Tag: Center for International Earth Science Information Network

Overcoming Challenges to Local Development in Haiti

by | 2.26.2013 at 5:09pm | 1 Comment
The maintenance and management of local water systems is frequently the responsibility of the municipal councils and community water committees. The local municipal council report using their limited budget to support repairs and upgrades of these systems but never have sufficient funds. Photo:CIESIN

Haiti Dialogue Series: Should funds be more effectively channeled through the Haitian government, a decentralized finance program could help streamline financing and reinforce local government planning efforts. As part of the Haiti Research and Policy Program dialogue series, Tatiana Wah was joined by Leslie Pean to discuss possible approaches to achieving the call for decentralization in Haiti that has been a part of the country’s development plans for decades, with renewed efforts after the 2010 earthquake. Most current international aid and development funding circumvents the government ministries at the national level. The lack of dedicated local budgets, as well as a weak incentive structure to attract or retain skilled professionals who are capable of complex governance, is a considerable hurdle for any decentralization proposal in Haiti.

The Intersection of Population and Elevation Examined

The estimated number of people in 2010 living at different elevation levels across several Southern Asian countries.

This map shows the estimated number of people in 2010 living at different elevation levels across several Southern Asian countries. The database it’s taken from lets users without specialized geospatial training or software compare populations in various environmental contexts in different countries.

A Sustainable Future for Haiti

by | 2.4.2010 at 5:00pm

The 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck southern Haiti on January 12 caused massive destruction to human life and infrastructure—as many as 3 million people have been affected. The Earth Institute’s Haiti Policy Advisor, Tatiana Wah, who was in the country at the time of the earthquake, works with the Haitian government to develop, analyze, implement [...]