Causes for reforestation failure in Haiti and residents' willingness to pay for cleaner cookstoves

Abstract

Trees provide services to human beings and protect the environment. This study investigates the causes of the failure of reforestation projects in the North and Northeast departments of Haiti. Two questionnaires with closed- and open-ended questions were used for face-to-face and semi-structured interviews with local and non-local authorities, respectively. The test of proportions was used for the statistical analysis, where a result was considered significant when the p-value was less than 0.05. The results showed that 86.8% of the non-local authorities were used to participating in projects of reforestation in their localities. The lack of follow-up and participation of residents in decisions about the type of trees planted were the main causes of the failure of these projects. The interviewees were accustomed to cutting trees to produce charcoal (95.8%) and enlarging their gardens (70.8%). However, 90.0% of each category would invest in purchasing cleaner cookstoves and stop using charcoal if the government agreed to finance up to 50.0% of such a project. The findings of this research could help both the decision-makers and the Haitian government to understand the causes of the failures of reforestation projects in Haiti and adopt an effective way to reduce deforestation in the country.