treatise on essential humanitarian infrastructure for haiti - stuart leiderman

8/14/2019 treatise on essential humanitarian infrastructure for haiti - stuart leiderman

1/12

ESSENTIAL HUMANITARIAN INFRASTRUCTURE FOR HAITI[EHI-HAITI]

FEBRUARY 2009

COASTAL FERRY

LIGHT RAIL

Leiderman: Essential Humanitarian Infrastructure for Haiti, 20091


2/12

ESSENTIAL HUMANITARIAN INFRASTRUCTURE FOR HAITI[EHI-HAITI]

STUART M. LEIDERMAN leider!"#i"d$%ri"&.'( '(%)ri&*+ 2009

E,ECUTIE SUMMARYFunding is sought to create a large endowment to help examine, finance, design,build and manage essential humanitarian infrastructure [EHI] in Haiti, including theeducation and training of the necessary skilled labor and expertise for thosesystems !he en"isioned endowment will be nonprofit, transparent andaccountable It will be able to initiate and #oin a "ariety of public$pri"atepartnerships It will answer the desire for unity of purpose and capability amongHaitians and friends of Haiti to%

$ help the country a"ert and reco"er from future natural disasters,$ cushion and re"erse the effects of desperate po"erty,$ restore the uni&ue tropical en"ironment and$ de"elop and safeguard natural and cultural resources

In particular, the endowment will focus on modern rail and ferry ser"ice for Haiti,combining the ability to mo"e passengers, workers, tourists, mail, personalproperty and freight in normal times with the capability for swift and massi"ehumanitarian response during emergencies !his is because the lack of masstransportation has chronically paraly'ed the country (eople and property areexposed to recurrent hurricanes, agricultural regions are isolated from where farmproducts are most needed, and millions of in"oluntary migrants are held "irtuallycapti"e in the degrading slums of (ort$au$(rince, )onai"es and *ap Haitien +ycontrast, modern and interconnected rail and ferry ser"ice, with accompanyingterminals, docks and markets will allow access to and from the whole countryHaitians will be able to reach, rescue and e"acuate their cities and towns during

disasters, get food and fiber to market &uickly and affordably, and help peoplereturn to the countryside, lea"ing behind the s&ualid, "ulnerable coastal cities thatha"e become unbearably crowded and too costly for sur"i"al

In addition to the rail and ferry emphasis, a portion of the endowment will study,fund and support elements of essential humanitarian infrastructure in otherde"elopment sectors, including agriculture, economy, education, #ustice andhuman rights, health, en"ironment, energy and conser"ation, culture and heritage,ci"il society, migration and international relations wards, contracts and otherassistance will be made on the basis of merit and recipients- readiness andwillingness to respond during emergencies

Leiderman: Essential Humanitarian Infrastructure for Haiti, 2009.


3/12

INTRODUCTION!he durable, manmade systems, e&uipment, facilities and staffing responsible forthe smooth functioning of society and rapid response to threats and reco"ery fromdisasters are collecti"ely known as /infrastructure0 In general, these includepublicly$owned constructions such as highways, airports, bridges, municipalbuildings, water supply and sewage systems Infrastructure may also includepri"ately$held components such as electric plants, communications towers, fueltransmission lines, refineries, rail and transit "ehicles that are publicly$regulated,permitted or licensed

!he &uality of infrastructure in many countries today is poor !his lowers thepotential &uality of life for billions of people Especially in small, denselypopulated, democratically emerging countries such as Haiti, the poor or absentcondition of infrastructure is a daily threat to sur"i"al E"en in the best of times,the &uality and &uantity of infrastructure in these countries is bad, poorlyinterconnected and "ulnerable to disruption ccess from town to town and farmto market is difficult, roads are seldom surfaced and repaired, water wells arescarce, sewage and solid wastes are dangerously disposed, pipelines fre&uentlyrupture, electricity and communications are intermittent, other utilities may beunaffordable and ci"il ser"ices may be absent

"erall, the infrastructure ne"er reliably ser"es or protects the people but insteadsignificantly shortens li"es and de"alues property nd in emergencies, whenhumanitarian response is greatly slowed or blocked altogether, the "ictims mayne"er be reached !he conse&uences are excessi"e deaths, disease, in#uries,displacement, property damage and loss of food, water and other sur"i"alresources

ESSENTIAL HUMANITARIAN INFRASTRUCTURE/ [EHI] DEFINED

minimum amount, &uality and combination of linked infrastructure componentspro"iding basic communications, con"eyances, public safety, mobility, sustenance,storage and energy are re&uired for national sur"i"al, response and reco"eryduring emergencies !his /essential humanitarian infrastructure0 [EHI] has se"eraldimensions, including "ariety, &uantity, &uality, redundancy, distribution, strength,endurance, flexibility and coordination !he purpose of EHI is to maintain acountry-s lifelines and defense capabilities until the population can return tonormal

