Payment for Ecosystem Services in Rural Haiti

In Haiti, UNEP has been involved in post-disaster relief, ecosystem recovery, and environmental governance through the Post-Conflict and Disaster Management Branch (PCDMB).  At the turn of the year, UNEP officially launched the Côte Sud Initiative (CSI), which aims to recover and sustainably develop an area of 780 km over the next 20 years. UNEP is looking for actionable plans to protect, restore and sustainably develop the Port-à-Piment watershed’s ecosystem, from ridge to reef. 

This research project assesses the environmental and economic impacts of the charcoal trade as it relates to deforestation in the Port-à-Piment watershed area in the South Department of Haiti. To this end, the study analyzes the viability of a payment for ecosystem services (PES) plan as a means to start protecting the local watershed while enhancing sustainable livelihoods. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and has a high degree of environmental degradation leading to natural disaster vulnerability, adding to the significance to this project.

Following an extensive literature review and survey design process, team members conducted interviews with relevant actors in the charcoal production chain in the watershed. Using data collected from these interviews and field observations, the team will produce a technical report and recommendations for a PES plan to protect and enhance the watershed. The report identified viable interventions that: reduce incentives for deforestation at the current rate; enhance alternative livelihood strategies of those currently engaged in deforestation; chart the supply chain of the charcoal trade in the region and its end-users; and assess which funding sources and mechanisms for a PES scheme exist to support such an endeavor in this particular context.