ESSENTIAL HUMANITARIAN INFRASTRUCTURE FOR HAITI [EHI-HAITI] FEBRUARY 2009

COASTAL FERRY LIGHT RAIL

Leiderman: Essential Humanitarian Infrastructure for Haiti, 2009

ESSENTIAL HUMANITARIAN INFRASTRUCTURE FOR HAITI [EHI-HAITI]

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

E,ECUTI-E SUMMARY Funding is sought to create a large endowment to help examine, finance, design, build and manage essential humanitarian infrastructure [EHI] in Haiti, including the education and training of the necessary skilled labor and expertise for those systems !he en"isioned endowment will be nonprofit, transparent and accountable It will be able to initiate and #oin a "ariety of public$pri"ate partnerships It will answer the desire for unity of purpose and capability among Haitians 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, personal property and freight in normal times with the capability for swift and massi"e humanitarian response during emergencies !his is because the lack of mass transportation has chronically paraly'ed the country (eople and property are exposed to recurrent hurricanes, agricultural regions are isolated from where farm products are most needed, and millions of in"oluntary migrants are held "irtually capti"e in the degrading slums of (ort$au$(rince, )onai"es and *ap Haitien +y contrast, modern and interconnected rail and ferry ser"ice, with accompanying terminals, docks and markets will allow access to and from the whole country Haitians 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 people return to the countryside, lea"ing behind the s&ualid, "ulnerable coastal cities that ha"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 other de"elopment sectors, including agriculture, economy, education, #ustice and human rights, health, en"ironment, energy and conser"ation, culture and heritage, ci"il society, migration and international relations ,wards, contracts and other assistance will be made on the basis of merit and recipients- readiness and willingness to respond during emergencies

Leiderman: Essential Humanitarian Infrastructure for Haiti, 2009

INTRODUCTION !he durable, manmade systems, e&uipment, facilities and staffing responsible for the smooth functioning of society and rapid response to threats and reco"ery from disasters are collecti"ely known as /infrastructure0 In general, these include publicly$owned constructions such as highways, airports, bridges, municipal buildings, water supply and sewage systems Infrastructure may also include pri"ately$held components such as electric plants, communications towers, fuel transmission 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 the potential &uality of life for billions of people Especially in small, densely populated, democratically emerging countries such as Haiti, the poor or absent condition 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, poorly interconnected and "ulnerable to disruption ,ccess from town to town and farm to market is difficult, roads are seldom surfaced and repaired, water wells are scarce, sewage and solid wastes are dangerously disposed, pipelines fre&uently rupture, electricity and communications are intermittent, other utilities may be unaffordable and ci"il ser"ices may be absent 1"erall, the infrastructure ne"er reliably ser"es or protects the people but instead significantly shortens li"es and de"alues property ,nd in emergencies, when humanitarian response is greatly slowed or blocked altogether, the "ictims may ne"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"al resources .ESSENTIAL HUMANITARIAN INFRASTRUCTURE/ [EHI] DEFINED , minimum amount, &uality and combination of linked infrastructure components pro"iding basic communications, con"eyances, public safety, mobility, sustenance, storage and energy are re&uired for national sur"i"al, response and reco"ery during emergencies !his /essential humanitarian infrastructure0 [EHI] has se"eral dimensions, including "ariety, &uantity, &uality, redundancy, distribution, strength, endurance, flexibility and coordination !he purpose of EHI is to maintain a country-s lifelines and defense capabilities until the population can return to normal !he exact combination of EHI will "ary from country to country, but can be estimated and tested from historical experience, simulation exercises, master plans and population settlement trends From this, national leaders can express preference for ac&uiring and de"eloping these components when they confer with foreign aid donors, trading partners, international banks, charities, foundations, philanthropists, churches and non$go"ernmental organi'ations !o date, Haiti does not 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 constantly running on less than EHI, e"en in /good times 0 ,mong the causes are po"erty, ignorance, theft, sabotage, corruption, poor planning and taxation, competiti"e disad"antage compared to large countries, brain$drain, internal and external 2
Leiderman: Essential Humanitarian Infrastructure for Haiti, 2009

political and economic pressures and recurring cycles of storms, droughts, floods and landslides !hese ine"itably create an atmosphere of cultural depression, anxiety, apathy, aggression and disease that gi"e the impression that this deplorable norm is /as good as it gets0 +ut ultimately, when only shards of infrastructure remain, national collapse follows and the country becomes a failed state 0RIORITI1ING EHI FOR HAITI It 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 barely tolerate for e"en a single weekend in the woods 5ife in Haiti today is not /your father-s 6oodstock0
HAITI AT A GLANCE

