered ways and means to reconcile the economic interests of the industrial park in Caracol and the natural heritage of the region.

With a high-level consultation, the Minister of Environment, Joseph Toussaint, looked to educate international partners involved in the new fund of a strategic environmental framework that could anticipate and respond to the possibilities of a negative impact on the region.

For example, with the opening of the industrial park and the creation of 20,000 manufacturing jobs, the area may receive significant emigration. To prevent it from becoming a sprawling slum, the ministry reported on several provisions, among them, the creation of a protected marine park, the development of regional planning and the establishment of a program of sustainable management of the watershed. The ministry submitted a draft order and a preliminary bill for the programs.

Representatives of international organizations attending the meeting welcomed the initiative. More than $50 million [US] has been requested for the execution of the plan. However, funding sources have been identified for only $4.2 million [US], lamented Minister Toussaint.

Potential Risks to the Environment

A 2011 article by Haiti Grassroots Watch (HGW) found substantial cause for concern with the introduction of an industrial park to the region.

HGW found that in May 2011, well into the construction of the park, the Caracol Bay environment wasn't studied in regard to its fragile ecosystem. The article referred to a 2009 study by the Organization of American States (OAS) and Inter-American Biodiversity Information Network (IABIN) that valued the ecosystem of the bay, mangroves and coral reefs at about $110 million [US] per year.

A USAid study declared the Trou du Nord River, that runs adjacent to where the light manufacturing park is being constructed, a "priority watershed." Subsequent studies recommended that water only be used from the water table as the Trou du Nord River empties into the Caracol Bay.

But other studies noted that if too much water is taken from the water table, it could be polluted by salinity due to an intrusion of saltwater from the Atlantic Ocean. Over-exploitation of the water table could also harm agriculture in the region at large, and make it difficult to develop other water-needy businesses, such a tourism.

Next is the social risk of migration. The May 2011 study estimated that the population of the region could grow between 100,000 to 300,000 people. Without zoing laws, urban planning, and heavy police presence, the region is at risk of turning into a new set of slums.

Background

Located in Caracol, the Northern Industrial Park was sponsored by the former administration of Rene Preval, the United States and the Inter-American Development Bank, in order to stimulate investment and create jobs in the northern region of Haiti.

With immediate access to the US market, the industrial park offers 250 acres of industrial space with full services, for the light manufacturing industry.

SAE-A, a large Korean textile company, partnered the project investing more than $70 million to launch its clothing and textile manufacturing company and create 20,000 jobs.

This industrial park will be the first of its kind in Haiti. It will provide a competitive environment in the world with advanced facilities for the treatment of sewage, and modern industrial buildings, that are earthquake-resistant and hurricane-resistant.