Haiti: Seeing the Forests for the Trees

There are any number of ways to tell the story of Haiti, which isn't just the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere; it's also a nation poorer than Tajikistan and Laos.

Corrupt government after corrupt government is a big part of the story, however you tell it. But, since this blog is devoted to the environment, let's tell the story through natural resources, specifically forests.

Forests have a complex relationship to agriculture, the predominant economic engine of poor countries (two in three Haitians are engaged in agriculture): Cut down an acre or two and you can expand your food production. But cut down too much and you stimulate soil erosion and drought, which are the death of food production. Deforestation also increases the potential damage caused by hurricanes, which are a regular, uninvited visitor in Haiti.

Indeed, the story of Haiti could also be told through hurricanes. Several hurricanes hit the country in 2008; poor soil quality led to large-scale flooding and destruction of crops, which, in turn, spurred political upheaval.

Another issue is fuel: People in undeveloped countries cook using cook stoves that are often inefficient and powered by wood or charcoal. Reliance on these stoves is a serious threat to health and the environment. In Haiti, the economy is so bad that some barter charcoal for food for the day, a cycle that won't end until poverty loosens its grip on the country.

Haiti was well over half forest land; now less than two percent of it is. Despite international efforts at reforestatioin beginning in the 1980s, Haiti's forests continue to dwindle. (The photo above is a satellite image of Haiti's border with the Dominican Republic, on the right.)

The people of Haiti can't get a break. Last Tuesday's earthquake suspended efforts to bring its forests back to life.

"We are not operational. We are still looking for missing staff, and the Port-au-Prince office is not open," Ari Toubo Ibrahim, head of Haiti operations at the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, told Greenwire.

Much of the aid going into Haiti is earmarked for food aid, which is desperately needed. Yet over the long-term, food aid may wither what markets Haitian farmers have. The FAO is also focused on supporting backyard gardening for urban and semi-urban areas and funding spring planting in rural areas.

Haiti's story can serve as a morality tale for developing countries tempted to sell off their natural resources in exchange for a one-time economic jolt: The jolt comes with an enormous hangover; managing natural resources is by far the better economic move in the long run.

Photo credit: NASA via Wikimedia Commons