Launch of the National Community Reforestation Strategy in Haiti
Thursday September 17, 2026, Valéry Fils-Aimé, the Minister of the Environment, via the Directorate of Forests and Renewable Energy (DFER), officially launched the National Community Reforestation Strategy.
This strategy constitutes a new national framework intended to accelerate the restoration of degraded landscapes, strengthen the vegetation cover and the resilience of territories and place communities at the heart of the sustainable management of natural resources. It also aims to make the restoration of ecosystems a lever for local economic development, the creation of green jobs and the improvement of the living conditions of populations.
The launching ceremony was chaired by Minister Valéry Fils-Aimé, in the presence of Ministers Joseph Almathe Pierre-Louis (Public Works), Ms. Pédrica Saint-Jean (Status of Women), Sinal Bertrand (Health) as well as representatives of public institutions, the private sector, ecological organizations and various partners. Marcelin Aubourg, the Minister of Agriculture spoke via Video.
At the opening of the ceremony, Minister Valéry Fils-Aimé specified “We want to gradually move from environmental spending to productive investment and build a real restoration economy, particularly for the benefit of young people, women and rural producers.” This orientation is based on the principle that the protection of natural resources must also be able to generate sustainable economic opportunities for the communities that ensure their preservation.
The Minister also announced the upcoming launch, in collaboration with the Ministry of the Interior, of an initiative aimed at developing several communal forests on state land.
Speaking remotely, Marcelin Aubourg, insisted on the importance of involving farmers in the identification of intervention areas and the choice of species, taking into account the ecological, agricultural and economic characteristics of the territories.
He stressed that reforestation cannot be considered as a simple tree planting operation, but must be part of a very broad territorial approach including the development of watersheds, soil restoration, improvement of plant cover and the development of agroforestry. Such an approach also requires strengthened coordination between public institutions, local authorities, communities and partners.
Presenting the National Community Reforestation Strategy, the Director of the DFER, Agr. Eder Audate presented the vision, objectives, strategic axes, expected results and implementation mechanisms. He notably presented the principles that will guide its deployment: local appropriation and governance, choice of suitable species, integration of agroforestry, creation of direct economic benefits for communities, as well as monitoring and evaluation of interventions.
The National Community Reforestation Strategy sets ambitious objectives for 2031 : restore more than 50,000 hectares of degraded landscapes, set up or strengthen 100 community nurseries in the ten departments, directly involve more than 50,000 households and create or support more than 10,000 green jobs.
This strategy also plans to strengthen the monitoring of restored areas in order to better measure the results obtained, improve the traceability of interventions and document their contribution to Haiti’s climate and environmental commitments.
Joseph Emmanuel Philippe, the Coordinator of the Technical Secretariat of the General Directorate, on behalf of the Director General of the Ministry, called on technical and financial partners, ecological organizations, the private sector, scientific institutions and all stakeholders concerned to support the implementation of this national strategy.
Supported in particular by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and Heifer International, the National Community Reforestation Strategy reflects the desire of the Ministry of the Environment to bring together public, community and partnership interventions around the same ambition : to restore territories, strengthen the resilience of communities and make ecological restoration a source of sustainable economic opportunities.
HL/ HaitiLibre
