Haiti - Dominican Republic: Environmental Challenges in the Border Zone - Executive Summary

This document summarizes an 18-month assessment of environmental and socio-economic pressures along the Haiti–Dominican Republic border, linking four drivers—chronic poverty and food insecurity, severe degradation of soils, forests, and coastal ecosystems, weak governance (notably in rural Haiti), and sharp cross-border inequalities—to escalating disaster risk, unsustainable livelihoods, and conflict potential. It details acute issues including the transboundary charcoal economy, illegal farming and tree cutting inside protected areas, overfishing amid unclear marine boundaries, and flooding tied to rising Lakes Azuei and Enriquillo, with climate change expected to intensify impacts. The report proposes ten binational measures and four Haitian national actions—spanning reforestation, sustainable agriculture, market reforms, MSME development, pollution control, governance strengthening, energy transition to LPG, and hydrological analysis—costed at USD 136 million over five years.