Are!2 !%%r(3. 242000 $5 6 7C!li8(r"i!2 9:002000 $5 6 ; C(!$+li"e2 !%%r(3. <2400 6 7C!li8(r"i!2 =<2:00 6 ; Le$$ +*!" 2> (8 8(re$+ '(?er re !i"$ 7C!li8 !%%r(3. @0> 8(re$+ed; 0(%Al!+i("2 !%%r(3. 9 illi(" 0(%Al!+i(" de"$i+)2 !%%r(3. @00B$5 6 7C!li82 !%%r(3. 90B$5 6 ; L!C(r 8(r'e2 !%%r(3. : illi(" 0(%Al!+i(" Cel(D %(?er+) li"e2 !%%r(3. 40> E:> li?e (" le$$ +*!" USF<Bd!)G H4> (" le$$ +*!" USF2Bd!) Li+er!')2 !&e <@ (r (lder2 :0I> Li8e e3%e'+!"') !+ Cir+*2 J0 )e!r$ I"8!"+ (r+!li+) r!+e i$ J0B<2000 li?e Cir+*$ N!+i("!l CAd&e+K !%%r(3. USF< Cilli("B)e!r F(rei&" !id re'ei?edK !%%r(3. USFE00 illi("B)r E3+er"!l deC+K !%%r(3. USF<.E Cilli("

Leiderman: Essential Humanitarian Infrastructure for Haiti, 2009

For the purpose of analysis, examples of broad de"elopment sectors in Haiti can be arbitrarily grouped, and their realms generally described as follows% A&ri'Al+AreK 5and use, soil fertility, e&uipment, supplies, &uality control, exports E'("( )K commerce, manufacturing, employment, in"estment, planning M!" !de CAildi"&$2 '("?e)!"'e$2 8!'ili+ie$K 8oads, ports, communications, electricity, water, wastes EdA'!+i("K 5iteracy, teachers, schools, early$, mid$ and lifelong learning LA$+i'e2 Se'Ari+)2 HA !" Ri&*+$K 5awmaking, enforcement, courts, prisons, tra"el, fostering democratic principles and the rule of law He!l+*K 3utrition, disease pre"ention, facilities, doctors, nurses, insurance E"?ir(" e"+2 E"er&)2 C("$er?!+i("K 9oil, water, air &uality, reforestation, ecological restoration, renewable energy, land use CAl+Are !"d Heri+!&eK !ourism, sports, holidays, performances, religious practice Ci?il S('ie+)K (ublic participation, candidacies, elections, ci"il rights and pri"ileges, urban and rural life Mi&r!+i("2 Re8A&ee$K :oluntary and in"oluntary displacement I"+er"!+i("!l Rel!+i("$K *aribbean, hemispheric, global initiati"es;treaties;cooperation 6ithin each of the de"elopment sectors are sets of con"entional infrastructure used on a daily basis ,nd within each of these sets are subsets of facilities and capabilities that could and should be a"ailable as essential humanitarian infrastructure [EHI] for response, relief and reco"ery during emergencies% A&ri'Al+AreK C("?e"+i("!l I"8r!$+rA'+AreK reser"oirs and irrigation e&uipment for crop production EHIK strategically$placed catchments;pump stations for fire fighting, flood drainage E'("( )K C("?e"+i("!l I"8r!$+rA'+AreK docks, ports, warehouses for importing and exporting EHIK dedicated locations and buildings to recei"e;distribute humanitarian supplies M!" !de CAildi"&$2 '("?e)!"'e$2 8!'ili+ie$K C("?e"+i("!l I"8r!$+rA'+AreK stationary fossil$fuel electric generating stations EHIK portable solar and wind$powered electric generators that can be brought onsite EdA'!+i("K C("?e"+i("!l I"8r!$+rA'+Are% classrooms, libraries, school buses EHI% <ultipurpose buildings and grounds for recei"ing;treating e"acuees

