{"id":60151721,"date":"2026-09-18T17:51:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-18T16:51:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/?p=60151721"},"modified":"2026-09-18T17:53:56","modified_gmt":"2026-09-18T16:53:56","slug":"abandoned-haitians-turn-fruit-trees-into-charcoal-in-wake-of-hurricane-and-violence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/climate\/abandoned-haitians-turn-fruit-trees-into-charcoal-in-wake-of-hurricane-and-violence\/","title":{"rendered":"Abandoned Haitians turn fruit trees into charcoal in wake of hurricane and violence"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jean No\u00ebl, 53, has grown bananas, maize, yams and cassava on his farm in Fond-Cochon, west Haiti, for more than 30 years. After Hurricane Melissa tore across the Caribbean in October 2025, Haiti\u2019s westernmost areas were among its worst-hit. No\u00ebl says the hurricane destroyed several hectares of his crops, including scores of fruit trees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The devastating event forced No\u00ebl to do something quite different with trees to generate an income: \u201cI started turning them into charcoal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">No\u00ebl is not alone. Patrick Innocent, the town hall director of Roseaux commune, which incorporates Fond-Cochon, says a significant increase in tree felling was observed in the months following Melissa. This was primarily for making charcoal, which remains one of the country\u2019s main sources of household energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Innocent says local authorities are sorely lacking in resources to support affected populations: \u201cNearly a thousand residents have lost their vegetable crops but the municipality is unable to help them due to a lack of funding.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since 2018, Haiti has been engulfed in a prolonged security and humanitarian crisis. It was triggered by protests over rising fuel prices that evolved into years of efforts to oust the government. The social unrest has been intensified by growing violence and the presence of gangs, which has accelerated since the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some 1.4 million people have been <a href=\"https:\/\/news.un.org\/en\/story\/2026\/01\/1166801\">internally displaced<\/a>, according to the UN. The World Food Programme estimates more than 5 million are facing food insecurity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<a class=\"wp-block-cd-related-news alignright block--related-news loading\" data-post-id=\"50381558\"><div class=\"block--related-news__image\"><\/div><div class=\"block--related-news__content\"><span class=\"block--related-news__heading\">Recommended<\/span><span class=\"block--related-news__title\"><\/span><\/div><\/a>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Across a large proportion of the country, public institutions are no longer able to deliver basic services, limiting access to healthcare, education and security. This absence of the state has worsened the impact of climate-related disasters, such as Hurricane Melissa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The country <a href=\"https:\/\/www.alterpresse.org\/Des-intellectuels-artistes-et-professionnels-signent-un-Manifeste-pour-l\">faces<\/a> a genuine environmental emergency, according to several experts. \u201cWe are in a critical situation, where several ecological crises are overlapping,\u201d explains David Noncent, a Haitian climate change and environmental science expert.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-the-hurricane-hits\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">The hurricane hits<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Amid the crisis, Haiti\u2019s agricultural sector is <a href=\"https:\/\/reliefweb.int\/report\/haiti\/haiti-analyse-ipc-de-linsecurite-alimentaire-aigue-aout-2024-juin-2025-publie-le-30-septembre-2024\">suffering<\/a> the effects of several shocks, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a global tool to evaluate food insecurity. For example, farmers are struggling to sell their produce due to tolled road blockades controlled by armed groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Haiti was not directly hit by Hurricane Melissa but it still experienced significant damage. The south-western Grand Sud region suffered in particular, enduring flooding, landslides and burst riverbanks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to Haiti\u2019s Permanent Secretariat for Disaster Risk Management (SPGRD), <a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1Zx7R8AsS5XocDUYaz_y3kDCL6WPMfgK9\/view\">43 people<\/a> were killed, 21 injured and 13 are missing and presumed dead. Nearly 16,000 affected people were housed in evacuation centres, mainly in the Grand Sud departments of Sud, Nippes and Grand\u2019Anse. There were also significant agricultural losses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From the initial devastation and throughout the aftermath, the absence of the state has taken its toll. Several affected residents tell Dialogue Earth that no long-term support has been provided.