Haiti is currently facing a political crisis and grappling with a series of humanitarian, economic, and security concerns, ranging from famine and cholera to gang violence, fuel shortages, and a failing domestic economy. Ongoing crises like climate change can also further exacerbate problems such as severe food insecurity.
The Caribbean country’s National Adaptation Plan (NAP) was launched internationally in December and submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change on January 5, 2023. Haiti’s NAP aims to help the country be in a position to address the long-term effects of climate change, build resilience to climate-related risks, and build adaptive capacity.
“Even though the situation in the country remains uncertain, we have to move ahead with the activities set out in Haiti’s National Adaptation Plan process”, said Gerty Pierre, Climate Change Director, Ministry of Environment, Haiti.
Developed through a participative and iterative process with relevant stakeholders led by the Ministry of Environment, Haiti’s NAP document identifies which sectors are most vulnerable to climate change and lays out 340 adaptation actions that address the climate risks, 21 of which are considered high priority.
In the midst of the current internal crisis, there are 4.7 million Haitian people facing acute hunger according to the World Food Programme. Emergency short-term relief efforts and international support are imperative. And, as indicated in the NAP, any long-term agriculture and food security solutions will need to consider climate impacts such as higher temperatures, erratic rainfall patterns, droughts, and more frequent tropical storms to be sustainable.
More on the National Adaptation Plan (NAP)
Covering the period 2022–2030, Haiti’s NAP identified four priority sectors when it was completed in December 2022: agriculture, water, health, and infrastructure. The document contains 340 actions, with 21 that are considered high priority.
An estimated budget of USD 980 million will be needed for the implementation of the 21 highest-priority actions. In order to take into account new and emerging vulnerabilities, the NAP envisions a process of regular updates. The NAP Global Network, through its Country Support Hub, has supported Haiti’s NAP process since 2019. Technical assistance and funds were provided for the development of key adaptation-related documents: the Adaptation Communication, the policy brief Implementing Adaptation Under the Paris Agreement: The Key Role of Stakeholders, and the Communications Strategy for the NAP process.