Leiderman: Essential Humanitarian Infrastructure for Haiti, 2009

LA$+i'e2 Se'Ari+)2 HA !" Ri&*+$K C("?e"+i("!l I"8r!$+rA'+Are% !elecommunications, "ehicles, safety e&uipment EHIK E&uipment, systems and staff for early warning, e"acuation, interdiction He!l+*K C("?e"+i("!l I"8r!$+rA'+AreK hospitals, ambulances EHIK med$e"ac "ehicles >trucks, boats, helicopters?, field hospitals E"?ir(" e"+2 E"er&)2 C("$er?!+i("K C("?e"+i("!l I"8r!$+rA'+AreK schools, 8@A facilities, "ehicles, earthmo"ing e&uipment EHIK monitoring;telemetry stations, a&uatic;terrestrial sur"i"al e&uipment CAl+Are !"d Heri+!&eK C("?e"+i("!l I"8r!$+rA'+Are% broadcasting stations, hotels, community centers;stadia EHI% hotels and centers for emergency housing, radio;tele"ision for alerts;reporting Ci?il S('ie+)K C("?e"+i("!l I"8r!$+rA'+Are% municipal buildings, 3)1 offices, "ehicles, databases EHIK staff;facilities;systems for ci"il defense and emergency management Mi&r!+i("2 Re8A&ee$K C("?e"+i("!l I"8r!$+rA'+Are% facilities for moderate shelter;food;medical needs EHIK back$up facilities for o"erflow transients suffering dire health and welfare needs I"+er"!+i("!l Rel!+i("$K C("?e"+i("!l I"8r!$+rA'+Are% 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$central coasts !here was historic damage and loss of life Flooding from land and sea cut road access to numerous metropolitan areas and towns In the midst of it, Haiti had no commensurate resources, strategy and infrastructure to reach and rescue the "ictims It had to wait for the Bnited 9tates to di"ert its warship B 9 9 Cearsarge >5HA2? from *olombia to Haiti 1n arri"al, Cearsarge-s crew, in landing craft and helicopters, began mo"ing cargo and e&uipment between (ort$au$(rince and )onai"es, Deremie, 9aint <arc, (ort de (aix, Dacmel and 5es *ayes, i e most of Haiti-s coastal 'one, more than 1EEE miles long ,s noted by the B 9 9outhern *ommand, /,ny B 9 military assistance to a foreign nation must be re&uested by the host nation through the B 9 ambassador !hen, as the lead federal agent, B9,IAFs 1ffice of Foreign Aisaster ,ssistance fields the re&uest and asks the Aepartment of Aefense for military assistance, if needed 0 1ne can only imagine the helplessness and anxiety of Haiti-s leaders when they had to appeal to ,merica, not always friendly, for the help of a warship and crew !his experience punctuates and #ustifies Haiti-s need for its own essential humanitarian infrastructure [EHI], particularly rail and ferry systems

Leiderman: Essential Humanitarian Infrastructure for Haiti, 2009

RAIL SYSTEM FOR HAITI ,mong *aribbean and *entral ,merican countries, rail systems are being re"i"ed or started anew in *uba, Damaica, Aominican 8epublic and )uatemala 6orldwide, more than .EE new rail pro#ects are listed and described by railway$ technology com, /the website for the railway industry 0 !he technologies are pro"en, the "arieties range from hea"y to light to metro rail, and the purposes range from exclusi"ely urban commuter, to tourist passenger to industrial and agricultural hauling , re"iew of the literature shows that rail systems ha"e lower costs, higher efficiencies, less en"ironmental impact and more social de"elopment potential than con"entional highways and pri"ate "ehicles Indeed, countries all o"er the world are shopping for, designing and in"esting in rail systems as a way to reduce urban traffic and air pollution, conser"e energy, appeal to tourists, stimulate and facilitate rural de"elopment and speed the deli"eryH of food and fiber products to market ,s implied in this proposal, Haiti has an additional distincti"e and urgent reason for a rail network !hat is, emergency response to a long, disaster$prone coastal 'one and to an isolated interior when large amounts of humanitarian supplies, food, water, medicine, earthmo"ing e&uipment, etc must be promptly deli"ered and multitudes of extremely poor disaster "ictims found, rescued, e"acuated and;or safely resettled 6hat would a rail network with EHI capability look likeI 6here would it go and whom would it ser"eI 9ome thought has been gi"en to this because up to now, Haiti has not had a national rail network !here were only short tramways in and around (ort$au$(rince, going back more than a hundred years ago, and a few tens of kilometers in and around 5eogagne, 9t <arc, )onai"es and *ap Haitien, some sur"i"ing into the 1J=E-s !here were also some agricultural tracks in a few places along the northern coast during the early 1JEE-s +ut there hasn-t been a national network of rail For the sake of discussion, a first installation could be a demonstration line that connects downtown (ort$au$(rince with the international airport, approximately =$ 1E miles distant from different parts of the city Engine plus passenger and dining cars could be purchased abroad and placed on new track, with depots on each end of the route !his use would combine new, safe and efficient transit for international tra"elers, plus offer dining, meeting and recreational riding opportunities for city residents and "isitors !he train could be kept in continual motion or parked in different locations for mealtimes, special occasions and public relations !he route is fairly away from the coast, flat and already urbani'ed

