ARTICLE - NORWAY - INTERESTED IN SOUTH

NORWAY IS INTERESTED IN THE POTENTIAL OF THE SOUTH DEPARTMENTuth
(Haiti Libre) -

The South Department recently welcomed a high-level Norwegian delegation in order to see the progress made in the project of management of watersheds, and explore development opportunities. Norway is today one of the main funders of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Haiti.

"We regard the South as a region with great potential, but which has been neglected for a long time, despite all the attractions it could represent for investors," stressed Eva Irene Tuft, Senior Advisor to the Office of the Caribbean and Latin America within the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The visit that lasted two days began in the municipality of Coteaux where the delegation appreciated the drainage works carried out by the Ministry of the Environment (MDE) and UNDP. These structures can reduce the risk of flooding and protect communities. Subsequently, the delegation made ​​a stop at the Millennium Village (Village du Millénaire) in Port-a-Piment whose objective is the eradication of poverty through the promotion of rural development. This initiative is implemented by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and its partners of the South Coast Initiative (CSI - Initiative Cote Sud).

The second day the delegation went to Torbeck, to the site of gabion walls erected by UNDP and its partners. The Departmental Director stressed the importance of these structures, particularly for school children, which is located near the river. The trip ended to Aquin, in the east section of the department where the delegation members visited the offices of MDE, and one of nine nurseries implemented jointly with UNDP for the reforestation in the South.

"Our goal is to produce more than 1.5 million seedlings in these nurseries," says Jean Ked Neptune, coordinator of the co-management plan of the hydrologic unit Aquin-St. Louis du Sud. "We will reforest 6,000 hectares over the next two years. This number will help achieve the government's objective [...]" The Norwegian Ambassador, John Petter Opdahl has addressed the issue of sustainability of plantations and of the reforestation process. "To ensure the sustainability of our reforestation activities, we have contracts with landowners and economic incentives in place to ensure that plants are not destroyed by goats or people," explains Neptune. "The most important is to provide economic alternatives; generate livelihoods other than coal, and manage the forest sustainably." Led by UNDP, the co-management plan provides a response of importance in this regard, with the current project of mapping the different practices of sustainable land management.

In 2010, Norway spent $205 million U.S. dollars in humanitarian aid to Haiti, and is committed to $600 million dollars of long-term support over the period 2010-2013. This support comes through financing specific projects of reconstruction, protection of vulnerable groups, prevention of major natural hazards, sustainable management of natural resources, and renewable energy.