The Campaign
Raising awareness of environmental issues, and keeping the Initiative supported
The Programmes
Delivering need positive
change at the local and national levels though geographic and thematic interventions
Network and TAF
Keeping partners in touch and sharing expertise
What is the Haiti
Regeneration Initiative?
The Haiti Regeneration Initiative
aims to bring about lasting positive change to Haiti’s environment and livelihoods.
It offers an ambitious, innovative solution to large-scale, chronic problems.
The vision is simple but bold – to build and support a national movement in
Haiti that understands and addresses environmental issues, with the collaboration
of local, national and international partners. From experts to community groups
and international agencies, the initiative brings together the organisations
and individuals that want to be part of the change. The
goal is to reduce poverty and vulnerability to natural hazards through
the restoration of ecosystems and livelihoods based on sustainable natural resource
management.
Haiti is the poorest, least stable and also most environmentally degraded country in the Caribbean. This environmental degradation has associated severe social and economic impacts - the largely destroyed rural environment cannot fully feed its population or provide adequate livelihoods. The degraded catchments have also made Haiti’s rural and urban populations very vulnerable to flooding and extreme natural adverse events.
This problem is not new – the degradation of Haiti has been gradually increasing in intensity since the 18th century. What is new is the severity and near-universal extent of the degradation and the associated social and economic impacts. Haiti is now locked in a negative spiral – an ever-deepening interlinked social, economic and environmental crisis, which is causing untold hardship for the great majority of its population. The hurricane season of 2008 was a tipping point which not only caused massive social and economic losses but also produced major permanent damage to the environment, furthering eroding the capacity of the country to recover from the chronic crisis.
Haiti’s population, currently estimated at 9.92 million, is projected to grow by 20% approximately by 2020 (According to the IHSI (Institut Haïtien de Statistiques et d'Informatique), Haiti’s population estimated in May 2009 at 9.92 million is expected to reach 10.91 million in 2015 and 11.74 in 2020). Moreover, a significant increase in the frequency of hurricanes is expected. The crisis is therefore almost certain to worsen, and escalate from a development issue to a long-term humanitarian and security issue, unless decisive action is taken.
Recent environmental initiatives by Haiti’s government and national and international organizations have been well-intentioned and positive, but the challenge in Haiti is so great that they struggle to address it. There is also substantial evidence that many earlier assistance programmes by the international community have not succeeded, and that part of the problem has been the way in which assistance has been delivered. A change in approach is needed, and it must be well informed by the lessons of the past.
The Opportunities
The country does have the capacity and opportunity to address these challenges if provided with the right type and level of international assistance. Haiti has significant human assets, an improving political environment and gradual improvements in the effectiveness and sustainability of international assistance. The Haitian population has a substantial technical skill base well suited to this initiative and also benefits from strong support from its Diaspora. The current government is stable and progressing with a range of pro-poor reforms. The environment in some areas has been stabilized by successful interventions and some relatively pristine marine and coastal areas remain.
The Haiti Regeneration Initiative
The Haiti Regeneration Initiative is being developed on the principle that large scale, chronic problems need ambitious, innovative solutions. The vision is both simple and bold - to build and support a national movement in Haiti that understands the underlying issues and tackles them in an organized and integrated way. Well-planned, concerted action will be required over the next 20 years and beyond.
The Regeneration Initiative aims to reduce poverty and vulnerability to natural disasters-including climate change- through the restoration of ecosystems and livelihoods based on sustainable natural resource management.