Leiderman: Essential Humanitarian Infrastructure for Haiti, 2009

!he second line, one that goes fifty or more miles northward from (ort$au$(rince through ,rchahaie, 9t <arc and to )onai"es, might begin to address specific EHI goals and ob#ecti"es !hese are ma#or coastal cities that ha"e been repeatedly hit and damaged by hurricanes in recent memory Auring hurricane season, the roads are fre&uently and dishearteningly impassible , rail line would ha"e to be safely inland, likely to the north and east of Haiti-s 8oute 1 !he terrible conse&uences and constant fear of flooding and isolation in this populated coastal plain cannot be o"erstated, as shown in the accompanying photographs

Leiderman: Essential Humanitarian Infrastructure for Haiti, 2009

!he pattern and se&uence of de"elopment of subse&uent lines would be a matter for public discussion, study, decision and demonstration pro#ects, financed in part or wholly by the proposed endowment Interior flooding and isolation is also pre"alent along the corridor approx =E miles eastward to the Aominican 8epublic, and a corridor of similar distance northeastward to <irebalais where storms last fall destroyed a ma#or road bridge and link to the *entral (lateau region !ransportation routes along the north coast of the southern peninsula were also disrupted FERRY SYSTEM FOR HAITI )i"en Haiti-s claw$shaped, west$facing coastline, it is startling to reali'e how near and accessible the big coastal cities would be if a fleet of ferries were operating in this *aribbean cul de sac surrounding the large island of 5a )ona"e !he widest transit distance from northern to southern peninsula is only approx a hundred miles !his means that a large portion of Haiti-s population could be reached by water in a matter of hours, not days , fleet of 1E$.E "essels normally transporting passengers, tourists, agricultural and freight along and across this inland sea could be instantly and ad"antageously pressed into ser"ice before and after the passage of hurricanes or other troubles Aepending on their si'e and seaworthiness, larger "essels might e"en be able to operate during storms 6arehouses on 5a )ona"e, halfway across the cul de sac, could hold large &uantities of food, water and relief supplies From there, deli"ery to (ort$au$(rince, 9t <arc, )onai"es, etc would only be a few hours ,dding a second fleet of approx ten "essels to ser"e the outside north coast and another of similar si'e to ser"e the outside south coast would offer an unprecedented /gift of mobility0 for millions of Haitians during both normal times and emergencies THE SYNERGY OF RAIL AND FERRY 8ail and ferry systems are intrinsically different but, for a small country with Haiti-s geographical configuration, they become complementary when combined in a national EHI transportation network 8ailroads ha"e fixed paths but can economically and &uickly deli"er or pick up extremely large loads of passengers and goods on almost a continuous basis Ferries ha"e fixed capacities to deli"er and pick up loads and passengers but are extremely flexible in terms of their paths o"er water ,n interconnected system could bring railheads and docks together in twenty or more ma#or locations ,nd if desired, inland ferries could also operate across 5akes (eligre and ,'uei ,s shown in the accompanying photograph, Haitians with small boats are already ferrying emergency supplies across the latter to isolated communities during the current episode of extreme flooding

