Despite the overwhelming demands of Haiti’s political and humanitarian crisis, a dedicated community of environmental advocates continued in 2020 to fight for the protection of the country’s remaining natural resources — its forests, rivers, marine ecosystems, and biodiversity. Their work was carried out largely without recognition, under difficult and sometimes dangerous conditions, driven by a conviction that environmental collapse would make all other crisis responses ultimately futile.
Environmental defenders in Haiti faced a particularly difficult operating environment. The political instability that had paralyzed governance also disabled environmental enforcement. Illegal charcoal production in protected forest areas, mining operations without environmental assessment, and illegal dumping in rivers and coastal waters continued largely unchecked as the state’s regulatory capacity deteriorated.
Some environmental defenders reported receiving threats from economic interests that benefited from illegal resource extraction. The absence of functioning rule of law made it extremely difficult to pursue legal remedies against those causing environmental damage, and the physical risks of confronting powerful interests in an environment of impunity were real.
Yet the environmental movement persisted, driven by community organizations that connected environmental protection to their members’ immediate welfare, youth activists who were engaging with global climate discourse in uniquely Haitian terms, and technical experts who maintained monitoring and documentation of environmental conditions. Their work created a foundation of knowledge and advocacy capacity that would be essential for eventual environmental recovery.