Renewable Energy Could Transform Haiti

RENEWABLE ENERGY COULD TRANSFORM HAITI -- (Extensions of Remarks - January 05, 2007)

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Madam Speaker, I would like to share with my colleagues the following op-ed that appeared last week in the Orlando Sentinel. This article discusses how a U.S.-backed biomass policy for Haiti could move our Caribbean neighbor away from the trajectory of state failure. As the article notes: ``Support for bioenergy as part of the solution to Haiti's economic dilemma--unemployment and lack of energy--could advance the development of Haiti, and reinforce the governance and security reforms that Haitians so desperately deserve.' I hope all of my colleagues keep this article in mind as we enter the 110th Congress. [From the Orlando Sentinel, Dec. 26, 2006]

HOPE AFTER H.O.P.E. FOR HAITI?
(By Johanna Mendelson-Forman)

In its final hours, the 109th Congress gave new life to Haiti's manufacturing sector, passing a trade bill that included the H.O.P.E legislation that would create up to 7,000 new jobs by allowing Haitian assembly plants to import, duty-free, textiles that would be made into clothing for the U.S. market. While not a long-term solution to Haiti's ills, the symbolism of this action went further to bolster the morale of the Haitian private sector than anything in recent years.

Haiti suffers from many problems, not the least of which is lack of jobs. Violence and kidnappings continue to undermine security in Port au Prince. Even with the presence of a robust U.N. Peace Mission, a country of 8 million people without jobs spells insecurity. The rigorous effort by the international community to reinvent the Haitian National Police is only part of the solution to a complex country where law enforcement is franchised to many different groups rather than controlled by the state. What vexes those who want Haiti to succeed is just how to create a viable and sustainable development program.

While H.O.P.E may represent a small victory, other positive signs may auger for a different approach. A donor's meeting at the end of November in Madrid yielded almost $80 million to support good governance. And the World Bank decision to offer Haiti debt reduction also will help alleviate the drain on Haiti's limited revenue. Successful municipal elections held this month marked the first time since 1995 that Haitians democratically elected leaders of local government. And even a new effort to create a non-corrupt civil service is under way.

But the most promising signs that may make the difference in the coming years will be centered on a push to help Haiti become energy independent through the use of biomass energy.

Renewable energy could transform Haiti. A World Bank study reported that growing energy crops creates jobs in addition to fuel. In a country totally dependent on foreign oil for its energy needs, such independence could prove revolutionary.

This is not science fiction. Haiti is a perfect candidate for growing oil-seed crops. In rural areas, where 70 percent of the population remains engaged in subsistence agriculture, developing an indigenous biofuels market could transform the countryside and prevent the urban migration that continues to swell the slums of Port au Prince.

The environment could also be saved. And the proven anti-erosion qualities of seed crops like Jatropha and Castor bean could also revitalize the soil in a country that is 96 percent deforested and where every rainfall puts thousands of people at risk for natural disasters. And with crops such as Jatropha, the bush is a natural fence since its leaves are poisonous to animals.

Unfortunately, helping Haiti to become energy self-sufficient is not a priority for donors despite the potential it represents. It never came up at the Madrid meeting. And U.S. development assistance has yet to see this type of sustainable agriculture in Haiti as a means of long-term poverty alleviation.

If real hope is to be restored in Haiti, it must go beyond the trade incentives embodied in the H.O.P.E legislation. Urgent action is needed so that a U.S. biomass policy for the Caribbean addresses not only the regional dilemma of foreign oil dependency, but also moves Haiti away from the trajectory of state failure, a threat that U.S. policymakers consider a grave danger to U.S. interests.

With Brazil as the lead nation in the U.N. peace operation in Haiti, the technical means for bio-energy transformation could get underway within the next year. The combined power of U.S. economic support, coupled with Brazil's biomass expertise, could certainly be applied to a place such as Haiti. It could also demonstrate that ending addiction to fossil fuels, a goal President Bush endorses, can also be applied to one of the great development challenges in our hemisphere.

In a country just a two-hour flight from the U.S. mainland, the risk of state failure looms large. Support for bioenergy as part of the solution to Haiti's economic dilemma--unemployment and lack of energy--could advance the development of Haiti, and reinforce the governance and security reforms that Haitians so desperately deserve.

http://thomas.loc.gov/