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Haiti is a Creole and French-speaking Caribbean country. It occupies the western side of island of Hispaniola, while the Dominican Republic occupies the eastern side. Hispaniola is part of the group of islands known as the Greater Antilles. One of the distinguishing features of Haiti is that it is a small, densely populated (266.5 persons/km²) and predominantly rural country. In 1998, about 75% of the population lived under the poverty line. Nearly 70% of all Haitians depend on the agricultural sector, which consists mainly of small-scale subsistence farming and employs about two-thirds of the economically active force.

Its major environmental issues include extensive deforestation (much of the remaining forested land is being cleared for agriculture and used as fuel); soil erosion; inadequate supplies of potable water; and, earthquakes. 

January 12, 2010 Earthquake

On January 12, 2010 at 4:53 p.m. local time, Haiti experienced a major earthquake of magnitude 7.0 on the Richter Scale, centered 10 miles (15 km) southwest of the capitol city of Port-au-Prince. There was extensive damage to buildings and loss of life. Emergency relief efforts were underway when this article was last revised. On January 18, Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive reported that government trucks had collected 70,000 dead bodies in Port-au-Prince and nearby Leogane for mass

burial. Estimates for total dead were as high as 200,000; although such estimates are highly uncertain at this time. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that the United Nations was feeding 40,000 people but expected that number to rise to 2 million within a month.

While the country experiences earthquakes frequently, this is the largest earthquake experienced by the island in over a century and occurred near a heavily populated area with few buildings designed or built to withstand significant earthquakes. The US Geological Survey (USGS) estimated that nearly three million people were exposed to severe shaking. Because the earthquake occurred inland, there was no related tsunami, however landslides related to the earthquake are expected.

US Geological Survey Tectonic Summary

The January 12, 2010, an earthquake occurred in the boundary region separating the Caribbean plate and the North America plate. This plate boundary is dominated by left-lateral strike slip motion and compression, and accommodates about 20 mm/y slip, with the Caribbean plate moving eastward with respect to the North America plate.

Haiti occupies the western part of the island of Hispaniola, one of the Greater Antilles islands, situated between Puerto Rico and Cuba. At the longitude of the January 12 earthquake, motion between the Caribbean and North American plates is partitioned between two major east-west trending, strike-slip fault systems -- the Septentrional fault system in northern Haiti and the Enriquillo-Plaintain Garden fault system (EPGFZ) in southern Haiti.

The location and focal mechanism of the earthquake are consistent with the event having occurred as left-lateral strike slip faulting on the Enriquillo-Plaintain Garden fault system. This fault system accommodates about 7 mm/y, nearly half the overall motion between the Caribbean plate and North America plate.

The Enriquillo-Plaintain Garden fault system has not produced a major earthquake in recent decades. The EPGFZ is the likely source of historical large earthquakes in 1860, 1770, 1761, 1751, 1684, 1673, and 1618, though none of these has been confirmed in the field as associated with this fault.

History

The native Taino Amerindians - who inhabited the island of Hispaniola when it was discovered by Columbus in 1492 - were virtually annihilated by Spanish settlers within 25 years. In the early 17th century, the French established a presence on Hispaniola, and in 1697, Spain ceded to the French the western third of the island, which later became Haiti. The French colony, based on forestry and sugar-related industries, became one of the wealthiest in the Caribbean, but only through the heavy importation of African slaves and considerable environmental degradation. In the late 18th century, Haiti's nearly half million slaves revolted under Toussaint L'Ouvertture. After a prolonged struggle, Haiti became the first black republic to declare its independence in 1804. The poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti has been plagued by political violence for most of its history. After an armed rebellion led to the forced resignation and exile of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in February 2004, an interim government took office to organize new elections under the auspices of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti. Continued violence and technical delays prompted repeated postponements, but Haiti finally did inaugurate a democratically elected president and parliament in May of 2006.

Geography

Location: Caribbean, western one-third of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, west of the Dominican Republic.

Geographic Coordinates: 19 00 N, 72 25 W

Area: 27,750 square km (27,560 sq km of land and 190 sq km of water)

arable land: 28.11%
permanent crops: 11.53%
other: 60.36% (2005)

Land Boundaries: 360 km with the Dominican Republic

Coastline: 1,771 km

Maritime Claims: Territorial sea to 12 nautical miles; contiguous zone to 24 nautical miles; exclusive economic zone to 200 nautical miles; continental shelf to depth of exploitation.

Natural Hazards: Haiti lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding and earthquakes; periodic droughts.

Terrain: Mostly rough and mountainous. The highest point is Chaine de la Selle (2,680 meters).

