GEO Haiti 2010

State of the Environment Report 2010
The table above highlights a 53% reduction in
2000 of the existing forest area in Haiti before
1990, while for the rest of the region, the reduction
was only of 11% during the same period. It also
shows that, in addition to being reduced, the areas
covered by vegetation are excessively exploited.
With regard to the country’s ecosystems
3.1 Complex Origin of Degradation
The causes of the plant cover degradation in
Haiti have been denounced by both experts and
population. These are multiple and complex, and
generally due to the low economic level of the
majority of the population.
3.1.1 Sustained Demand for
Wood Energy
The first cause mentioned rests on one of the
foundations of the Haitian economy: the energy
habits of scores of small- and medium-sized
enterprises, of the average Haitian, and possibly
also, of almost all residents country.
More than 70% of the energy needs of the country
come from wood or coal (SAINT-JEAN, 1998). This
situation is all the more serious as there is presently
no energy forest, which means that the supply of
firewood is continually taken from the remaining
wooded areas. In the year 2000 alone, the necessary
production for this consumption was 1,978,000 m 3
of firewood and coal (FAO, 2005a). Yet, at present
in Haiti 38 , between 15 and 20 million trees are still
cut down each year.
However efforts have been made, in particular by
the Mining and Energy Bureau (BME), to convert
the laundries and bakeries’ thermal combustion
systems to other sources of fuel, such as diesel.
Nevertheless, the obstacles to these efforts are
generally of a financial nature as the majority of
small and medium size-enterprises do not have
access to credit. Attempts at technology-transfer
and of modifications within household energyhabits
include improved wood or coal fireplaces,
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or propane gas stoves (LPG) or kerosene stoves,
solar water- heaters and stoves, and photovoltaic
current generators. However, these efforts have not
yielded any conclusive results, due to “institutional
problems and the absence of fiscal and legal
incentives” (MOE/BME, 2003).
3.1.2 Agriculture
In the opinion of specialists, land-clearing would
be the second cause of forest and woodland
regression in Haiti. Farming requires land and this
is also the most important economic activity in
the country. Therefore, non-agricultural vegetation
cover, found to be of little use, is razed and replaced
by crops with greater market value.
Over the years, due to the population explosion,
people have become more and more involved
in farming and, in turn, similarly, more and more
areas are cleared. On the other hand, the practice
of land inheritance, throughout generations, by
plot parceling, has led to land- clearing in order to
gain additional space.
Another feature of Haitian agriculture is that the
land is characteristically fallow for short periods. In
order to maximize the income from his land and
meet his many obligations, the farmer may ignore
the positive impact of this practice. Thus, the
productivity of the land declines yearly. Ultimately,
the farmer is left with almost sterile plots.
Facing with this situation, the destitute farmer
moves on to other unexplored areas and begins
land-clearing activities, and the destructive cycle
continues.
Figure 50: When Agriculture Nibbles into Forest Areas
Source: SAH
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