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HAITI / ENVIRONMENT
STORY: HAITI/ ENVIRONMENT
TRT: 2.10
SOURCE: MINUSTAH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: CREOLE/ NATS
DATELINE: JUNE 22, 2009, MONTROUIS, ARTIBONITE, HAITI
1. Wide shot, man standing in a dugout canoe on a freshwater pond
2. Med shot, a plate of freshwater fish in the canoe
3. Wide shot, man steps out of the canoe with the fish
4. Wide shot, pond and hills
5. SOUNDBITE (Creole) Abdel Abellard, Management Specialist, DEED:
“We work with farmers, charcoal makers, carpenters, all groups that have potential negative impact on the watershed. We organize them and help them see the importance of the community effectively managing their natural resources.”
6. Med shot, map on a computer
7. Med shot, instructor talking to a classroom of farmers
8. Med shot, farmers listening to instructor
9. Close up, hand-drawn map
10. Med shot, man’s hands holding a computer generated GIS map
11. SOUNDBITE (Creole) Jean Edy Tout-Puissant, Agriculture Specialist, DEED:
“They make resource conservation maps to show, for example, where they can plant and where most soil degradation is happening. It helps them create zones to best use the environment.”
12. Zoom out, plantation on a hillside
13. Med shot, water flowing
14. Wide shot, man walking in the pond
15. Med shot, man’s legs walking in the pond
16. SOUNDBITE (Creole) Mathurin Willy, Fisherman:
“This country is very poor, and people just do whatever they want. There are no laws. You can tell people not to cut down trees. But if you don’t offer them an alternative, they won’t stop. People live off that.”
17. Wide shot, beekeepers putting on protective clothing.
18. Close up, beekeeper’s smoke spout
19. Med shot, beekeeper puts on a mask
20. Wide shot, beekeepers walk towards a beehive
21. SOUNDBITE (Creole) Benjamin Miguel, Beekeeper:
“A hive will give you twenty kilograms of honey, about four gallons. And we can sell that and make at least six-thousand Gourdes.”
22. Med shot, bees on a honeycomb
23. SOUNDBITE (Creole) Benjamin Miguel, Beekeeper:
“We have forty-thousand orange trees that we will plant. We already planted eight-thousand. We are just waiting for the new shipment; then we will plant on the hillsides, because we want to protect the environment and make money.”
24. Med shot, two bottles of processed honey
STORILINE:
Haitian communities around this lake are getting help from the US government to protect their main source of income, fresh water fish. The eighteen million dollar project known as DEED is training peasants new strategies to manage their natural resources while preserving the area’s unique biodiversity.
SOUNDBITE (Creole) Abdel Abellard, Management Specialist, DEED:
“We work with farmers, charcoal makers, carpenters, all groups that have potential negative impact on the watershed. We organize them and help them see the importance of the community effectively managing their natural resources.”
The first step is mapping the natural resources.
In twelve communities in the Artibonite, farmer associations are making hand-drawn zoning maps to show where they plant their fields and get their water. They compare their maps to satellite images, and then use them as planning tools to design more efficient community land use.
SOUNDBITE (Creole) Jean Edy Tout-Puissant, Agriculture Specialist, DEED:
“They make resource conservation maps to show, for example, where they can plant and where most soil degradation is happening. It helps them create zones to best use the environment.”
One of DEED’s priorities is finding alternatives to planting on steep slopes.
The project is collaborating with the Ministry of Agriculture to rebuild irrigation infrastructure. Controlling the flow of water will reduce erosion on the hillsides, increase food production and protect fishing in fresh and salt water down-river.
But communities say changing negative land-use depends on finding alternative sources of income.
SOUNDBITE (Creole) Mathurin Willy, Fisherman:
“This country is very poor, and people just do whatever they want. There are no laws. You can tell people not to cut down trees. But if you don’t offer them an alternative, they won’t stop. People live off that.”
DEED is investing in local entrepreneurs such as beekeepers who make money while conserving natural resources. In 1997, they had only half a hive. But with DEED’s help, they now have forty, and are producing nearly sixteen-hundred kilograms of honey per year, which adds up to a lot of money.
SOUNDBITE (Creole) Benjamin Miguel, Beekeeper:
“A hive will give you twenty kilograms of honey, about four gallons. And we can sell that and make at least six-thousand Gourdes.”
What’s more, bees pollinate flowers, which later produce fruits – also for sale. More honey means more trees, which Haiti desperately needs.
SOUNDBITE (Creole) Benjamin Miguel, Beekeeper:
“We have forty-thousand orange trees that we will plant. We already planted eight-thousand. We are just waiting for the new shipment; then we will plant on the hillsides, because we want to protect the environment and make money.”
Through strong community management, DEED is helping people in Haiti produce more, protect their environment, and live better lives.
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