THE VALUE OF EXAMPLE

The guilty timber of Haiti

Synopsis

In 2010, a devastating earthquake hit Haiti, causing an appalling 300,000 casualties in Port-au-Prince, the overpopulated capital of one of the world's poorest countries.

This inconceivable toll could have been lowered by preventing a 50-year-old rural exodus as the result of massive deforestation. Wood charcoal is the prime source of energy on this Caribbean Island, and its rarefication has driven more people to the shabby neighborhoods of Port-au-Prince.

A small foundation has decided to fight back by replanting trees on the slope of one of Haiti’s summits, opening the way to the forest rebirth. It hopes that its pioneering action will be widely imitated.