Haiti - Future trends

Haiti faces seemingly insurmountable problems in the years to come. Its environment is damaged, probably beyond repair, and its agricultural sector will require huge investment for regeneration. There is no sign that the country's ecological disaster can be reversed. The government's proposed land reform program would have to guarantee viable farms for many more producers, with assistance with technology. The manufacturing sector will also face huge problems, most notably in competition from other low-cost economies such as the Dominican Republic.

Much will depend on the political relationship forged between the Haitian government and the Bush administration, which contains political figures hostile to Aris-tide and his populism. Haiti will remain dependent on foreign aid in the future and will look to the EU to pay for joint projects with the Dominican Republic. The country's greatest obstacle to sustainable development, however, remains its stubbornly high levels of poverty and deprivation, leading to huge social inequalities and political volatility.