Green Building | September 16, 2010 |
Rebuilding a Sustainable Haiti: Best Green Building Practices in Developing Countries
Part 1 of a 3-part series. (See Part 2 and Part 3.) The January 12, 2010 earthquake in Haiti destroyed or severely damaged an estimated 200,000 homes, 30,000 commercial buildings, and 180 government buildings.Since the earthquake, building practices and guidelines in Haiti have been a topic of global discussion with many organizations inside and outside the country hoping to rebuild a more sustainable Haiti.
But the topic of sustainability in Haiti raises some challenging questions. What does sustainability mean in Haiti? What frameworks, green building practices, and measures of sustainability are appropriate? And is it possible to use the opportunity created by the disaster to help Haiti leapfrog in its development? How might the lessons learned in Haiti be models for sustainable building in other developing countries?
A critical element to rapid and permanent adoption of green building practices in Haiti is the creation of a framework based on an understanding of what sustainability means nationally, regionally, and especially locally. Green building frameworks such as the USGBC’s LEED and BREEAM in the United Kingdom are comprehensive frameworks that include detailed guidelines and economic, social, and environmental goals for sustainable buildings, but do they work in Haiti?
The USGBC’s LEED framework focuses on reducing environmental, social, and economic impacts through a point system that evaluates the elements of: Sustainable Site; Water Efficiency; Energy & Atmosphere; Materials and Resources; Indoor Environmental Quality; Locations and Linkages; Awareness and Education; Innovation in Design; and Regional Priorities. LEED is useful as a reference in creating a framework for Haiti and other developing countries in that it introduces most sustainability topics that should be considered in green building and provides a common language that green builders in the developed world understand. In the United States, LEED buildings use 26 percent less energy, cost 13 percent less to operate, and use less water – attributes which provide economic incentive for investors and builders.
However, reducing operating costs, and using less energy and water to create economic incentives are not the primary motivators to build green in Haiti. The way the sustainability concepts and metrics are interpreted in Haiti (and likely in other developing countries) leads to a different set of goals, standards, and measures.
In a recent discussion on rebuilding a more sustainable Haiti, Martin Hammer, a Berkeley, California based architect focusing on sustainable building systems and the lead for Builders Without Borders in Haiti, said “the primary meaning of ‘sustainability’ for most Haitians is survivability and affordability.” (August 2010 interview). Therefore building low-cost structures that also resist earthquakes and hurricanes are the highest priority.
Further, using less energy and water are not high priorities in Haiti. The challenge is to provide more energy, water, and sanitation to people who currently live without these basic services while reducing environmental, social and economic impacts of deforestation, pollution and disease related to current building and building use practices.
Photo by Martin Hammer
Thank you to Micah Press (http://www.linkedin.com/profile?viewProfile=&key=29306113&authToken=ddQk&authType=name) for his thoughtful research and support in developing this article.
Thera N. Kalmijn is CEO at SureGround and Co-Founder of the NGO, Helping Hands for a Sustainable Haiti. Join her at “The Haiti Huddle” (www.haitihuddle.com). Contact Thera at thera@suregroundsolutions.com (www.suregroundsolutions.com)
Reddit
Digg
Stumble
ShareThis
Comments By Readers
Houses that use less energy to operate could divert that energy budget to cooking on electric stoves instead of deforesting the land to create the charcoal they use to cook food. Lower water useage means more water available for sanitation. Less water in the sewers means less burden on the sewer which keeps spills and overflows to minimum. Minimum sewage to treat is less cost, less potential for disease formation. Most of these "less is more" items apply to Haiti and the problem is that these are societal solutions, but the article implies that the people only want personal solutions. Without leadership that's looking out for the current and future generations of Haiti, nothing will change. There is no reason why, if a toilet is required, provide only low-flow toilets and so on. Don't allow the old technologies back in just because that's what they are used to, that's how things don't progress.
Low-flow toilets is far too unimaginative an option worth considering.
Composting, or even simpler, sawdust toilets are an obvious solution -
especially in a total rebuild scenario in a tropical environment.
- smaller cheaper drainage system
- no blackwater in the drainage
- no consumption (i.e.waste) of scarce tapwater
- conversion of a perceived waste product into a soil fertility resource
North american/ european "solutions" are barely appropriate in those contexts, and must be summarily discarded in any sensible, sustainable rebuild scenario.
Low-flow toilets is far too unimaginative an option worth considering.
Composting, or even simpler, sawdust toilets are an obvious solution -
especially in a total rebuild scenario in a tropical environment.
- smaller cheaper drainage system
- no blackwater in the drainage
- no consumption (i.e.waste) of scarce tapwater
- conversion of a perceived waste product into a soil fertility resource
North american/ european "solutions" are barely appropriate in those contexts, and must be summarily discarded in any sensible, sustainable rebuild scenario.
Hi there
Definitely gonna recommend this post to a few friends
Usually one can find free <a href=http://www.articleseer.com/Art/229655/27/Should-You-Receive-Certified-Nurse-Assistant-Training.html>CNA training</a> thru private hospitals and as a consequence hiring managers. It is important to realize that the main colleges or possibly a systems routinely are not things that is going to be who offer free CNA system. To receive exercised to find free you'll want to contract staff give you to that the school and the best kinds eras they will pay for it.
Often medical centers in addition to nursing facilities use pacts due to area colleges and universities which allow them to communicate CNA young people to varsity with regard to more affordable the price. The following computes to make the places could be on the go with regards to CNA staffing, and also works out quite nicely to get the grad students which happen to be drawn to developing certified to provide a CNA.
An additional way the particular could probably get a hold of free CNA training is through getting in contact with oftentimes any armed forces, that will are more as compared with prepared to send to you that would CNA, LVN and consequently RN services. These shows continue to be wild, consequently they are ideal jobs while in the private earth. Check on the internet close by hiring establishments.
At long last in out of work the same as a number of people are currently, jobless attornies will also enjoyably get hold of CNA training. Typically the government is working hard getting individuals back in jobs, transforming into a CNA is mostly a immediately education and learning, especially a job may perhaps be most desirable. I realize a pair of somebody that has had been given free CNA official certification obtained in this formulation.
Possibly efficient seeking CNA degree when you consider that we want a job, and also ended up laid-off were at times not even most likely acquire the 900 budget to pay more for this specific college. Make sure that you tire out all of these the possibilites before taking in a mortgage. Quite often any time you search with enough contentration an individual solution tips to surely have this method paid designed for.
Hey - I am certainly delighted to find this. cool job!
I think that to receive the <a href="http://goodfinance-blog.com/topics/credit-loans">credit loans</a> from creditors you ought to have a firm motivation. Nevertheless, once I have got a college loan, just because I wanted to buy a bike.
Post Your Comment