Restoration of Woodland in Inhabited Rural Mountainous Areas and Landscape Transformation in a Vulnerable Environment: The Case of the Village of Vallue, Palmes Region, Haiti

Biodiversity is under threat in Haiti. FAO, in its 2020 report on the state of the world's forests, indicates that forest coverage in Haiti represents 12.6% of its territory; thus, this lack in wooded areas increases its vulnerability to natural disasters. To try recovering in losses of forest coverage and biodiversity at the local level, the organization of farmers in Vallue a rural area of Petit-Goâve (a city in the western department), has mobilized its members, taped to its resources and embarked into reforestation projects while helping to improve habitat in the village. This research analyzes the relationship among biodiversity resources in reforestation projects involving native and exotic species, habitat and landscape transformation in an environment that is vulnerable to natural disasters with the goal to seek for solutions that can benefit rural communities. A field investigation is conducted with 156 families who live in the village and a series of satellite images are analyzed to evaluate the percentage of forest coverage. The results obtained indicate habitats are destroyed by disasters that regularly hit the region; reforestation projects that include exotic species do not have adverse effects on native ones and wooded areas are improved in the village of Vallue. Furthermore, the landscape retains a visual quality that can facilitate the valorization of the territory. It is proposed that reforestation projects with plants that resist to high winds to be used and develop a bio-reactive habitat that may reduce the vulnerability of rural families living in areas too often struck by hurricanes.