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This has pushed many, such as No\u00ebl, into environmentally damaging practices. Felling trees illegally to produce charcoal and <a href=\"https:\/\/weatheringrisk.org\/sites\/default\/files\/document\/Haiti_Policy_brief_final_050923.pdf\">slash and burn<\/a> farming have, for example, worsened the deforestation happening in many regions of the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-cd-article-image aligncenter block--article-image block--article-image--article\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><div class=\"block--article-image__column\"><div class=\"hide-expand block--article-image__image\"><img class=\"lazy\" data-src=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/20260917_Haiti_cover-tree-loss-2000-2025_EN_map.jpg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/20260917_Haiti_cover-tree-loss-2000-2025_EN_map-768x630.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/20260917_Haiti_cover-tree-loss-2000-2025_EN_map-1024x840.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/20260917_Haiti_cover-tree-loss-2000-2025_EN_map.jpg 2560w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 768px, (max-width: 1024px) 1024px, 2560px\" alt=\"\"\/><\/div><div class=\"block--article-image__content\"><div itemprop=\"caption\" class=\"block--article-image__caption\">Tree loss has been particularly acute in Haiti\u2019s south-west (Data source: Hansen \/ UMD \/ Google \/ USGS \/ NASA, Map: Dialogue Earth)<\/div><\/div><\/div><meta itemprop=\"contentUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/20260917_Haiti_cover-tree-loss-2000-2025_EN_map.jpg\"\/><meta itemprop=\"contentSize\" content=\"2 MB\"\/><meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"2100\"\/><meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"2560\"\/><meta itemprop=\"author\"\/><meta itemprop=\"representativeOfPage\" content=\"true\"\/><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Like Roseaux, the commune of Saint-Michel de L\u2019Attalaye in the Artibonite department is also dealing with deforestation. Residents are raising the alarm over the mass felling of fruit trees \u2013 particularly mango \u2013 to produce charcoal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Marc-Wisly Hilaire, a community leader in the region and member of the Leadership Society for Another Haiti (SOLID), explains that state inaction leaves people with few options: \u201cThe lack of enforcement leaves the population free to cut down trees. In a context of economic hardship, residents often have no choice but to resort to this practice. The state remains powerless and does not intervene.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to Hilaire, this dynamic is part of a vicious cycle, in which deforestation exacerbates drought conditions, which in turn further undermines livelihoods: \u201cSometimes it doesn\u2019t rain for more than four months. Crops planted during this period are often lost.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While recent data is scarce, available estimates suggest Haiti continues to lose thousands of hectares of forest each year. According to the US-based monitoring service Global Nature Watch, <a href=\"https:\/\/globalnaturewatch.org\/dashboards\/country\/HTI\/?lang=en&amp;map=eyJkYXRhc2V0cyI6W3siZGF0YXNldCI6InBvbGl0aWNhbC1ib3VuZGFyaWVzIiwibGF5ZXJzIjpbImRpc3B1dGVkLXBvbGl0aWNhbC1ib3VuZGFyaWVzIiwicG9saXRpY2FsLWJvdW5kYXJpZXMiXSwiYm91bmRhcnkiOnRydWUsIm9wYWNpdHkiOjEsInZpc2liaWxpdHkiOnRydWV9LHsiZGF0YXNldCI6Ik5ldC1DaGFuZ2UtU1RBR0lORyIsImxheWVycyI6WyJmb3Jlc3QtbmV0LWNoYW5nZSJdLCJvcGFjaXR5IjoxLCJ2aXNpYmlsaXR5Ijp0cnVlLCJwYXJhbXMiOnsidmlzaWJpbGl0eSI6dHJ1ZSwiYWRtX2xldmVsIjoiYWRtMCJ9fV0sImNhbkJvdW5kIjp0cnVlfQ%3D%3D&amp;showMap=true\">3,200 hectares<\/a> of Haiti\u2019s primary rainforest was destroyed between 2002 and 2025. This represents a loss of 4% of national tree cover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-cd-article-image aligncenter block--article-image block--article-image--article\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><div class=\"block--article-image__column\"><div class=\"hide-expand block--article-image__image\"><img