GEO Haiti 2010

State of the Environment Report 2010
Figure 47: Map on Land Occupation
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Source: CNIGS, 2009
The evolution in the Haitian plant cover was rapid.
According to information from 2003, in the 15 th
century, 85% of Haiti’s territory was covered by
trees (Barthelemy, 2003), this percentage falling to
75% at the beginning of the French colonization
towards the end of the 17 th century (Hilaire,
1995).
Throughout the colonial period, from 1664-1803,
the natural low-lying natural forests were replaced
by cane fields, while the mountainous areas, less
accessible, with coffee. According to Magny (1991),
the Haitian forestry coverage was estimated to
be around 50% at the end of this period. Forest-
clearing activities may also be explained by the
existence of a significant demand for wood energy
for the traditional sugar cane distilleries (guildives),
already in operation during the Spanish era (D’Ans,
1987).
At the beginning of the second half of the 1950s,
forestry cover already occupied only 20% of the
Haitian land space 37 . Less than 30 years later, in
1978, Haiti was already considered a sparselyforested
country (FAO, 2005a). Consequently, a
study was conducted by the MOE and the BME
(2007) to determine the state of the forest cover
up until the year 2000, not only in Haiti, but also at
regional level.
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