Project description

Title: Reconstruction and Disaster Risk Management in the Border Region Haiti/Dominican Republic
Commissioned by: Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung (BMZ)
Country: Haiti, Dominican Republic
Lead executing agency: Ministere de Planification e Cooperacion Etrangère ( MPCE) in Haiti und Secretariado Técnico de la Presidencia, Dominikanische Republik
Overall term: January 2006 to December 2008

Context

In May 2004, a disastrous flash flood in the border region between Haiti and the Dominican Republic took the lives of several thousand people and destroyed buildings, streets, bridges, livestock and farmland. Heavy rain in the zone threatened by tropical cyclones often brings sudden flooding in dry riverbeds, endangering many villages. The causes of this are largely deforested mountain ranges, farming methods unsuited to the location, extensive grazing and frequent burning to clear farmland.

Objective

The livelihoods of the population in nine municipalities in the southern border region between Haiti and the Dominican Republic are improved and less vulnerable to the effects of natural disasters.

Approach

The project works on the interface between emergency aid and long-term technical cooperation. It offers the population cooperation in deciding, planning and implementing activities:

• reconstruction/rehabilitation of agricultural and forestry production and marketing infrastructure
• reducing the vulnerability of villages (defencelessness against natural disasters) through soil conservation measures (ravine-filling, reforestation) and construction of protective barriers against flash floods.
• emergency planning and capacity building to cope better with natural disasters

The project supports local actors through back-up consulting and funding. Due to the short project term and the magnitude of the task, the project makes a special effort to cooperate with other actors, governmental institutions, and international and local non-governmental organisations and grassroots organisations.

Key partners are:

• European Union
• World Lutheran Union
• Vision Mundial
• Action Aid
• Pan American Development Foundation
• Centro de Investigación y Educación Popular
• Dominican water authority (INDRHI)
• Dominican Directorate for Development of the Border Region
• Grassroots organisations in both countries

Results achieved so far

Numerous activities with the partners were begun or have already been concluded (as of June 2007).

In Haiti:

• completed construction of a water pipeline (7.7 kilometres) in the municipality of Belle Anse and reforestation of headwater region (50 ha)
• to date, about 60 kilometres of ravines filled and reforested
• rehabilitation of 12 critical points in the road grid to date
• rehabilitation of the market infrastructure in the municipality of Thiotte
• completed rehabilitation/expansion of eight coffee processing centres owned by cooperatives
• completed establishment of a rotating fund for production means for coffee farmers
• participatory preparation of emergency plans
• expansion of tree nursery and training of personnel

In the Dominican Republic:

• completed rehabilitation of the 12 km-long Las Barias irrigation canal 
• completed reconstruction of part of the canal in Rio Soliette (255 metres)
• completed rehabilitation of La Resaca canal underpass
• completed establishment of two tree nurseries, use of two existing tree nurseries
• reforestation and introduction of agroforestry production systems
• rehabilitation of critical points of the Carretera Internacional
• filled the Arroyo Yerba Buena in La Descubierta
• changed the course of a stream in Cabeza del Rio
• participatory preparation of emergency plans and capacity building in disaster management
• support for small landholder groups in sustainable use of forests