Haiti is one of the world’s most environmentally damaged nations. The UN predicts that thirty percent of Haiti’s remaining trees are destroyed each year, with close to 99% of its forests already gone due to widespread deforestation.
Haiti has seen years of ecological devastation, which have resulted in varying degrees of crop failure, flooding, soil erosion, and water table depletion. Deforestation increases soil erosion and depletion, resulting in decreased natural resources, and this makes the devastation caused by storms even worse.
Our partners on the ground work closely with community leaders to plant, nurture, and defend indigenous trees to maturity in order to counteract these impacts.
In the southern part of Haiti, we fund the restoration and reforestation of mangroves. Between 2000 and 2015, mangrove forest destruction caused up to 122 million tons of carbon to be released into the atmosphere, roughly equivalent to Brazil’s yearly emissions.
Mangroves are excellent at capturing and storing carbon dioxide, so their restoration is crucial. Mangroves not only help to store carbon, but they also assist to reduce flooding and erosion from storms, act as nurseries for fish, and filter pollutants from water.
Looking to the southeast, we fund the planting of fruit trees such as citrus, mango, papaya, and moringa to promote food security in one of the most poverty-stricken areas of the country. These trees directly benefit the local communities while also reducing carbon dioxide emissions over many decades to come.