class=\"lazy\" data-src=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Gavanneau-peak-Haiti_Iolanda-Fresnillo_Flickr_11027707156-scaled.jpg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Gavanneau-peak-Haiti_Iolanda-Fresnillo_Flickr_11027707156-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Gavanneau-peak-Haiti_Iolanda-Fresnillo_Flickr_11027707156-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Gavanneau-peak-Haiti_Iolanda-Fresnillo_Flickr_11027707156-scaled.jpg 2560w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 768px, (max-width: 1024px) 1024px, 2560px\" alt=\"smoke rising from forested valley\"\/><\/div><div class=\"block--article-image__content\"><div itemprop=\"caption\" class=\"block--article-image__caption\">Smoke rises from the mountains near Gavanneau peak in Haiti\u2019s south-western Sud department. The area has been one of the country\u2019s most deforested in recent decades (Image: <a href=\"https:\/\/flic.kr\/p\/hNtT91\">Iolanda Fresnillo<\/a> \/ <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/people\/frostis\/\">Flickr<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/2.0\/deed.pt-br\">CC BY NC SA<\/a>)<\/div><\/div><\/div><meta itemprop=\"contentUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Gavanneau-peak-Haiti_Iolanda-Fresnillo_Flickr_11027707156-scaled.jpg\"\/><meta itemprop=\"contentSize\" content=\"759 KB\"\/><meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"1706\"\/><meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"2560\"\/><meta itemprop=\"author\"\/><meta itemprop=\"representativeOfPage\" content=\"true\"\/><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.undp.org\/sites\/g\/files\/zskgke326\/files\/2023-06\/Annex%2008-UNDP-5996-GCF%20Haiti-GAAP_cleared%207june2023.pdf\">report<\/a> from the Green Climate Fund (referencing data collected approximately 10-15 years ago), only around a third of Haitian households have access to electricity. In 2023, the country\u2019s Bureau of Mines and Energy said wood and charcoal accounted for more than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bme.gouv.ht\/media\/upload\/doc\/publications\/Geominergie_10_le_bois.pdf\">75%<\/a> of the country\u2019s energy needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There is no reliable estimate of how many farmers have shifted to charcoal production, but <a href=\"https:\/\/documents1.worldbank.org\/curated\/en\/697221548446232632\/pdf\/134058-CharcoalHaitiWeb.pdf\">research<\/a> indicates it is the second most valuable agricultural activity in Haiti, after mango production. \u201cIt all ties into the same spectrum, stemming from the political and security crisis, which is further exacerbating environmental degradation,\u201d says Noncent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-state-absence\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">State absence<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since the 2021 assassination, the country\u2019s political situation has been very fragile. At least three leaders have held executive power without being elected. In 2024, a nine-member Transitional Presidential Council was established with the support of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) and other international partners, followed by the establishment of Haiti\u2019s current prime minister, Alix Didier Fils-Aim\u00e9, in February. Elections are currently scheduled for <a href=\"https:\/\/haitiantimes.com\/2026\/09\/09\/haiti-electoral-council-reshuffling-amid-process-criticism\/\">December<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A 2022 <a href=\"https:\/\/haiti.un.org\/en\/189876-haiti-impact-deteriorating-security-situation-humanitarian-access-background-note-july-2022\">report<\/a> by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs suggested there were 200 gangs operating in the country. These armed groups have exploited the power vacuum to extend their control through violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The expansion of gangs beyond the capital, Port-au-Prince, and into the western regions, has continued to undermine state authority and disrupt humanitarian and commercial routes. Gangs have attacked several communities across various regions, destroying agricultural property and dealing significant blows to local economies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thousands have been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ungeneva.org\/en\/news-media\/news\/2025\/02\/102934\/human-rights-situation-haiti-remains-very-alarming-un-report-finds\">killed<\/a> according to the UN, including <a href=\"https:\/\/www.miamiherald.com\/news\/nation-world\/world\/americas\/haiti\/article315861248.html\">nearly 400<\/a> in just over two months earlier this year in parts of the capital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The crisis has made conservation work in the country\u2019s protected areas increasingly difficult, if not impossible, allowing deforestation to thrive. The extent of gang involvement in these environmentally damaging industries is unclear. But observers and residents say the exploitation of natural resources \u2013 including charcoal production, illegal logging and the occupation of protected areas \u2013 has expanded alongside the deterioration of the security situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some farmers have been forced out. \u201cWe practically no longer have access to our land,\u201d says Maryse Lorima, a resident of Kenscoff, a town close to Port-au-Prince. \u201cSince the gangs invaded the area, it has become extremely difficult to farm.