5 CONCLUSIONS
This study took place in a context of unavailability and/or
inaccessibility of data. Even the basic spatial information could not be
obtained from official sources on the Internet. The web pages of the
institutions in charge of the production and distribution of spatial data, or
information in general were projected to be constructed soon or were under
perpetual construction. It took a great amount of effort to generate most of
the features through a long and arduous process of digitization of most of the
data. Often assumptions had to be made to avoid having to collect more data.
The difficulties encountered reveal the requirements for a greater flexibility
of data exchange conditions between institutions, and between institution and
the public, as well as the needs for a better integration of spatial data
available. Furthermore, it is a pressing demand to produce geographic
information at higher resolution in a way to enable researchers to address
issues at the level of communities. Very general spatial information can not
lead to anything but this congenital practice of confounding semantics and
pragmatism. Information, particularly in such disinherited and poor
environment as Haiti, may not be used to confer power to individuals or
institutions. Rather it may constitute a power to promote changes starting at
individual and community levels. We advocate cost efficient strategies to
produce spatial data and make them available to anyone anywhere through the
Internet, even for purchasing.
This study, a first of its kind for Port-au-Prince, attempted to
delineate at-risk neighborhoods for nine environmental health hazards. Though
traditionally the focus has been oriented toward natural hazards, which in
nature are more discreet and whose manifestation leads to direct observation
and quantification, this study reveals that health hazards are not a mental
invention. These hazards are continuous, constant, perilous, and daily affect
a large part of the population. The lack of information and the complexity
posed by quantitative assessment must not lead to the minimization or the
abstraction of such a precarious and deadly phenomenon. This work may
represent a first geographic inventory of environmental health-related hazards
in Port-au-Prince. By relating its occurrence to the underlying causes, it
offers the ability to intervene in specific areas and targeting a specific
factor. To this respect, we strongly encourage the use of the SDE as a
suitable spatial study unit for the collection of data pertaining to a large
array of fields. This approach can strongly facilitate the insight of phenomena
at small community level and promote participation.
High housing density, traffic, waste, streams, and the sea coast
represent the main sources or pollution in Port-au-Prince. However the impact
of the other sources must not be overlooked. They are very serious in the
specific environment and institutional setting of Port-au-Prince.
While the geographic delineation of the hazards may not be exact
in its spatial shape and extent, one confidence remains: the issues addressed
exist and exist in the neighborhoods indicated. Without any field data the
categorization brought out by the ordinal approach remains subjective and
depends on the researcher's perception of the reality under study.
Nevertheless it has the merits of pinpointing areas where environmental health
risks might reasonably be incident and offers the ability to make different
assumptions and adjusting the results on the fly. Various combination and
reclassification techniques likely to influence the output were assessed and
demonstrated the high sensitivity of the model to change in its parameters.
As a specific outcome of this study, the prime interest of any
program aiming to reduce population's vulnerability to health hazards should
focus on these areas identified as at very high risk. They are located
particularly in neighborhoods with very high housing density, which also host
an array of other environmental hazards such as air pollution from traffic,
waste, water bodies and the coastline. By relating these risked areas specific
hazards that threaten them the strategy to adopt becomes less ambiguous.
This study is not complete without a ground truth survey
consisting of collecting information and taking specific measurements on
various pollution factors included in the model. Very limited in time, budget
and other resources, the scope of this study would not allow such
investigation. Information gathered on the field not only would allow
validating the results but equally would enable establishing strong rationale
for hazards delineation and vulnerability scaling. At least the outcome is
deemed a first but important step by defining specific area where distinct
interventions can be done.
| 
