Overview of Social and Environmental Issues
Once known as "The Pearl of the Antilles," Haiti has the unfortunate distinction of being one of the most environmentally degraded and poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere. As a result of a long history of unsustainable land use practices and a continuing dependence on trees for fuel wood and charcoal, less than 2% of the country's original forests remain. This is primarily due to people's dependence on fuel wood and charcoal for their cooking and heating needs. Deforestation is causing a decline in soil fertility, extensive flooding, and depleted groundwater supplies. Recent hurricanes have caused major destruction, not only from their winds, but from raging currents of water racing down the bare slopes. Forested mountains are now bald and lush landscapes are being overtaken by desertification. Much of the land can no longer support human life.

Sadly, over 80% of the Haitian population lives in poverty and over 50% in abject poverty. The majority of people are unemployment and two-thirds of the population is dependent on agriculture for their livelihoods. With the degrading environment, their livelihoods continue to be threatened with little relief in sight. Ineffectual and corrupt governments have made development slow and stagnant. Social instability has plagued the country for decades. Since 2006, the UN peacekeeping force has been able to bring relative peace to the troubled country, despite occasional flare ups. However, Haiti still requires strong support from international organizations and donors in order to maintain stability and strive towards development.

Our Response
Trees for the Future has been working in Haiti since early 2002 supporting projects throughout the country. Our program focuses on addressing the country and communities’ most urgent needs. Working with local farmers and farming groups, we are planting trees to reforest degraded hillsides, produce sustainable charcoal and fuel wood, produce biodiesel, and establish intensive hillside farming practices. On the ground, Haiti program Coordinator, Timote Georges, is working with communities throughout the country to develop beneficial tree planting projects.

Currently we have set in motion a major program to reforest large portions of the Arcadine coast, particularly in the degraded mountains in between Cabaret and St. Marc. We are also supporting numerous projects throughout the country. Initially, local people are planting multi-purpose fast growing trees such as Leucaeana leucocephala, Swietenia macrophylla, Jatropha curcas, and Moringa oleifera, which will grow on the degraded lands. In addition, a Trees for the Future training and resource center has been opened in Arcahaie. Anyone looking to engage in tree planting activities in Haiti will be able to visit the office, take part in trainings, and receive seeds and technical assistance.

June 2009
This past season, we assisted 13 different communities along the Arcadine coast establish tree nurseries and receive the necessary training and resources to bring life back to the degraded hillsides. Communities came together and planted 500,000 trees this season, not including the other projects we are supporting in communities such as Leogane, Desarmes and numerous villages throughout the Lower Northwest region, At this point we are making plans to continue developing our program into the second rainy season. Along the Arcadine coast, we anticipate planting another 500,000 trees, for a total of 1 million in 2009!

This first season, as well, saw the opening of the Trees for the Future training and resource center in Arcahaie. On a similar note, Trees for the Future Haiti program recently had the opportunity to be previewed in an educational documentary by the Discovery Institute. As part of the deforestation portion of their 8-part series, Discovery highlighted our Haiti program and, specifically, TREES’s Haiti Coordinator Timote Georges as an EcoHero finding solutions to Haiti’s desperate environmental situation. The video follows Timote to the community of Leogane. You can find out more about Discovery’s Global Education program at www.discoveryglobaled.org.

In 2008 as well, Trees for the Future brought on Haitian agronomist, Timote Georges, to coordinate our Haiti program on the ground. Currently, he is working with local farmers and farming groups along the Arcadine coast to develop a substantial community-level tree planting program for 2009. In all, he will be working with 10 different communities to plant over 1 million trees. The program focuses on hillside reforestation, sustainable charcoal production, biodiesel production (primarily with Jatropha curcas) and intensive hillside farming.