No Trees to Hide the Forest? UNEP’s Evolving Discourse on Deforestation in Haiti

Deforestation counts among the multiple clichés circulating about Haiti. For decades, official publications produced by governmental agencies as well as international organizations (IOs) have disseminated unsubstantiated 2% forest cover figure to describe the deforestation crisis happening in Haiti. Besides the inaccuracy of this of-cited figure, the dominant narrative links deforestation to charcoal. By doing so, it evacuates historical colonial responsibilities and other economic motives. It ignores current production and consumption practices while placing the blame almost exclusively on charcoal producers. IOs, international donors and development banks have played a significant role in producing and disseminating this dominant discourse on deforestation and charcoal. Conversely, they can actively contribute to changing the narrative. This article aims to study the evolution of the discourse on deforestation and charcoal through the case of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Following a direct request from the Government of Haiti, UNEP established a country program in 2008. It implements projects at national and sub-national levels with a focus on green economy and agricultural sectors, and blue economy targeting marine protected areas and fisheries value chains. It produces various publications, including desk studies, technical reports, fact sheets and social media content, in which it circulates a specific reading of the Haitian deforestation crisis. First, this paper traces the evolution of the discourse since 2008 in the publications of this key IO in the field of the environment in Haiti. Then, building on recent work on (de)politicization and IOs to analyze interview transcripts with UNEP personnel, it questions the political dimension of this discourse by identifying contestation and power struggles over its persistence and by considering the new narrative as a site of re-politicization.