24 June 2013: The UN Development Programme (UNDP) has reported on a series of reforestation projects in Haiti, where less than two percent of the land is forested. The projects are meant to reduce the country’s vulnerability to climate change and natural disasters.

The first is a reforestation project involving over 1.5 million seedlings located in Aquin and Saint-Louis, and which has resulted in increased income for local communities, the empowerment of women and reduced vulnerability to floods. This project is part of the ‘Reducing the Vulnerability of People and Infrastructure in the South’ programme, and also includes investments in food security, watershed management, and capacity building to reduce vulnerability to disasters.

The second initiative, the ‘Green Border’ project, implemented by Haiti and the Dominican Republic, has four components: reforestation of degraded lands; capacity building on natural resource management, including awareness raising on the benefits of biodiversity; the promotion of sustainable alternative livelihoods to prevent further degradation; and the establishment of a technical cooperation programme.

With a budget of US$2.5 million for the first phase, the Green Border project has already restored over 514 hectares of degraded forest, created almost 10,000 person days of employment, and established a cross-border information database between Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

The Green Border project involves the following partners: UNDP; the UN Environment Programme (UNEP); the World Food Programme (WFP); the Governments of Haiti and of the Dominican Republic; and local authorities. [UNDP Press Release] [Reducing Vulnerability in the South Programme Webpage (in French)] [Green Border Project Descitpion (in French)] [Reforestation in the South Project Document (in French)]