Trees and Tribulations: Reforesting Borgne
Comments Off Most of Haiti’s population lives below the poverty line. Nearly 70 percent of all Haitians depend on the agriculture sector, which consists mainly of small-scale subsistence farming. However, extreme soil erosion and deforestation mean that Haiti’s environment is one of the most devastated in the world. Only 30 percent of the land is suitable for cultivation, with the result that the majority of the rural poor have a desperate struggle for survival in marginal areas.
Deforestation refers to the complete destruction of forest cover. In Haiti, the main causes of deforestation are the harvesting of timber for cooking charcoal, sale and to make room for agriculture. The effects are catastrophic. With a lack of forest cover, soil erosion is greatly increased causing a severe decline in soil fertility and agricultural output. Such conditions increase the risks of malnutrition, illness, mortality and general hardships for Haitian poor.
In Borgne, Haiti a reforestation effort has been made to counter this dilemma. Trees by the thousands are being grown and planted to improve forest cover and provide a means of fruit production. Once again H.O.P.E. joined forces with MODEIB, a progressive group of local Haitians striving for community improvement, and have planned and built 2 separate tree nurseries (pepinyes). Each tree nursery is capable of producing up to 40,000 trees per year. The greater majority of the trees grown in the nurseries produce fruits which will provide a source or nourishments and income for people that care for the trees. Hardwood species are also produced to provide an eventual source of building materials and for soil retention. In addition, each tree nursery site will have compost piles (fumier) to assist in seedling development.
H.O.P.E.’s goal is to energize agriculture and to continue reforestation efforts in the region. We intend in partnership to develop more tree nurseries in the near future and foster greater improvements in agriculture sector of development, such as providing modern agricultural methods training and supporting other promising agricultural initiatives.