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She says armed groups now have access to crops, livestock and the area\u2019s natural resources. \u201cThey cut down trees to make charcoal, and they take residents\u2019 harvests to sell,\u201d she claims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-cd-article-image aligncenter block--article-image block--article-image--article\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><div class=\"block--article-image__column\"><div class=\"hide-expand block--article-image__image\"><img class=\"lazy\" data-src=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Port-au-Prince-trolley_Francisco-Proner_Flickr_49277081846-scaled.jpg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Port-au-Prince-trolley_Francisco-Proner_Flickr_49277081846-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Port-au-Prince-trolley_Francisco-Proner_Flickr_49277081846-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Port-au-Prince-trolley_Francisco-Proner_Flickr_49277081846-scaled.jpg 2560w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 768px, (max-width: 1024px) 1024px, 2560px\" alt=\"man pushes supermarket trolley near armed man wearing camouflage\"\/><\/div><div class=\"block--article-image__content\"><div itemprop=\"caption\" class=\"block--article-image__caption\">A man pushes a trolley of cardboard boxes down a street patrolled by an armed guard in Haiti\u2019s capital Port-au-Prince. Since 2018, the country has been engulfed in a prolonged security and humanitarian crisis (Image: <a href=\"https:\/\/flic.kr\/p\/2i5rVDq\">Francisco Proner<\/a> \/ <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/people\/cidh\/\">CIDH<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/2.0\/deed.pt-br\">CC BY<\/a>)<\/div><\/div><\/div><meta itemprop=\"contentUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Port-au-Prince-trolley_Francisco-Proner_Flickr_49277081846-scaled.jpg\"\/><meta itemprop=\"contentSize\" content=\"795 KB\"\/><meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"1707\"\/><meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"2560\"\/><meta itemprop=\"author\"\/><meta itemprop=\"representativeOfPage\" content=\"true\"\/><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-protection-failures\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Protection failures<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kenscoff is one of the main western entry points to the protected area of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.karibiodiv.net\/sites-naturels\/parc-national-la-visite\">La Visite<\/a> national park. The presence of gangs in such areas makes access dangerous and prevents institutions from fulfilling their remit. Pr\u00e9nord Courdo, technical director of Haiti\u2019s National Agency for Protected Areas (ANAP), <a href=\"https:\/\/ayibopost.com\/les-gangs-controlent-lacces-aux-aires-protegees-en-haiti\/\">described<\/a> these difficulties to the local media outlet AyiboPost in 2025: \u201cFor the past five years, we have been unable to carry out proper fieldwork in a significant proportion of protected areas.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Officially responsible for managing some 20 sites, the ANAP, which operates under the supervision of the Ministry of the Environment, now finds itself largely overwhelmed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some armed groups are incorporating Haiti\u2019s protected areas into their strategy for territorial control. Gang coalitions, such as Viv Ansanm and the 400 Mawozo, occupy key positions around strategic natural resources, particularly in green zones located in the western region. Many of these areas serve as transport corridors, safe havens following clashes with the security forces and centres of informal economic activities, including extortion.