Decree of 4 April 1944 declaring La Gonâve and La Tortue reserved zones
- The designation covers the whole of both islands, not a delimited catchment.
- No new cutting authorisation or concession may be granted after publication.
- All timber exploitation passes to the state agricultural service.
- The preamble links deforestation to a reduction in the islands' water potential, a connection already stated in 1944.
The decree of 4 April 1944, published in Le Moniteur No. 28 of 6 April 1944 under Élie Lescot.
The preamble states that intensive timber exploitation on La Gonâve and La Tortue has caused an alarming reduction in the islands' productive potential in water and wood. Article 1 declares the whole extent of national territory within the limits of the two islands a reserved zone. Article 2 bars any new authorisation or concession for wood cutting on them from publication. Article 3 confines all timber exploitation of any kind to the Service National de la Production Agricole et de l'Enseignement Rural, under conditions set by the departments of agriculture and labour and of commerce and the national economy.
A blanket designation of two whole islands is unusual among Haitian protected-area instruments, which normally delimit a catchment or a massif. La Gonâve remains one of the poorest and most deforested parts of the country, and the decree records that the deforestation and the water scarcity were already understood as linked in 1944.
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How to cite
Présidence de la République d'Haïti, Decree of 4 April 1944 declaring La Gonâve and La Tortue reserved zones, https://www.fao.org/faolex/country-profiles/general-profile/en/?iso3=HTI
- Rights holder
- Government of Haiti