!he exact combination of EHI will "ary from country to country, but can beestimated and tested from historical experience, simulation exercises, masterplans and population settlement trends From this, national leaders can express

preference for ac&uiring and de"eloping these components when they confer withforeign aid donors, trading partners, international banks, charities, foundations,philanthropists, churches and non$go"ernmental organi'ations !o date, Haiti doesnot seem to ha"e made good use of opportunities to focus on EHI

!he problem is that many small countries such as Haiti seem to be constantlyrunning on less than EHI, e"en in /good times0 mong the causes are po"erty,ignorance, theft, sabotage, corruption, poor planning and taxation, competiti"edisad"antage compared to large countries, brain$drain, internal and external



4/12

political and economic pressures and recurring cycles of storms, droughts, floodsand landslides !hese ine"itably create an atmosphere of cultural depression,anxiety, apathy, aggression and disease that gi"e the impression that thisdeplorable norm is /as good as it gets0 +ut ultimately, when only shards ofinfrastructure remain, national collapse follows and the country becomes a failedstate

RIORITI1ING EHI FOR HAITIIt could be said that much of Haiti-s population of approx nine million ha"e been"irtually /camping out0 for all their li"es !hese are dangerous, unhealthy,subsistence conditions that a typical 3ew 4orker or *alifornian would barelytolerate for e"en a single weekend in the woods 5ife in Haiti today is not /yourfather-s 6oodstock0


HAITI AT A GLANCEAre! !%%r(3. 24000 $5 6

7C!li8(r"i! :00000 $5 6;C(!$+li"e !%%r(3. (8 8(re$+ '(?er re!i"$

7C!li8 !%%r(3. @0> 8(re$+ed;(%l!+i(" !%%r(3. 9 illi("(%l!+i(" de"$i+) !%%r(3. @00$5 6

7C!li8 !%%r(3. 90$5 6;L!(r 8(r'e !%%r(3. : illi("(%l!+i(" el( %(?er+) li"e !%%r(3. 40>:> li?e (" le$$ +*!" US (" le$$ +*!"US2d!)Li+er!') !&e Li8e e3%e'+!"') !+ ir+* J0 )e!r$I"8!"+ (r+!li+) r!+e i$ J0


5/12

For the purpose of analysis, examples of broad de"elopment sectors in Haiti can bearbitrarily grouped, and their realms generally described as follows%

A&ri'l+reK5and use, soil fertility, e&uipment, supplies, &uality control, exportsE'("()K commerce, manufacturing, employment, in"estment, planningM!"!de ildi"&$ '("?e)!"'e$ 8!'ili+ie$K 8oads, ports, communications,electricity, water, wastesEd'!+i("K5iteracy, teachers, schools, early$, mid$ and lifelong learning

$+i'e Se'ri+) H!" Ri&*+$K5awmaking, enforcement, courts, prisons,tra"el, fostering democratic principles and the rule of lawHe!l+*K3utrition, disease pre"ention, facilities, doctors, nurses, insuranceE"?ir("e"+ E"er&) C("$er?!+i("K9oil, water, air &uality, reforestation,ecological restoration, renewable energy, land useCl+re !"d Heri+!&eK!ourism, sports, holidays, performances, religious practiceCi?il S('ie+)K(ublic participation, candidacies, elections, ci"il rights andpri"ileges, urban and rural lifeMi&r!+i(" Re8&ee$K:oluntary and in"oluntary displacementI"+er"!+i("!l Rel!+i("$K*aribbean, hemispheric, globalinitiati"es;treaties;cooperation

6ithin each of the de"elopment sectors are sets of con"entional infrastructureused on a daily basis nd within each of these sets are subsets of facilities andcapabilities that could and should be a"ailable as essential humanitarianinfrastructure [EHI] for response, relief and reco"ery during emergencies%

A&ri'l+reK C("?e"+i("!l I"8r!$+r'+reKreser"oirs and irrigation e&uipment for cropproduction EHIKstrategically$placed catchments;pump stations for fire fighting, flood

drainageE'("()K C("?e"+i("!l I"8r!$+r'+reKdocks, ports, warehouses for importing andexporting EHIKdedicated locations and buildings to recei"e;distribute humanitariansuppliesM!"!de ildi"&$ '("?e)!"'e$ 8!'ili+ie$K

C("?e"+i("!l I"8r!$+r'+reKstationary fossil$fuel electric generating stations EHIK portable solar and wind$powered electric generators that can be broughtonsiteEd'!+i("K C("?e"+i("!l I"8r!$+r'+re% classrooms, libraries, school buses

