The Haitian Government, in partnership with the United Nations
Environment Programmer (UNEP), launched the report “Study on the agricultural sector and
the greening of the economy in the Department of the South” on Tuesday. The launch of the
report was prepared jointly by the Environment Minister, Simon Dieuseul Desras, the
representative of the Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development,
Pierre Karly Jean-Jeune, and the Regional Director of UNEP in Panama, Leo Heileman.
The study consists of a strategic analysis of the agricultural sector in the Southern
Department for the development of five sectors according to the National Agricultural
Investment Plan (NAIP). They were selected according to environmental, economic, and
social criteria in order to evaluate their potential to contribute to the development of a green
economy in the South of Haiti. The main sectors identified are honey, cocoa, cashew, castor
oil, and mango.
The development of these sectors in the buffer zones of Macaya Park and of the first
protected coastal and marine areas of the country, declared in August 2013, will reduce the
pressures on biodiversity and promote the development of productive and sustainable
landscapes. It is also in this very region of the country that was declared at the beginning of
the year, a World Biosphere Reserve, that clearly sets the need to connect biodiversity
conservation and sustainable economic activities. According to the report, “the development
of a green economy will benefit Haiti. It will promote the creation of direct and indirect jobs,
particularly for women and young people who will constitute an emerging group in the
sector. The projects planned will preserve and enhance biodiversity and ecosystems, reducing
soil erosion risk while providing stakeholders with perspectives and viable and sustainable
economic alternatives.
