Haiti has identified the need for coordinated resource mobilization in support of national resilience and the objectives of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. This was raised by Sony Jules, one of the country’s representatives at the conference in Mongolia.
Jules explained that effective collaboration with organisations like the Partnership Initiative for Sustainable Land Management has allowed the country to make progress towards combating land degradation, while strengthening climate resilience and sustainable development at the same time.
While land degradation remains a serious obstacle to sustainable development, its impacts affect ecosystems, food security, agroecosystem services, water availability, and the living conditions of communities.
Jules flagged the acute pressures for this small island, correlating it with limited vegetation cover, insufficient up-to-date environmental data, and constrained access to safe water and sanitation, which continue to heighten vulnerability.
The Haiti representative cited current estimates of 42 percent of the population, which lack safe access to drinking water, while 72 percent lack adequate sanitation. He suggested that food insecurity has also reached historically critical levels.
“According to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification analysis, 5.83 million people in Haiti—approximately 52 percent of the population—are experiencing acute food insecurity, with more than 1.8 million people in emergency conditions. “
The crisis, he continued, is contributing to rising malnutrition, particularly among women and children, and is being compounded by displacement, insecurity, economic pressure, and weakened public systems.
While admitting that the country is fully aware of the scale of these challenges, their national resources alone are not sufficient to meet the magnitude of the crisis. The Haitian representative, therefore, called for strengthened technical and financial partnerships to support common, equitable, and sustainable financing pathways for land restoration and resilience.
