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#1929: The Makaya Project : Paryski explains it
From:PPARYSKI@aol.com
The Macaya project:
Background:
Pic Macaya was mentioned in Moreau de St. Mery's Description de Saint
Domingue and was probably named after a bizango loa. During the early part
of the 19th century the area was explored by a few hardy botanists and
ornithologists, notably Wetmore and Swales (1920's) and Eric Ekman (1920's &
1930's). The scientists testified to the incredible richness and uniqueness
of the biodiversity they found and proposed that the area be made into a
national reserve.
In the early 1980's I explored Macaya searching for a long believed extinct
bird, the Black Capped Petrel which we later found at Macaya and Lavisite. I
met Charles Woods, a biologists from the University of Florida who had
conducted extensive and very fruitful research on paleo-mammalogy and the
birds in Haiti. We agreed that it was essential to protect Macaya and the
area around Pic Lavisite on the LaSelle ridge, since they contained
priceless, internationally important biodiversity, since they were the
watersheds for the Plane des Cayes and la Plaine de Cul de Sac and for their
outstanding and spectacular beauty.
I put the case for a conservation project to USAID and they agreed to provide
$250,000 for an initial project. I went to the Haitian government and
explained that USAID would provide this funding only if the two parks were
legally established. $250,000 being a rather large sum at that time, the
government agreed and we wrote a decree which as promptly signed by Jean
Claude Duvalier. After 2 years of hard work planting trees in Lavisite,
organising peasants and completing complete biogeophysical inventories of
Lavisite and Macaya with the superb team lead by Charles Woods, the project
was unfortunately closed when Jean-Claude was dechoukayd
Again after some fervent pleading, USAID financed a larger project,of about
$750,000 for the conservation and protection of Parc Macaya. Since Lavisite
was not included, I paid the two remaining Lavisite park guards out of my
pocket. The project ran until the 1991 coup d'etat. We managed to fence
parts of the park, replant hundreds of thousands fo trees including rare
hardwoods such as the Bwa Tremble, and perhaps most importantly to help the
peasants organize and improve their incomes while stoppiing most agricultural
activities in the Park. We established an experimental farm and constructed
parks headquarters builidings. We re-introduced thousands of Franco-creole
pigs, improved bean crops and started production of cabbage, beets and
carrots which were unknown to these peasants. A guide organisation was
created as well. Further research established the existence in the area of
50 new plant species unknown to science. although we did not accomplish all
we had hoped to, the rampant destruction of Macaya was seriously slowed if
not stopped and the peasants were motivated.
After the return of "constitutional" (sic) government, the World Bank funded
a government Assistance Technique pour la Protection des Parcs et Forets to
help manage and protect Lavisite, Macaya and Foret des Pins. $22 million
were allocated and to date more than $15 million have been spent, but, alas,
very little has been accomplished other than numerous studies. There is
practically no project or government presence in either park. Rather tragic.
The following is a brief description of Parc Macaya I wrote a just before the
close of the USAID project:
Macaya National Park
Area: 5500 ha.
Location: 180 kms west of Port-au-Prince at 18 21'N 74 01'W access via les
Cayes
Established: April 1983 by Presidential Decree
Administration: Ministère d'Agriculture with Ministère de l'Environnement
Vegetation: Montane cloud and mesic forest, pine forest, lower montane humid
forest
Flora: 500+ species of vascular plants, 141 species of orchids, 102 species
of ferns, 99 species of mosses and 49 species of liverworts
Fauna: 11 species of butterflies, 37 species of snails, 28 species of
amphibians, 34 species of reptiles, 63 species of birds, 19 species of bats,
2 endemic land mammals
Geology: Formed 70-80 million years ago of uplifted limestone and
"demisseau formation" (basaltic volcanic rock, turbidites, cherts and
siliceous sandstone)
Description:
Macaya National Park, located near the western tip of Haiti's southern
peninsula, provides the water supply for the Plaine des Cayes, Haiti's most
productive agricultural region. The Massif de la Hotte, composed of two
major east-west, extremely steep ridges, Crete Macaya topped by Pic Macaya
2,347 m, and Morne Formond topped by Pic Formond 2,250 m., forms the heart of
the Park. Due to its remoteness and inaccessibility the site has remained
relatively undisturbed until recently, and contains large tracts of
impenetrable montane cloud forest. Now the Park is threatened by
inappropriate agricultural practices and deforestation by peasants seeking to
merely survive.
The Park has served as a refugia for plants and animals throughout great
global climatic changes and changes in the level of the sea. Its isolation
and insular position resulted in a high level of endemicism (species found
only in a specific site) and extremely rich biodiversity. The Park's
mountains are blanketed by spectacular, beautiful relictual cloud forests,
the last remaining in Haiti. Pines 45 m high and nearly 2 m in diameter trap
and precipitate moisture from the almost ever-present cloud cover. One of
every ten plants found there is endemic to the Park. Among the most exotic
animals are: the Hispaniolan Hutia or zagouti (Plagiodontia aedium- a large
rabbit like creature), the strange Nez Longue (Solenodon paradoxus- an
insectivore), the Hispaniolan Trogan (Temnotrogan rogeigaster- a beautiful
red and green bird), the Grey-crowned Palm Tanager (Phaenicophilus
poliocephalus- a bird found only in southern Haiti) and the Black-capped
Petrel (Pteradoma hasitata-a large albatross like bird). A number of
northern songbirds winter and the Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) winter
and breed in the Park. Seven major rivers, which irrigate the entire
southwest, begin in these forested peaks on which more that 4000-mm of rain
falls each year.
To preserve and protect this unique area the Haitian government declared the
site a national park in 1983. In cooperation with the government and with
funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID),
the University undertook the first steps to establish a function biosphere
reserve, which will include the Park. The goal of this project was to
protect and conserve the ecosystems of the Park and buffer zones and
simultaneously promote the sustainable development of the peasant communities
around and in the Park by offering them income-generating alternatives to the
destructive use of the forest.
There are minimal camping facilities available at the Park headquarters in
Plaine Durand. From the headquarters visitors can take paths into the
surrounding wet forests or climb steep paths leading to Pic Macaya itself, a
challenging trek that usually takes two or three days. Guides are available
locally. The area is a paradise for birdwatchers, botanists and
mountaineers. The access road to the Park which begins in Dulcis is
difficult, but offers magnificent views and passes by a huge fortress, the
Citadelle des Platons built in 1806. Visitors should come prepared for wet
and chilly weather, although sunny, warm weather is the rule. Drinking water
is available from local springs but should be treated or boiled.
Paul Paryski