22111: Esser: Hispaniola's forest tragedy (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: D. Esser torx@joimail.com

BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk

May 26, 2004

Hispaniola's forest tragedy


The island of Hispaniola has lost most of its forest cover over the
last two centuries and deforestation continues, notably on the
Haitian side of the border.

BBC science correspondent Richard Black asks whether environmental
issues such as deforestation, and their links to poverty, have been
an issue in the estimated 500 deaths from flooding.

Haiti is one of the most deforested nations on Earth, and one of the
poorest.

A United Nations report in 1995 concluded that forest cover was
"impaired" in 97% of the country.

Bare slopes have little protection when the rains come

Since then that figure has increased - put simply, many Haitians need
wood for fuel and to sell.

In the Dominican Republic the situation is somewhat better - around
15% of the country is still forested.

To the modern eye this might seem plenty. But 200 years ago almost
the entire nation would have been wooded.

Research conducted seven years ago concluded that logging, mainly by
local people to clear land for agriculture, was a major factor.

Ruined land

When heavy rains come to land which is not bound together by tree
roots, the soil is simply washed away.

River banks disintegrate, and water can pour through settlements
unimpeded by natural barriers.

Over the years this lack of natural protection from floods has ruined
much of Haiti's agricultural land - removing peoples' livelihoods,
and putting extra pressure on forests which remain.

The situation is exacerbated by Haiti's high population density, one
of the highest in the world - more people means more demand for land
and wood, and so more deforestation.

The severity of these rains is highly unusual for Hispaniola, raising
the question of whether they are a consequence of climate change.

Computer models of global warming do predict that the frequency and
strength of tropical storms will increase, but it is impossible to
link one particular weather event to a slowly changing global climate.
.