Pic Macaya National Park (French: Parc National Pic Macaya) is one of two national parks of the Republic of Haiti,: the other is La Visite National Park. It is located on the peninsula in the southern part of the country, and features the country's last stand of virgin cloud forest. Elevations in the rugged park reach a maximum height of 2,347 meters (7,700 feet) above sea level at Pic Macaya (Macaya Peak), the second highest point in Haiti behind Pic la Selle. The mountains are mainly karstic and volcanic. The park features some endangered plant and animal life, including some endemic to the island of Hispaniola. Text and map courtesy of Wikipedia

A $9 million grant will help Haiti carry out a sustainable land management program at the Macaya National Park, home to one of the country’s largest remaining forests, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) announced on 1 August 2013.

The residual endemic forest.: Photograph courtesy of IDBHaiti has lost almost all of its forest coverage due to pressure from population growth, harmful farming practices and the demand for firewood to make charcoal, the principal source of energy. Deforestation hastens soil erosion, which is worsened by the country’s exposure to hurricanes and tropical storms. It also exacerbates the flooding and landslides that occur every rainy season.

The new grant, drawn from the Haiti Reconstruction Fund, will complement a previous grant from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) for the national park’s program, which focuses on the upper watersheds of the country’s southwestern peninsula. Other donor-funded watershed management programs target the lower reaches and piedmont areas.

A public building inside the Park, to be the Park Headquarters.: Photograph by Antonio Pereira courtesy of IDB

The new resources will be used to strengthen the Macaya National Park’s surveillance corps and its management, reforest about 1,500 hectares (3,750 acres) of degraded lands, and build watershed protection infrastructure to mitigate flooding and erosion.

Macaya National Park: Photograph by Bruno Jacquet, IDB Project Team Leader 

“The project will promote natural resources sustainable management and contribute to reduce impacts of natural disasters,” said Bruno Jacquet, IDB Project Team Leader.

A park ranger, working as a guide for tourists.: Photograph courtesy of IDB

The grant will also finance activities designed to engage local authorities, institutions and families that farm within the national park’s perimeter or cut trees to make charcoal. The program will encourage these stakeholders to become involved in land planning and in the management of the national park.

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and Protecting Forests and Migratory Birds

The IDB is Haiti’s leading multilateral donor. One of its priorities is supporting Haiti’s effort to improve agriculture. The Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development and the Inter-Ministerial Land Use Committee are taking steps to modernize animal and plant health services, increase farmers’ access to agricultural innovations, expand access to irrigation, reduce crop damage caused by floods, and improve land management services.

Macaya National Park: Photograph by Bruno Jacquet, IDB Project Team Leader

As one of Haiti’s leading donors, the IDB is currently financing investment projects in the agriculture sector totaling more than $200 million, including crop intensification, irrigation, rural value chains, farming technology transfers, land tenure clarification and watershed management.

The project objective is to contain the rapid environmental degradation in the upper watershed of the southwestern part of Haiti. The project aims to promote sustainable natural resources management and watershed protection in order to prevent deforestation, soil erosion and related natural disasters. The project is comprised of the following two components. Component 1: institutional and local governance strengthening; and component 2: enhancement and restoration of ecosystem services.

This news is from the Inter-American Development Bank 1 August 2013

Posted on the Horizon International Solutions Site 1 August 2013.

Note:

An article on efforts in Haiti, "World’s Largest Solar Hospital Provides Comprehensive Care in Haiti"  is available at http://www.solutions-site.org/node/987, a Partners In Health initiative with many cooperating entities.