Haiti Climate Change
Of the many countries at risk from the effects of climate change, small island states are widely considered to be among the most vulnerable. Not only are these countries exposed to direct impacts of climate change, particularly sea level rise, they are also highly sensitive to existing environmental stresses that will be exacerbated by climate change.
Overlapping factors such as high population densities, fragile ecosystems, overstressed water resources, and limited institutional capacity mean that small island states face serious challenges to their development in a changing climate.
Haiti is a striking example of how this combination of physical exposure and socioeconomic conditions could lead to extreme climate change vulnerability.
Already prone to a wide array of environmental stressors, including flooding, droughts, hurricanes, earthquakes, and landslides, Haiti has also experienced declining GDP since 1982, and has seen serious political turmoil throughout the past few decades. Indeed, Haiti was recently ranked as the most vulnerable country in the world to climate change on an index developed by Maplecroft, a global risk management firm.
This index, which takes into account government capacity, population growth and density, agricultural dependency, poverty, and history of armed conflict, underscores the importance of socioeconomic contributors to climate change vulnerability.
History of Haiti Climate Change
Located in the Caribbean’s Great Antilles, Haiti has a hot and humid tropical climate. Daily temperatures typically range between 19°C and 28°C in the winter and 23°C to 33°C during the summer months.
Northern and windward slopes in the mountainous regions receive up to three times more precipitation than the leeward side. Annual precipitation in the mountains averages 1,200 mm, while the annual precipitation in the lowlands is as low as 550 mm.
The Plaine du Gonaïves and the eastern part of the Plaine du Cul-de-Sac are the driest regions in the country. The wet season is long, particularly in the northern and southern regions of the island, with two pronounced peaks occurring between March and November.
Haiti Climate Change with Caribbean climate
Haiti is the most vulnerable country in Latin America and the Caribbean to climate change. Haiti shares the Caribbean Island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic. Factors heightening its vulnerability include topography, land-use practices, low per capita income, high population density, and limited infrastructure and services.
More than half of the country’s population lives in dense coastal cities, nearby floodplains, and in areas with steep slopes susceptible to landslides. Widespread deforestation and unmaintained drainage infrastructure increase Haiti’s vulnerability to hurricanes, storm surges, and flooding, while increasing temperatures during dry months, strengthening tropical storms, and unpredictable rainfall patterns will likely worsen climate impacts on already sensitive sectors.
The agriculture sector is responsible for nearly half of greenhouse gas emissions, followed by the energy, waste, industrial processes, and land-use change and forestry sectors.
Haiti Climate Change and affects
Climate change has the potential to increase the occurrence and severity of extreme weather events in Haiti, such as hurricanes. Although the effects of climate change on hurricanes and cyclones are uncertain, models generally find an increased severity of tropical storms in a warmer climate.
Increased in intensity means both stronger winds and more rainfall in a given storm. In addition to loss of human life, more severe tropical storms would contribute to increased erosion and destruction of infrastructure, crops, and livestock.
Flooding risk will also rise with the intensity of storms and rainfall. Haiti is historically vulnerable to floods, with its urban centers located in the alluvial plains of large river systems.
One such urban center, Gonaives, was flooded for days following Hurricane Hanna in 2008, with hundreds stranded on rooftops while the waters slowly receded from the city. Flood damage has been steadily increasing due to deforestation and loss of rainfall-absorbing topsoil.
Most recently, heavy rains lasting three days hit Haiti in October of 2011, resulting in extreme flooding in both rural and urban areas, isolation of entire villages, and an increase in observed cases of cholera.
Changing precipitation patterns associated with climate change are expected to contribute to increased incidence of drought in addition to excessive precipitation and attendant flooding. Possible impacts include decreased agricultural yields, general soil degradation, erosion, and desertification.
Haiti Climate Change and Disaster impacts
Haiti’s geographic location in the path of Atlantic hurricanes, combined with the steep topography of its western region from which all major river systems flow to the coast, makes the country particularly vulnerable to hydrometeorological disasters, especially between June and December.
Landslides are common along all river valleys where years of deforestation have left the upper reaches of the western basins bare. The major natural hazards that threaten Haiti are cyclones, floods, droughts, and landslides, with floods leading as the greatest threat and contributor to vulnerability.
The country’s most populated cities are all nestled in the valleys along the coast. When it rains, the steep, often barren hills that surround them flush rainwater toward the urban areas. Widespread deforestation in the upper reaches of these valleys, coupled with lacking drainage infrastructure, creates an environment conducive to flooding
Cultivation Damaged in Haiti Climate Change
Haiti’s economy is based primarily on agriculture, which employs 66% of the work force and contributes 27% of the gross domestic product. Coffee, rope fiber (jute), sugar, and cocoa are the principal export crops grown.
Food security relies heavily on rain-fed, subsistence farming. Poor farming practices have degraded a majority of the arable countryside, leading to severe erosion. While disasters like hurricanes are hardly new to Haiti, the frequency, magnitude, and harmful impacts of these storms are expected to increase.
When these weather systems hit land, they wreak havoc on Haiti’s already fragile farms, deforested mountainsides, and eroding critical soil. As Haiti’s climate grows increasingly warmer and drier, particularly during the critical summer months, agricultural practices will need to be adjusted for the land to remain productive.
To prevent potentially devastating yield losses, farmers, extension agents, and politicians will need guidance on how to restore soil quality and ecosystem integrity.
Water
Haiti Climate Change , Haiti relies on rain water to meet a majority of its water needs. The country’s 11 main drainage basins provide Haiti’s water supply and are themselves fed by a variety of interweaving streams carrying fresh water down from the mountains.
The intermittent streams of these systems, particularly on the windward mountain slopes, are vulnerable to rainfall-induced flash floods during the rainy season. Roughly 92% of the country’s agriculture is rain-fed, and the bulk of existing irrigation infrastructure lies in disrepair and/or was severely damaged by the 2010 earthquake.
The potential irrigable area is more than double the current irrigated area, and small irrigation schemes, which take advantage of rainwater-harvesting structures, could offer great potential for yield sustainability, particularly for rural subsistence farmers.
Projected increases in future temperature, coupled with unreliable rainfall patterns, will necessitate the establishment of an efficient water management system in order to secure a reliable water source and prevent future shortages.
recentclimate – Haiti Climate Change
reference – Columbia Climate School