Impacts of Climate Change on Haiti

This story map details that risked posed by climate change to the small island nation of Haiti. It will cover topics like Haiti's mitigation and adaptation strategies for dealing with climate change, as well as the areas where the country is the most vulnerable.

Haiti is a former French colony. Following the Haitian Revolution that started in 1791 and lasted until 1804, large numbers of slaves revolted and eventually created an independent Haiti in 1804, though the legacy of slavery in the country continues to lead to social and economic depression with high prices and low wages (Lawless et al., 2021). Through to the present day Haiti's political climate is tumultuous, with coups, regime changes, military police states, and an occupation by the United States from 1915 to 1934 (Lawless et al., 2021). The country is also reliant upon international support, owing vast sums of money to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), though some debt was canceled in 2010 following an earthquake in Port-au-Prince, the capitol city, which huge numbers of people and left 1.2 million living in makeshift structures (International Monetary Fund, 2010).

Haiti is a small island nation located in the Caribbean. It borders the Dominican Republic to the east, sharing the island of Hispaniola. The terrain is generally rugged, with four large mountain ranges making up the interior. Haiti's climate is generally warm and humid, with temperatures ranging from high 70s F to mid-80s F depending on the season (Lawless et al., 2021). Portions of the island receive little rainfall during the year, resulting in dry plains populated by cacti, mesquite, and acacia woodlands. Other portions of the island have two rainy seasons, though variations in annual rainfall can result in droughts, crop failure, and famine (Lawless et al., 2021). The island has also been subject to heavy deforestation due to clearing for grazing, agriculture, and logging. Mangrove swamps have also been heavily depleted as the trees are harvested for firewood and charcoal production (Lawless et al., 2021).

The people of Haiti are of mostly African decent. Haitian Creole and French are the country's official languages, with Creole being used in daily life and French used in more formal interactions (Lawless et al., 2021). Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, with a Human Development Index rating of 169 out of 189 counties as of 2019, and a Gross Domestic Product per capita of US$797 ("Haiti Overview", n.d.). The latest official poverty assessment in 2012 estimated that 6 million people living in Haiti lived below the poverty line, with 2.5 million living below the extreme poverty line ("Haiti Overview", n.d.). 40% of Haitians depend on agriculture, primarily small scale subsistence farming (Haiti - Economic Indicators, n.d.).

Haiti is extremely vulnerable to climate change. Both geographically and socially, several factors contribute to Haiti's low adaptive capacity and high risk for catastrophic damage due to climate-linked hazards. Haiti's location in a hurricane alley means that the island experiences severe storms every season, experiencing heavy rainfall, severe storm surge, and heavy rainfall. The island is also one of the most heavily deforested countries in the world with forest cover estimated at 1.5%, which contributes to severe erosion (Singh & Cohen, 2014). With storms expected to increase in power (Berardelli, 2020), heavier rainfall can be expected. Low-lying areas are also dealing with an increase in saltwater infiltration into important aquafers as a result of storm surges (Singh & Cohen, 2014). High winds from the storms are also an issue. With a lack of building codes (Berardelli, 2020), structures are not always built to withstand the severe storms. As storms continue to increase in power, gale force winds will combine with worsening flooding to accelerate the loss of human life during severe weather events.

Flooding poses the greatest everyday risk to the people of Haiti (Singh & Cohen, 2014). A significant portion of the population is reliant upon agriculture to feed themselves and make a living. Due to the climate and extreme disforestation on the island, the impacts of climate change will be devastating on Haiti's population. Erosion washes significant amounts of soil into waterways, turning already poor agricultural land on steep slopes into even more unproductive farmland and creating significant material deposits downstream (Singh & Cohen, 2014). Flooding caused by the inability of soils to capture and slow water saturates fields in the lowlands, drowning crops. Rising sea levels and storm surge inundate important aquifers with seawater, salinizing soils and reducing agricultural efficiency. Due to the arid nature of the country and the lack of substantial irrigation infrastructure, agriculture in Haiti is dependent upon natural rainfall (Singh & Cohen, 2014). Unpredictable and highly variable rainfall in both the wet and dry seasons means that farmers are unable to plan and develop an agricultural calendar, leading to decreased crop yields (Singh & Cohen, 2014). This forces Haiti to import much of their food, raising prices beyond what the population is able to pay for (Singh & Cohen, 2014).

Adaptive capacity is very low. Farmers struggle to get by, with many producing charcoal to generate income (Singh & Cohen, 2014). By cutting the few trees left, erosion and flooding problems are only exasperated. A lack of support and education for farmers from the governmental level - which is difficult given the nation's economic status - results in farmers continuing to use farming methods and crops that perpetuate the cycle of destruction. There is interest in developing and teaching new methods at the governmental and community level, but there is a significant lack of funding for educational programs (Singh & Cohen, 2014).

