EarthSpark International
Eradicating energy poverty in Haiti
Solving the Haitian Deforestation Paradox
“…the country is left today with less than half of its wood stock of 1982. If such trends were to be continued without any corrective actions, it is not pessimistic to forecast complete depletion of that resource in a very near future.”
There is no mincing of words in this harrowing and blunt statement from the Haitian government’s most recent Energy Sector Development Plan.
It is hard to imagine a country – especially one located in the tropics – completely barren of trees, but that is exactly what will happen to Haiti in the absence of major change.
That is why EarthSpark International is helping in the development of a model designed to increase local capacity for reforestation, and change the way people think about their relationship with the environment. As of now, the town of Coteaux, Haiti, has no tree nurseries despite being situated in what USAID identified as the 3rd most vulnerable of Haiti’s 54 watersheds. Through its partnership with a local agroforestry college, EarthSpark International is helping a community development group in Coteaux establish their community’s first tree nursery. Our goal is to plant 20,000 native forest trees this Fall, and 40,000 forest and fruit trees next Spring. Given the expertise and solidarity of our partners, we expect this project to flourish.
EarthSpark International advisor Dr. Bob Lange will be consulting with the agroforestry college students as they develop an environmental education curriculum for secondary students in Coteaux. During our recent trip in April, 2009, Bob, Dan and EarthSpark International advisor Dr. Robert Van Buskirk tested kite aerial photography as a means of evaluating the impact of our reforestation project. This summer, agroforestry college students will use this technique to survey a sample of lands owned by farmers who have signed up to purchase trees for the Fall. The students will survey these lands at regular intervals after the planting to assess the survival rate of the trees.
You can help support this project by making a donation to EarthSpark International. We will be sharing the cost of the trees with the farmers of Coteaux, and we will also help to provide start-up funds for the nursery. Any donation you make before July 1, 2009 will be doubled thanks to a matching gifts drive of up to $25,000 sponsored by Frontier Utilities of Houston, Texas.