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This has led to large parts of primary forest, including the <a href=\"https:\/\/ayibopost.com\/le-parc-la-visite-illustre-la-guerre-ouverte-contre-les-forets-en-haiti\">For\u00eat des Pins<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.haitilibre.com\/article-39062-haiti-environnement-sos-pour-sauver-la-foret-des-pins-le-parc-la-visite-et-le-parc-macaya.html\">La Visite<\/a> national parks, being <a href=\"https:\/\/ayibopost.com\/gangs-control-access-to-protected-green-areas-in-haiti\/\">converted<\/a> into charcoal production zones, agricultural land or informal settlements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The government created the Protected Areas Surveillance Brigade (BSAP) in January 2006 to support environmental protection. The brigade\u2019s numbers have since grown from a few dozen officers to several thousand. It has been accused of corruption, a lack of oversight and \u2013 as its activities have strayed into security-related issues \u2013 paramilitary-style abuses of power. The environment ministry has already warned of serious internal dysfunction, including a lack of institutional control, unclear command structures and insufficient accountability mechanisms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A 2024 <a href=\"https:\/\/ayibopost.com\/heavily-armed-agents-of-the-bsap-are-escaping-state-control\">investigation<\/a> into the BSAP by AyiboPost revealed allegations of smuggling, kidnapping and acts of repression against civilians. It also highlighted concerns that officers were carrying illegal weapons. Many officers are not officially registered with the government as public employees, the report suggested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIn the absence of effective oversight and accountability, environmental protection structures can lose their mandate in practice, leaving protected areas exposed to exploitation and degradation,\u201d says Noncent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Neither the BSAP nor the environment ministry has responded to Dialogue Earth\u2019s requests for comment. In April 2025, the presidential transition council <a href=\"https:\/\/lapresidence.ht\/renforcement-de-la-securite-publique-le-conseil-presidentiel-de-transition-adopte-une-resolution-majeure\/\">announced<\/a> an official collaboration between the BSAP and security forces, saying selected BSAP members would be drafted in to help \u201creinforce public security\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For residents living near La Visite national park, what is striking is the almost total absence of the officers supposedly carrying out surveillance. One such local, Ronald Aristil, laments: \u201cWe hardly ever see any officers in the area, even though they are the ones who should be ensuring security.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With large parts of the Caribbean country controlled by armed gangs, the state\u2019s absence is enabling environmental destruction<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":50001026,"featured_media":60151733,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_has_post_settings":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[761,50039902],"tags":[519,13887,50040749],"hashtags":[],"country":[50041536],"class_list":["post-60151721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-climate","category-forests","tag-climate-impacts","tag-conflict","tag-livelihoods","country-haiti"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v26.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Abandoned Haitians turn fruit trees into charcoal in wake of hurricane and violence | Dialogue Earth<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"With large parts of the Caribbean country controlled by armed gangs, the state\u2019s absence is enabling environmental destruction\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/climate\/abandoned-haitians-turn-fruit-trees-into-charcoal-in-wake-of-hurricane-and-violence\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Abandoned Haitians turn fruit trees into charcoal in wake of hurricane and violence\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"With large parts of the Caribbean country controlled by armed gangs, the state\u2019s absence is enabling environmental destruction\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/climate\/abandoned-haitians-turn-fruit-trees-into-charcoal-in-wake-of-hurricane-and-violence\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Dialogue Earth\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-09-18T16:51:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-09-18T16:53:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Port-au-Prince-wood-salvage_Alamy_2YKXK1P-1-e1789746588549.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lucnise Duquereste\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" 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