EHI%


6/12

$+i'e Se'ri+) H!" Ri&*+$K C("?e"+i("!l I"8r!$+r'+re% !elecommunications, "ehicles, safety e&uipment EHIKE&uipment, systems and staff for early warning, e"acuation, interdictionHe!l+*K C("?e"+i("!l I"8r!$+r'+reKhospitals, ambulances EHIK med$e"ac "ehicles >trucks, boats, helicopters?, field hospitalsE"?ir("e"+ E"er&) C("$er?!+i("K C("?e"+i("!l I"8r!$+r'+reKschools, 8@A facilities, "ehicles, earthmo"inge&uipment EHIK monitoring;telemetry stations, a&uatic;terrestrial sur"i"al e&uipmentCl+re !"d Heri+!&eK

C("?e"+i("!l I"8r!$+r'+re% broadcasting stations, hotels, communitycenters;stadia

EHI% hotels and centers for emergency housing, radio;tele"ision foralerts;reportingCi?il S('ie+)K C("?e"+i("!l I"8r!$+r'+re% municipal buildings, 3) offices, "ehicles,databases EHIKstaff;facilities;systems for ci"il defense and emergency managementMi&r!+i(" Re8&ee$K

C("?e"+i("!l I"8r!$+r'+re% facilities for moderate shelter;food;medicalneeds EHIKback$up facilities for o"erflow transients suffering dire health and welfareneedsI"+er"!+i("!l Rel!+i("$K

C("?e"+i("!l I"8r!$+r'+re% buildings, hotlines, peacekeeping bases EHI% mutual agreements for access to search$and$rescue e&uipment, expertise

5ast fall, an intense series of hurricanes and tropical storms hit Haiti-s southern

and west$central coasts !here was historic damage and loss of life Flooding fromland and sea cut road access to numerous metropolitan areas and towns In themidst of it, Haiti had no commensurate resources, strategy and infrastructure toreach and rescue the "ictims It had to wait for the Bnited 9tates to di"ert itswarship B99 Cearsarge >5HA2? from *olombia to Haiti n arri"al, Cearsarge-screw, in landing craft and helicopters, began mo"ing cargo and e&uipmentbetween (ort$au$(rince and )onai"es, Deremie, 9aint


7/12

RAIL SYSTEM FOR HAITImong *aribbean and *entral merican countries, rail systems are being re"i"edor started anew in *uba, Damaica, Aominican 8epublic and )uatemala 6orldwide,more than . new rail pro#ects are listed and described by railway$technologycom, /the website for the railway industry0 !he technologies arepro"en, the "arieties range from hea"y to light to metro rail, and the purposesrange from exclusi"ely urban commuter, to tourist passenger to industrial andagricultural hauling

re"iew of the literature shows that rail systems ha"e lower costs, higherefficiencies, less en"ironmental impact and more social de"elopment potentialthan con"entional highways and pri"ate "ehicles Indeed, countries all o"er theworld are shopping for, designing and in"esting in rail systems as a way to reduceurban traffic and air pollution, conser"e energy, appeal to tourists, stimulate andfacilitate rural de"elopment and speed the deli"ery of food and fiber products tomarket s implied in this proposal, Haiti has an additional distincti"e and urgentreason for a rail network !hat is, emergency response to a long, disaster$pronecoastal 'one and to an isolated interior when large amounts of humanitariansupplies, food, water, medicine, earthmo"ing e&uipment, etc must be promptlydeli"ered and multitudes of extremely poor disaster "ictims found, rescued,e"acuated and;or safely resettled

6hat would a rail network with EHI capability look like 6here would it go andwhom would it ser"e 9ome thought has been gi"en to this because up to now,Haiti has not had a national rail network !here were only short tramways in andaround (ort$au$(rince, going back more than a hundred years ago, and a few tensof kilometers in and around 5eogagne, 9t


8/12

!he second line, one that goes fifty or more miles northward from (ort$au$(rincethrough rchahaie, 9t


9/12

!he pattern and se&uence of de"elopment of subse&uent lines would be a matterfor public discussion, study, decision and demonstration pro#ects, financed in partor wholly by the proposed endowment Interior flooding and isolation is alsopre"alent along the corridor approx = miles eastward to the Aominican 8epublic,and a corridor of similar distance northeastward to


