E&E explores an international effort to help Haiti recover from years of environmental degradation.
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- Two years ago, the Carrefour Feuilles (pronounced "kar-ah-fur fay") neighborhood was considered too dangerous for U.N. peacekeepers who were not protected by armored vehicles. And even today, a dozen or so Sri Lankan troops garrisoned here nervously stand watch behind heavy fortifications.
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- A hard rain can be deadly here. A family of four was reported killed late last month when rushing stormwater loosened soil under their hillside house and brought the structure down on them. The denuded slopes around this city of 2 million turn stormwater into lethal torrents.
MALPASSE, Haiti -- In October, three Haitian men were shot dead and a fourth was wounded just across the Dominican Republic border from this dusty and impoverished town. The episode was the most violent recent confrontation between people along the border and a sign of worsening tensions, with Haiti's environmental problems sprawling into the Dominican Republic. The spread of deforestation, land degradation and erosion across the border is the surest sign yet that Haiti's ecology is being pushed to its limits.
ARCADINS COAST, Haiti -- There was a time when Haiti was known as the "Pearl of the Antilles," a Caribbean vacation destination as famous as Jamaica or Puerto Rico are today.
GRANMONT, Haiti -- With its rich delta soil and a year-round growing season, Haiti's famous agricultural region seems capable of feeding the entire Caribbean.
GONAIVES, Haiti -- More than once, Haiti's "Independence City" was nearly destroyed by nature, and it could happen again if the authorities don't finish construction on flood control systems in time.
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