Although all types of land degradation occur in Haiti, including soil erosion and salinization, fertility loss, wildland fires, and pasture degradation, soil erosion is Haiti’s most acute, widespread, and best-known environmental problem [1], [2], [3], [4], [5]. 

Over 50% of the territory — mainly steep-sloped areas in 85% of the watersheds — is subject to high risk of erosion and no less than 6% of the country’s area, in five large watersheds, are already affected by irreversible degradation. The lack of sound, up-to-date data makes it difficult to evaluate the extent of soil degradation in Haiti. A 1990 World Bank study (cited in [6]) found soil losses in Haiti of 120–150 tonnes/ha/yr in many parts of the country. A very recent modelling study [7] yielded consistent figures; over 100 tonnes/ha of soil were estimated to be washed away every year in Haiti (compared with about 15 tonnes/ha across the border in the Dominican Republic). Soil erosion has gradually eliminated an average of some 3 cm of arable (top) soil over the last 50 years or so across the country. Although the extent of land degradation varies widely between the country’s regions, zones with severe soil erosion can be found in all departments. The proportion of land degraded is at least 20% in all departments; over 50% of the Nord’Ouest department’s land is degraded.

Land degradation increases the country’s vulnerability to climate-related hazards. The loss of soil reduces water infiltration and increases surface runoff, thus leading to increased flooding and exacerbating the consequences of storms and hurricanes, damaging infrastructure such as dams, irrigation systems, roads, and others [8]. Equally important, land degradation adversely impacts ecosystem services. Soil loss causes a subsequent decline in agricultural productivity with serious economic consequences. Bellande (2009) [6] estimated agricultural production losses due to soil erosion in the mountains to be in the range of US$4–5 million per year, mostly from cultivation on slopes steeper than 50%. The impact on local food supply and security has not been estimated.

By reducing water infiltration and groundwater recharge, soil erosion reduces water availability for agriculture and consumption by the population, leading to desertification and putting additional pressure on the remaining forested areas; by altering the water flood flows, it adversely affects the quality of coastal waters, modifies the erosion-deposition balance in shorelines stabilization, and others.