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January/February 2010
News For Coastal Advocates
⌘
Recurring
People; Awards; Species &
Habitats; Restorations;
Products
⌘
Atlantic CoastWatch is a bimonthly
newsletter for those concerned
with environmentally sound coastal
development.
A
tlantic C
oastW
atch
Reviving Haiti
Relief and recovery efforts there are still in the emergency mode of provid-
ing food, water and medical care; but now while the world’s attention is focused, say
international aid experts, it is time to start putting in place some long term solu-
tions to the country’s inherent problems if future humanitarian disasters are to be
averted.
The extent of the earthquake’s destruction is seen by some as an opportu-
nity for a renewed impetus. The devastation from four hurricanes in 2008, reduc-
ing the nation to what a Slate article called an “ecological disaster," had already
prompted efforts to rebuild and restore the country’s ecosystem and economy. The
Haiti Regeneration Initiative--a coalition of United Nations agencies, gov-
ernment entities, NGOs and technical institutes—had launched a 20 year plan in the
wake of the storms. Now, said President Rene Preval, if his country is to achieve
sustainability, it will be necessary to keep this long term environmental planning on
track while working shorter-term to repair the tattered infrastructure.
Massive deforestation, started initially under French rule, accelerated dras-
tically in the 20th century because of the need for cheap fuel in the form of charcoal.
At present only 2% of Haiti’s territory is forested, according to an article in Plan-
etArk. The lack of trees has not only increased the country’s vulnerability to severe
storms. It also allows the topsoil to wash away, making the land less productive:
Haiti provides less than half the food it needs, according to an editorial by Gabriel
Marcella in the Patriot News. The damage to the land has also contributed to the
exodus of people from the country to the city in search of employment.
But earthquake devastation in Port-au-Prince has caused a reverse exodus,
expected to grow from 200,000 people to 1 million or more, according to the web-
site of the Lambi Fund of Haiti. While rural communities were less affected by
the catastrophe, the sudden influx of people is going to strain their meager resourc -
es--water, sanitation, and food. Again, this may present a hidden opportunity to
focus on the rebuilding of the countryside, where the Fund is putting its efforts.
Hudson PCB Results Disputed
Last fall EPA and General Electric completed the first full year of
court-mandated dredging to remove toxic PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) from a
stretch of the Hudson heavily afflicted by dumping from GE plants at Fort Edward
and nearby Hudson Falls. At a February meeting to review initial results from Phase
1 of the massive cleanup, project managers from each side presented sharply con-
flicting information as to what had happened.
Unexpected setbacks had occurred, EPA has admitted, including “sedimen -
contamination in some areas that was deeper than expected." But with an estimated
265,000 cubic yards of PCB-laden sediments removed, “established goals" for
Phase 1 had been more than met. While dredging operations had caused more PCBs
to escape into the river than had been anticipated, reported the Albany Times-
Union, EPA claimed that in only three instances had federal drinking water safety
standards been exceeded.
(Continued, p. 6)
