Thursday, November 12, 2026, the Ministry of the Interior and Territorial Communities (MICT), the Ministry of the Environment (MoE) and the National Federation of Haitian Mayors (FENAMH) proceeded, at the Montana Hotel, to the official launch of the project for the creation and protection of municipal wooded reserves, around the theme "Citizens and communities, together to transform our cities".

Faced with urban expansion, the reduction in plant cover and pressure on natural resources, the project intends to support municipalities in the identification, creation, protection and sustainable management of wooded areas.

In his speech Valéry Fils-Aimé, the Minister of the Environment, underlined the need to rethink the relationship between urbanization and nature protection "A city cannot develop sustainably by turning its back on its environment," he affirmed, recalling the role of wooded areas in protecting soils, preserving biodiversity, improving the living environment and strengthening the resilience of communities in the face of climate change.

For his part, Paul Antoine Bien-Aimé, the Minister of the Interior and Territorial Communities, insisted on the need to reintroduce nature into the heart of cities. "Nature does not stop at the gates of our cities, it must also find its place in the heart of our urban spaces. Cities need trees too," he said. He called for better integration of environmental considerations into land use planning policies, by associating reforestation with the preservation of green spaces and responsible land management.

The implementation of the project will be based on collaboration between partner institutions. The MICT will coordinate with municipal authorities, while the MoE will provide technical and environmental expertise. The National Federation of Mayors of Haiti will help mobilize local elected officials, with the participation of town halls and communities in the identification, management, maintenance and protection of reserves.

The project also plans awareness-raising activities among young people, women and local associations, as well as the promotion of local knowledge. Through this initiative, the authorities intend to make local authorities and citizens essential actors in the ecological transformation of Haitian cities. The success of the project will thus be measured less by the number of trees planted than by the capacity of municipalities and communities to sustainably protect wooded areas and make them a collective heritage for the benefit of present and future generations.

IH/ iciHaiti