Tuesday in Port-Salut, Simon Dieuseul Desras, the Minister of the Environment, launched the Program "Ecosystem approach on the South Coast of Haiti" and highlighted the efforts of the Government to facilitate the definition of the main lines of the program between the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the various stakeholders for its implementation.

This program, financed by the GEF to the tune of $6.2 million over 5 years seeks to strengthen the resilience of ecosystems in communities vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. "This program advocates an integrated strategy encompassing all ecosystems and agricultural production areas from the mountains to the sea. The various components of the project also try to address the whole issue of the destruction of the ecosystems of the Great South in a perspective of recovery and the fight against poverty," Minister Desras said.

Launched in a post-Matthew context, the program aims, among other things, to strengthen local capacities to anticipate and respond rapidly to weather hazards in the Southern region and protect key ecosystems that contribute to income generation and livelihoods of the rural population. In addition, it aims to strengthen the capacities of the small islands around the Ile à Vache and to set up early warning systems.

The activities under this program will take place mainly in the communes of the South between Port Salut, St Jean du Sud and Tiburon. The Minister welcomed the technical input of UN Environment in the conceptualization of this program, which should lead to the efficient use of natural resources.

"These concrete actions will benefit not only the current generation but also future generations. They will complement the actions already implemented by the Ministry of the Environment with support from UN Environment thanks to funding from Norway, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the UNDP (United Nations Development Program)," declared Matti Lehtonen, UN Program Manager for Environment in Haiti.

HL/ HaitiLibre