Leiderman: Essential Humanitarian Infrastructure for Haiti, 2009

HAITIAN-ORIGINATED RAIL AND FERRY INDUSTRY 6hile early components and expertise for the en"isioned EHI system may ha"e to be purchased from abroad, this need not be the case fore"er Indeed, the writer has already spent years working with Haitian and Haitian$,merican organi'ations to de"elop programs and strategies that could be of immediate instrumental "alue to EHI for Haiti 1ne example, the /5akou$Haiti0 program of !he Haitian 5eague [appended], is a fast$track modular education and training concept that could pro"ide a continual supply of skilled workers for rail and ferry crews alike ,nother, the municipal capacity$building program of Haiti )ou"ernance [,yiti )ou"enans] in the Far 3orth 6est department [appended] can be used nationwide to prepare and operate the expected ports and storage facilities !hese and other forward$looking experiments and models abound in Haiti on a small scale, lacking only the /economic stimulus package0 necessary to go nationwide 6ith funding, the proposed endowment can fix that +eyond the matter of rail and ferry crews, there are the matters of manufacturing the actual rails, engines, cars and "essels 3ear$term, all components will ha"e to be purchased abroad <id$term, imports could be limited to undercarriages, dri"e trains, sheet steel and electronics, with bodies and hulls made within the country 5ong$term, the proposed endowment could help create a combined rail$and$ nautical engineering academy with accompanying yards for the professional construction of EHI trains and "essels Finally, beyond the matters of staffing and manufacture is the critical sub#ect of energy sources for a rail and ferry network Haiti has no pro"en reser"es of fossil

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Leiderman: Essential Humanitarian Infrastructure for Haiti, 2009

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

A NOTE ON COSTS , recent re"iew of current rail pro#ects in the range of =E miles or less indicate a design$phase cost of approx M1EE million, with final capital costs of a billion dollars or more depending on chosen e&uipment, energy source>s? and land ac&uisition ,nnual operations and maintenance costs are not generally published but could be obtained with further research ,lmost all systems seem to ha"e some le"el of go"ernment subsidy, abo"e what is collected from passenger fares and freight charges 5arge, new custom$built ferries for hundreds of passengers can cost tens of millions of dollars, but smaller ones including those fairly new and refurbished for inner sea tra"el may be a"ailable in the = million dollar range or less 1perations and maintenance costs will depend on the fleet selected for Haiti

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Leiderman: Essential Humanitarian Infrastructure for Haiti, 2009

FUNDING REMUEST B9M.$2 billion dollars is re&uested to create the proposed endowment for Essential Humanitarian Infrastructure for Haiti [EHI$Haiti] ,pproximately M1 billion each will be reser"ed for the de"elopment of rail and ferry systems !he balance will be a"ailable for associated education, training, health, en"ironmental, energy, local capacity$building, agriculture, reforestation, rural and urban renewal programs with EHI content *are will be taken to meter the use of funds so as to a"oid economically destabili'ing the country, inflating the cost of li"ing, attracting unscrupulous parties, etc >+y comparison, the budget of Haiti-s national go"ernment is approx a half$billion dollars per year, and total pri"ate remittances of Haitian$,mericans to friends and families /back home0 is estimated as approx one billion dollars per year ? E"entual awards and assistance will be made on the condition that grantors and partners agree to commit their resources and capabilities for humanitarian emergency response when conditions re&uire ,n extensi"e program of monitoring, e"aluation, accountability, checks and balances among all participants will be created and implemented Initially, funds will be recei"ed by the =E1>c?2 nonprofit and tax$exempt International ,gency for Economic Ae"elopment Niaed orgO based in 3ew 4ork *ity From there, the writer and others will create a logical and coordinated board of trustees to apportion and manage amounts and responsibilities in distinct categories It is en"isioned that trustees will include Haitians and Haitian$,mericans with fiduciary experience who are fully committed to honest, transparent and unified use of money and implementation of EHI goals and ob#ecti"es for Haiti !he writer seeks a long$term renewable contract for professional ser"ices, and with others 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 for addressing critical problems, based on a re&uest for a no"el mass transportation program for Haiti !he writer has more than ten years experience working with and for Haitians, and more than forty years- experience in the fields of en"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 and others to create a detailed business plan, seek and recruit technical and managerial expertise, assemble initial &uotes for assessment, design and construction of facilities and purchase of e&uipment, re&uests for proposals for initial awards, etc !hank you

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Leiderman: Essential Humanitarian Infrastructure for Haiti, 2009