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Marine biologist

Marine biologist Jean Wiener and his environmental project

Marine biologist Jean Wiener and his environmental project

Here is a picture of Haitian Marine biologist Jean Wiener in the coastal town of Cap Haitien, teaching some of the locals how to better protect the sea.

Haiti was once famous for its pristine beaches. Nowadays, it is more known with its extreme poverty and its resulting environmental damages. The situation has worsened further since the 2010 earthquake. The virgin forests that once covered the entire country have now been reduced to 2% of the total land area, losing 3% of its forests every year. Many homeless people now live in the streets full of garbage. Jean Wiener, a Haitian marine biologist in the northern coastal town of Cap Haitien, is trying to convince Haitians the need to protect the sea. In 2014, while working with the community to promote sustainable fishing practices, he has created the country's first marine protected area, a national park named 'Three Bays National Park'. The protected marine land is a large swath in the Haiti's north coast covering 30,000 square miles (75,000 sq km) stretching from the city of Cap Haitien to the border with the Dominican Republican; it protects the vulnerable eco-system of the over-fished waters in the bays of Limonade, Caracol and Fort Liberté. Wiener, for his effort, has won a prominent U.S. environmental activism prize valuing $175,000, the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2015.

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