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Santo Domingo.- The Dominican Republic and Haiti governments yesterday began talks aimed at securing European Union funding to protect the environment along their border and reduce poverty.
Dominican Environment minister Bautista Rojas Gomez met with Haiti’s EDFs coordinator Jean Edner Nelson, Industry and Commerce minister Wilson Laleu, and Presidency environmental issues director Gesner Champagne.
In a statement the Environment Ministry said the officials agreed on the need to create a bilateral environmental recovery support fund for the border area and the conditions to develop micro, small and medium businesses, as matching funds for the 7.2 million euros from the EU.
The Haitian officials, who hailed the success of the Quisqueya Verde reforestation program and Dominican Republic’s Endemic and Native Seed Bank, requested the local technical support for the initiatives announced by president Michel Martelly, who declared 2013 as Reforestation Year.
Rojas stated the willingness by Environment technicians to join the Haitian colleagues’ effort to recover their country’s forests, and stressed the importance of placing the environmental issue on the Binational Commission’s agenda.
For Laleu, it’s impossible to develop his country’s economy as long as Haiti’s environment and natural resources continue under their current condition.
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Written by: Ricardolito, 7 Feb 2013 2:07 PM
From: Dominican Republic, vieja Santo Domingo
as if the EU does not have enough problems of their own"
Well, they ARE the historical reason for the development of the massive problem on the island. The Hell on Earth known as Haiti was one of their major negative contributions to the Caribbean.
And besides, a hundred million euros a year or for a decade, wouldn't put them in the poor house. Heck, even 50 million euros to help fund a decades worth of re-planting and re-seeding might yet bring back some greenery along the border areas, especially on the Haitian side of the border where its most urgently needed.
They can afford it.
Of course don't just give it to the local elite to manage, put your own people in charge of distributing and managing the funds. Make it a sine qua non for ANY funding program.
And we MUST not accept the EU handouts with ties that are detrimental to DR sovereignty, not thanks EU give them to the Haitians, we'll deal with our business by our own.