Following a direct request from the Government of Haiti in 2008, UNEP established a country programme to address the environmental degradation, extreme poverty and disaster vulnerability of the country, which is the poorest in the Western Hemisphere. UNEP developed a five-year plan based on the Government’s priorities and set up a project office in Port-au-Prince with a core team of international and local staff, all equipped to implement a portfolio of diverse and practical projects.
The January 2010 earthquake, and the associated relief and recovery efforts of the UN, forced UNEP to radically change its plans. The organization implemented a range of short to medium term projects, mainly in energy, sanitation, resettlement planning and waste management in camps for Internally Displaced Persons in the affected areas. Simultaneously, UNEP provided emergency-related technical assistance on a national scale. These projects were completed at the end of 2011.
In 2011, UNEP resumed its planning and implementation of long-term sustainable development projects in Haiti, with a geographic focus on the southwestern peninsula, known as the “Grand Sud”. Based upon a newly developed set of government priorities and informed by the lessons learned since 2008, UNEP has identified and prioritized opportunities for interventions that will have a major and lasting impact on the country (See: Haiti Grand Sud programme).
The UNEP Country Programme Office is located in Port Salut in the South Department. A small Liaison Office is maintained in Port-au-Prince for national and transnational elements of the programme, UNCT and national representation and logistical support.
UN Environment’s Haiti Programme operates at regional, national and sub-national levels and in close collaboration with partners on the ground.
Ecosystem-based Disaster Risk Reduction (Eco-DRR)
Our Eco-DRR project is implemented in Chardonnieres, Les Anglais, and Tiburon in the South district of Haiti. The key risks being addressed within this context are flooding, landslides, and food insecurity. To address this, the project aims to strengthen community resilience to disasters and climate change, through the adoption of demonstrated best practices by farmers and landowners in three municipalities. Specifically, the project seeks to strengthen integrated risk management and inclusive risk governance by supporting the development and scaling up of Eco-DRR actions and citizen-based monitoring of disaster and climate resilient policies and practices and mainstreaming youth engagement and gender considerations.
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Key Implementing partners: The Netherlands Red Cross, Haitian Red Cross, the local and regional government authorities