Climate: Tropical; semiarid where mountains in east cut off trade winds. Strong and irregular rains characterize the tropical humid weather, which are a consequence of the country's mountainous terrain. The average annual precipitation in Haiti is 1,461 millimeters (mm), yet it varies enormously especially with elevation and exposure to the dominant winds.

Capital: Port-au-Prince

Ecology and Biodiversity

See

Hispaniolan moist forests,

Hispaniolan pine forests,

Enriquillo wetlands, and

Greater Antilles mangroves

The Island of Hispaniola is home to a rich mixture of ecoregions and biodiversity. However, Haiti's ecology has been significantly degraded over a sustained period of time and stands in stark contrast to the environmental conditions of the Dominican Republic which occupied the eastern two-thirds of the islands of Hispaniola. It it estimated that only 1.44% of the total original forest coverage remains. Deforestation has led to increased runoff of rain and significant soil degradation. Flooding, particularly when tropical storms or hurricanes occur in the region, has been a recurrent problem exacerbated by deforestation. 

Haiti hosts four distinct ecoregions, each with distinct and important endemic species:

Hispaniolan moist forests

The wet forests of Hispaniola originally occupied more than half (~60%) of the original vegetation on the island of Hispaniola, from the lowlands particularly on the eastern coast of the island (Haiti) to the valleys, plateaus, slopes and foothills of the many mountain ranges, up to an altitude of about 2,100 meters. In the Dominican Republic, moist forest frequently occur covering most of the eastern half of the country all along these shores till ending at the higher elevations of the mountains. Between the slopes of the eastern range and along the northern range in Haiti, the moist forests continue across the entire island of Hispaniola only lacking distinct presence in the southern extension of the island. They also exist on most of the Tiburón peninsula, in southern Haiti.

Despite their degradation, these wet forests still maintain an exceptionally diverse insular biota with many endemic regional and insular species belonging to a large number of taxons. These forests have been isolated from the contiguous continents and have thus maintained relict taxons. In the mountains of Selle-Bahoruco alone there are five endemic genera of plants. This ecoregion is found in the five most important centers of plant diversity and endemism on the island. In Haiti, these centers are found in the low mountain forests of Morne la Visite with 335 plant species and 30% insular endemisms and in the low mountain forests of Pic Macaya with 665 species and 30% endemisms. Less than 200 km² of unaltered rainforest remains in Haiti.

Hispaniolan pine forests

The pine forests of Hispaniola Island are located on slopes with shallow soils and higher elevations of the mountain systems of both Dominican Republic and Haiti. Located primarily in the central Dominican mountain range with the highest point in the Antilles then continuing in the northern massif of Haiti. This ecoregion is mainly in mountainous areas of the Cordillera Caentral, the Sierra de Bahoruco and other small patches of both countries. There are several other paices in the La Selle massif and in the La Hotte massif and on the Tiburón peninsula, in Haiti. The pine forests of Hispaniola Island contain various endemic species of plants and animals, including numerous specialist species in limestone and serpentine soils that are among those listed in the Global 200 ecoregions that have been assigned the highest conservation priority. This ecoregion is found in four of the five most important centers of plant diversity and endemism on the island. In Haiti, the low montane forests of Morne la Visite area listed with 335 plant species and 30% of endemisms on the island and those of the Pic Macaya area are listed with 665 species and 30% of endemics. In Haiti, this ecoregion is only represented in parts of the Pic Macaya National Park and the La Visite National Park.

Enriquillo wetlands

Consisting of a series of lagoons, this ecoregion corresponds to the remains of an old marine channel that divided the island of Hispaniola into two paleoislands more than 5,000 years ago. The largest lake in this ecoregion, Lake Enriquillo in the Dominican Republic is the largest and most hypersaline lake in all of the Antilles. In Haiti, Saumatre Lagoon (Étang Saumatre or Lago Azuei) is the country's largest lake. It occupies another concavity 10 km west of Lake Enriquillo, separated from it by the Jimaní anticline. It covers an area of approximately 120 km² and is located in the far east of the Cul-de-sac Valley. Another smaller lake on the Haitian coast and close to Saumatre is Trou Cayman, measuring approximately 15 km². Among its rich biota is manatí ans the island's endemic Hispaniolan slider (Trachemys decorata).

Greater Antilles mangroves

It is estimated that Haiti has about 134 km²of mangroves that are part of the Greater Antilles mangroves ecoregion and it is home to much biodiversity.

Protected Areas

There are two national parks in Haiti: Pic Macaya National Park (Parc National Pic Macay) (55 km²) and La Visite National Park (Parc National La Visite) (20 km²).

International Environmental Agreements

Haiti is a party to International agreements on: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, and Ozone Layer Protection.

People and Society

Population: 9,035,536(July, 2009 est.)