There is substantial interest in adapting to climate change, and the government is committed to making Haiti more sustainable by reducing 5% of their climate emissions by 2030 and are a full participant in the 2015 Paris climate agreements (Singh & Cohen, 2014). However, due to the nations socioeconomic status, over 20% of the nation's budget is funded by outside sources such as the World Bank (Perry, 2019). This means that Haiti has significantly less control over how the money is spent. Most the funding for climate initiatives comes from grants, meaning the donor has a say in how the money is spent. Because donors frequently do not communicate and have their own climate goals and priorities, funding is not always allocated in ways that would be the most effective (Perry, 2019).

The Haitian government has identified several ways that they will meet their goal of reducing carbon emissions and make the country more resilient to climate change. Haiti's 2015-2030 climate plan includes things like shifting energy production to more efficient sources, swapping lightbulbs to more efficient LEDs, and planting 137,500 hectares of new forest to combat deforestation and reduce erosion and flooding (Singh & Cohen, 2014). Also included in the plan are infrastructure improvements, building things like highways, hospitals, and schools (Singh & Cohen, 2014).

But there seems to be a mismatch in the kinds of things that need to be funded, and those things are funded by outside sources (Perry, 2019). Arguably the single most important thing that would contribute to a more climate resilient Haiti would be reforestation. Replacing forests cut down for agriculture and grazing would slow erosion and stop floods from scouring farmland of its topsoil. Replacing mangrove swamps along the coasts cut down for firewood and charcoal production would lessen the impact of increasingly devastating storm surge. However, donor funding earmarked for soil conservation and watershed management hardly mentions the topic (Perry, 2019). Also in the donor funds is money for rebuilding after a disaster like an earthquake or hurricane, but sustainable construction and infrastructure improvements before disaster strikes would be a far more effective strategy.

In order to be the most effective, plans from both Haiti's government and international donors also need to address the root cause of many of the country's environmental problems, which is extreme and widespread poverty. Increasing the access to education and implementing social reforms that lift people out of poverty would erase the need for farmers to clear forests for grazing or cut mangroves for charcoal. Optimistically, a new community based approach for allocating funding proposed by the International Fund for Agricultural Development will incorporate input from local organizations and agencies, hopefully matching funding to what really needs doing on the ground (Perry, 2019).

Haiti faces numerous challenges when it comes to facing the impacts of climate change. Crafting effective plans that address social vulnerability, erosion, flooding, deforestation, and coastal inundation will be important for overcoming the challenges faces by the country. Matching those plans with donor funding that allows for the most relevant, cost-effective, and efficient proposal will arguably be even more important. The will at the national and community level is present, but matching those with first-hand, on the ground experience with those that are able to fund ambitious projects for the betterment and long-term resilience of Haiti without uninformed additions will be critical to their success. Increasing access to climate education, best-practice training, and social programs to lift people out of poverty are required.

Addressing deforestation and erosion problems is important for mitigating short term vulnerability to climate change. Restoration of mangrove swamps along the coastlines will protect those living along the coast from dangerous and destructive storm surges. Addressing poverty is the next most important problem to fix. Educating farmers about sustainable farming practices and providing subsidies to get them off the ground will help to reduce the amount of erosion and deforestation that currently occurs to clear land for food production and grazing. Projects like connecting more Haitians to consistent power is also important. This is an opportunity for the Haitian government to meet their climate goals by using sustainable sources of energy to provide power to their people. Using renewables right off the bat means that infrastructure won't need to be upgraded later, saving money in the long run. The largest barrier to implementing reforms is lack of funding, so donors need to put their personal ambitions second and work at the community level to create plans and draft grants that actually address the problems that need solving, without creating unnecessary hurdles or misallocating funds that would have a far greater impact if used elsewhere.

Lawless, R. , MacLeod, . Murdo J. , Ferguson, . James A. and Girault, . Christian Antoine (2021, January 22). Haiti. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/place/Haiti

Haiti Overview. (n.d.). Retrieved March 4, 2021, from https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/haiti/overview#1

Haiti - Economic Indicators. (n.d.).Retrieved March 4, 2021, from https://www.economy.com/haiti/indicators

Perry, K. K. (2019, January 25). In Haiti, climate aid comes with strings attached. The Conversation. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/in-haiti-climate-aid-comes-with-strings-attached-108652

Singh, B. J., & Cohen, M. J. (2014). Climate Change Resilience: The case of Haiti. Human Rights Documents Online. doi:10.1163/2210-7975_hrd-9824-2014013

Berardelli, J. (2020, December 15). How climate change is making hurricanes more dangerous " Yale Climate Connections. Retrieved from https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2019/07/how-climate-change-is-making-hurricanes-more-dangerous/

International Monetary Fund. (2010, July 21) Press Release: IMF Executive Board Cancels Haiti's Debt and Approves New Three-Year Program to Support Reconstruction and Economic Growth. Retrieved from https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2015/09/14/01/49/pr10299