10/12

HAITIAN-ORIGINATED RAIL AND FERRY INDUSTRY6hile early components and expertise for the en"isioned EHI system may ha"e tobe purchased from abroad, this need not be the case fore"er Indeed, the writerhas already spent years working with Haitian and Haitian$merican organi'ationsto de"elop programs and strategies that could be of immediate instrumental "alue

to EHI for Haiti ne example, the /5akou$Haiti0 program of !he Haitian 5eague[appended], is a fast$track modular education and training concept that couldpro"ide a continual supply of skilled workers for rail and ferry crews alikenother, the municipal capacity$building program of Haiti )ou"ernance [yiti)ou"enans] in the Far 3orth 6est department [appended] can be used nationwideto prepare and operate the expected ports and storage facilities !hese and otherforward$looking experiments and models abound in Haiti on a small scale, lackingonly the /economic stimulus package0 necessary to go nationwide 6ith funding,the proposed endowment can fix that

+eyond the matter of rail and ferry crews, there are the matters of manufacturingthe actual rails, engines, cars and "essels 3ear$term, all components will ha"e to

be purchased abroad


11/12

fuel and "irtually nothing remains from its once$abundant forests 3ear$term, allfuel will ha"e to be purchased from abroad, but mid$ and long$term, the proposedendowment will encourage, test and look to the task of de"eloping sufficientrenewable supplies from within the country !he #ury is still out on whatcombination of sources is ultimately best for a national rail$and$ferry EHI networklready, Italy has e&uipped a train of ten cars with photo"oltaic panels that supplythe auxiliary onboard e&uipment, as shown here

A NOTE ON COSTS recent re"iew of current rail pro#ects in the range of = miles or less indicate adesign$phase cost of approx M1 million, with final capital costs of a billiondollars or more depending on chosen e&uipment, energy source>s? and landac&uisition nnual operations and maintenance costs are not generally publishedbut could be obtained with further research lmost all systems seem to ha"e

some le"el of go"ernment subsidy, abo"e what is collected from passenger faresand freight charges

5arge, new custom$built ferries for hundreds of passengers can cost tens ofmillions of dollars, but smaller ones including those fairly new and refurbished forinner sea tra"el may be a"ailable in the = million dollar range or less perationsand maintenance costs will depend on the fleet selected for Haiti



12/12

FUNDING REUESTB9M.$2 billion dollars is re&uested to create the proposed endowment for EssentialHumanitarian Infrastructure for Haiti [EHI$Haiti] pproximately M1 billion each willbe reser"ed for the de"elopment of rail and ferry systems !he balance will bea"ailable for associated education, training, health, en"ironmental, energy, localcapacity$building, agriculture, reforestation, rural and urban renewal programswith EHI content *are will be taken to meter the use of funds so as to a"oideconomically destabili'ing the country, inflating the cost of li"ing, attractingunscrupulous parties, etc >+y comparison, the budget of Haiti-s nationalgo"ernment is approx a half$billion dollars per year, and total pri"ate remittancesof Haitian$mericans to friends and families /back home0 is estimated as approxone billion dollars per year?

E"entual awards and assistance will be made on the condition that grantors andpartners agree to commit their resources and capabilities for humanitarianemergency response when conditions re&uire n extensi"e program ofmonitoring, e"aluation, accountability, checks and balances among all participantswill be created and implemented Initially, funds will be recei"ed by the =1>c?2nonprofit and tax$exempt International gency for Economic Ae"elopmentNiaedorgO based in 3ew 4ork *ity From there, the writer and others will create alogical and coordinated board of trustees to apportion and manage amounts andresponsibilities in distinct categories It is en"isioned that trustees will includeHaitians and Haitian$mericans with fiduciary experience who are fully committedto honest, transparent and unified use of money and implementation of EHI goalsand ob#ecti"es for Haiti

!he writer seeks a long$term renewable contract for professional ser"ices, and withothers will be responsible for recruiting needed additional staff, consultants, etc

!his is a conceptual proposal to fulfill an urgent need for essential humanitarian

infrastructure [EHI] in Haiti It is the writer-s original concept and strategy foraddressing critical problems, based on a re&uest for a no"el mass transportationprogram for Haiti !he writer has more than ten years experience working withand for Haitians, and more than forty years- experience in the fields ofen"ironment, health, education, community de"elopment, pro#ect design,technology and international relations

n initial immediate draw of B9M1 million is re&uested to permit the writer andothers to create a detailed business plan, seek and recruit technical andmanagerial expertise, assemble initial &uotes for assessment, design andconstruction of facilities and purchase of e&uipment, re&uests for proposals forinitial awards, etc !hank you

Leiderman: Essential Humanitarian Infrastructure for Haiti, 20091.

Date post:	04-Jun-2018
Category:	Documents
Upload:	leiderman
View:	220 times
Download:	0 times

treatise on essential humanitarian infrastructure for haiti - stuart leiderman

Documents