Age Structure:

0-14 years: 38.1% (male 1,735,917/female 1,704,383)
15-64 years: 58.5% (male 2,621,059/female 2,665,447)
65 years and over: 3.4% (male 120,040/female 188,690) (2009 est.)

Population Growth Rate: 1.838% (2009 est.)

Birthrate: 35.69 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death Rate: 10.15 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Net Migration Rate: -2.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)

Life Expectancy at Birth: 60.78 years

Total Fertility Rate: 3.81 children born/woman (2009 est.)

Languages: French (official), Creole (official)

Literacy: 52.9%

The Human Development Index for Haiti is 0.482, which gives Haiti a rank of 154th out of 177 countries with data. See Haiti's Human Development Index for 2004.

Water

Haiti has 12.11 km³ of internal renewable water resources plus 0.9 cubic kilometers (km3) of external renewable water resources that come from the Artibonite River from the Dominican Republic. Currently, only about 7.5% of the renewable water resources are utilized, of which 7.1% for irrigation. The rivers' water flow is characterized by wide seasonal fluctuation, partly because of rainfall irregularity, but also because of erosion and deforestation of catchments.

See Water profile of Haiti

Agriculture

Nearly 70% of all Haitians depend on the agricultural sector, which consists mainly of small-scale subsistence farming and employs about two-thirds of the economically active force. However, the performance of Haiti's agricultural sector has been stagnant. From 1985 to 1989, agriculture's average annual growth rate was -0.5%, continuing the negative trend that began in 1980. However, the 1992, 1993 and 1994 harvests were the highest in recent years due to abundant rainfall and adoption of improved production practices. Economic value of agricultural production has been decreasing, even though land and labor resources allocated to agricultural production have been increasing. Land and labor productivity losses have resulted from a deterioration in the quality of the country's capital stock (e.g., soil fertility, irrigation systems, and roads), reflecting a political and economic environment that has discouraged investment. Yields, with the exception of rice, show a negative trend and are becoming increasingly lower than those recorded in other countries of the region. The impossibility for the state to supply much-needed public goods has been the key factor hampering the development of an institutional framework conducive to growth.

Agricultural products: coffee, mangoes, sugarcane, rice, corn, sorghum; wood

Conflict

International Disputes: since 2004, about 8,000 peacekeepers from the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) maintain civil order in Haiti; despite efforts to control illegal migration, Haitians cross into the Dominican Republic and sail to neighboring countries; Haiti claims US-administered Navassa Island

Economy

Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, with 80% of the population living under the poverty line and 54% in abject poverty. Two-thirds of all Haitians depend on the agricultural sector, mainly small-scale subsistence farming, and remain vulnerable to damage from frequent natural disasters, exacerbated by the country's widespread deforestation. While the economy has recovered in recent years, registering positive growth since 2005, four tropical storms in 2008 severely damaged the transportation infrastructure and agricultural sector. US economic engagement under the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement (HOPE) Act, passed in December 2006, has boosted apparel exports and investment by providing tariff-free access to the US. HOPE II, passed in October 2008, has further improved the export environment for the apparel sector by extending preferences to 2018; the apparel sector accounts for two-thirds of Haitian exports and nearly one-tenth of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Remittances are the primary source of foreign exchange, equaling nearly a quarter of GDP and more than twice the earnings from exports. Haiti suffers from high inflation, a lack of investment because of insecurity and limited infrastructure, and a severe trade deficit. In 2005, Haiti paid its arrears to the World Bank, paving the way for reengagement with the Bank. Haiti is expected to receive debt forgiveness for about $525 million of its debt through the Highly-Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) initiative by mid-2009. The government relies on formal international economic assistance for fiscal sustainability.

GDP: (Purchasing Power Parity): $11.59 billion (2008 est.)

GDP: (Official Exchange Rate): $6.966 billion (2008 est.)

GDP-real growth rate: 2.3% (2008 est.)

GDP- per capita (PPP): $1,300 (2008 est.)

GDP- composition by sector:

agriculture: 28%
industry: 20%
services: 52% (2004 est.)

Population Below Poverty Line: 80%

Industries: sugar refining, flour milling, textiles, cement, light assembly based on imported parts

Natural Resources: bauxite, copper, calcium carbonate, gold, marble, hydropower

Currency: Gourdes (HTG)

Further Reading

1. The CIA World Factbook
2. Water profile of Haiti, Food and Agriculture Organization.
3. World Wildlife Fund Homepage
4. Energy profile of Caribbean from the Energy Information Administration
5. January 12, 2010 Haiti Earthquake from the United States Geological Survey
6. [http://www.usgs.gov/corecast/?tag=earthquakes USGS