Haiti : Overall management of river basins to reduce floods

(The News N° 21 - January 2011)

Devastated last January by a deadly earthquake, Haiti has become the symbol of a martyr country.
Yet deep institutional reforms are being deve - loped in the fields of water and regional planning, driven by visionary and voluntary personalities.
”DINEPA” and ”CIAT” made multisectoral efforts to reclaim the territory and mana ge water resources.
With them, IOWater is continuing to provide advice and expertise in Haiti. Last March, an assignment was carried out to characterize the status of river basins and related stakes.
The identification of technical, institutional and socioeconomic actions to be jointly implemented to restore "life" and stability in these hydrogeological units, allowed defining a benchmark for overall management.
Please be reminded that major risks occurring each year during the hurricane season are deadly floods linked to solid transport by impressive runoff.
These risks have been greatly increased since last January after the earthquake by the destruction of buildings and the presence of makeshift camps often in a flood-prone area. Land reclamation, land management, transformation of socioeconomic activities (agriculture), technical hydraulic development and other coordinated emergency or long-term actions will be the keys to new overall management, reduced risks and reconstruction in Haiti.