Haiti's Unchecked Deforestation Affects Top-Soil Conditions

The island was once home to uninhabited forests that spread throughout the land. But over decades of cross-cutting and -clearing, the forests have been razed and only 4% of the original land mass remains. Because Haiti's topography is mainly hilly and mountain-covered, the nearly-vertical hillsides suffer top-soil erosion, between one and one-and-a-half tons annually. Because there are no trees to absorb the rainfall, top-soil is sloughed off.

A U.S.-funded non-government organization (NGO), Agroforestry Outreach Project (AOP), spent $8 million to provide farmers 4.5 million seedlings in the early 80s. Another U.S.-funded project through the NGO, Agency for International Development, partnered with the government of Haiti (GOH) to establish the beginning of a national park system, with two planned parks. Yet today less than one percent of new forest land has been developed.

Lack of enough clean water adds to the top-soil erosion and deforestation problems. Of the largest uncontaminated watersheds, almost 100% is provided to farmlands. Statistics show smaller watersheds delivering water to urban residents and the peasant population, provide for 49% and 45% of those populations' water needs respectively.

Reply to this article

Read more: Energy Environment

« Haiti Eco-System Virtually Worst in the World | Main | Creole Choir of Cuba Caribbean's Best Export »

Return to Articles List

Our objective is to share with you news and information about Haiti and the people of Haiti. Traditions, habits and the way we were  or  grew are alive in this site. We highly recommend that you Subscribe to our Newsletter and also share with us some of the things that are memorable and made us unique people.