By Father Wilnes Tilus, Executive Director, DCCH
Lately, the entire world has been bearing the brunt of climate change. In some countries, the land is literally burning, destroying forests, homes, and public infrastructure. In others, it's volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, hurricanes, and even tsunamis. Faced with humanity's mismanagement of the land, nature is striking back.
Haiti is also bearing the brunt of it.
There was a time when we could easily distinguish the seasons in this country. It's true that we haven't always had the four calendar seasons. But we could clearly identify the rainy seasons and the dry seasons. Today, there's no predictability. Even the weather forecast is only approximate. The sector that suffers the most from these consequences is that of small farmers. At the slightest sign of rain, they sow their seeds. When fortunate, this period may offer the benefit of favorable weather. But these days, the rural areas are feeling the pinch.
So many fields of corn, beans and peanuts are turning into hay, a hay that sometimes cannot even be used to feed the animals, because the leaves are so young that the sun hasn't left much to graze on. For the livestock, too, it is a scene of desolation. Food is becoming increasingly scarce. The wells are drying up. The rare springs do the same. Water is becoming a scarce product for livestock as well as for humans. It is necessary to travel a longer distance than usual to find it. The few wells that are still in operation are subject to rationing. The water from the Avezac canal, which facilitated the irrigation of the land from Camp-Perrin plain to Laborde, is limited to only a few houses of Camp-Perrin.
The causes come from top to bottom.
The main cause of this situation lies with successive governments that have taken office without a genuine land-use plan. Each resident manages their property as they see fit. There is no concern regarding the specific use of any particular piece of land. Forest areas, farmland, land suitable for construction - it's all mixed together.
A second cause stems from the unregulated cutting of trees for charcoal or timber. This is one of the alternative sources of income for farmers left to fend for themselves.
Some households are already beginning to reduce the amount of food they put in the pot. They are forced to ration their meals to ensure they have enough for tomorrow. Famine may be knocking on their doors before long.
Wild sun-resistant grasses occupy rice-growing space.
At DCCH, the Water Supply Department is doing its best to expand water storage capacity. In addition to rehabilitating wells and spring catchments, large-capacity cisterns are built to collect rainwater. Starting from a partially concrete-covered hill, a catchment area channels rainwater into a large cistern that is proving its worth to residents of Tricon, a small village in the municipality of Les Cayes. Soon, a study will be conducted in the Péan hills, in the municipality of Torbeck, to assess the feasibility of a hillside reservoir in the area.
There will always be problems. But solutions also exist when men and women take on their responsibility as stewards of the environment, our common home, to borrow a theme so dear to Pope Francis.
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