Green Success Stories sat down with Dr. Tawainga Katsvairo, director of Better Universe and Citizens, Inc., an organization dedicated to reclaiming Haiti’s degraded land and converting it to green land. BUC’s efforts include planting perennial grasses on eroded slopes for land reclamation, fostering erosion control, and bringing back trees and vegetation to the slopes. In doing so, BUC helps in the fight against climate change, enabling CO2 reduction by land and by sea. Dr. Katsvairo brings awareness and support for their efforts that can be applied both in Haiti and in many parts of the world.
Tell us a bit about your sustainability journey.
Better Universe and Citizens (BUC), along with Florida State University and other partners, are conducting one of the most critical environmental projects of the 21st century – Land Reclamation for Transformational Economic Development in Haiti.
Soil erosion and associated land degradation in Haiti paralyzes the economy and is one of the reasons the country has failed to break out of poverty. Soil erosion has adverse effects on land and marine ecosystems and climate change. The erosion is caused by cutting trees for charcoal and farming on steep slopes. The pressure to cut trees for charcoal in Haiti will remain until alternative sources for charcoal have been developed. Likewise, farming on steep slopes remains, necessitating a different approach to control of soil erosion.
Tell us a bit about the product or solution you offer.
To alleviate the problems described above, we are planting perennial grasses on the eroded slopes for land reclamation and for erosion control, and bringing back vegetation to the slopes. The grass is grown in nurseries and transplanted to eroded lands. The grass is also purchased from farmers who have grass on their land. The farmers are taught sustainable ways to harvest the grass so there is more to sell the following year. The project has created commercial grass nurseries, converting crisis into economic opportunity. Perennial grasses live year after year without having to be replanted. These grasses establish quickly, are drought and heat tolerant, and survive fires. The grass helps retain topsoil that currently is being sadly lost. This approach is a game-changer because grass will not be harvested as charcoal.
At some point we discovered that the locals were attempting to plant trees in the areas they established grasses. We were very encouraged by this and started establishing tree nurseries. To date we establish tree nurseries to plant forestry trees with a focus on endangered tree species and trees with beneficial uses such as green manure, flowering plants for pollinators, and coppicing trees, which are trees that regrow. We grow fruit trees. We have ambitions to have fruit trees around the homes of every family in the communities we work in.
We focus on education to communities and schools. We partner with several organizations in Haiti to grow our initiatives to fight climate change.
Plants take up carbon dioxide to reduce climate change. In Haiti soil erosion reduced the ability to fight climate change by removing topsoil from the mountains and thereby reducing ability of the vegetation to grow. In what we describe as a double-edged sword, soil erosion takes soil from the mountains where it’s needed and deposits it in the oceans, covering seaweeds and reducing the photosynthesis in the oceans and hence ability to take reduce climate change. Erosion reduces ability to fight climate change on mountains and in the oceans simultaneously.
Details are available on our website and social media pages http://www.betteruniverseandcitizens.org.
The impressive work to protect mountain slopes and restore barren lands into green lands is done with the support and donations of individuals and numerous organizations, particularly Rotary Clubs across the US, with the Sanibel Captiva Rotary being the longest partner.
Share a green success story with us – how have you helped customers or other businesses in the fight against climate change?
We have been working on this project since 2016. We have built the largest network of schools and communities planting grass and trees in Haiti. With this we:
- Improve water quality, sanitation and hygiene in rural communities.
- Achieve reduction of mudslides during hurricanes. Studies show that proactive disaster reduction measures such as our initiative to plant grasses, results in huge savings, enabling families to purchase essentials such as medicine, food, clothing, and necessities they may be forced to forego in the event of damaging hurricanes.
- Reduce the permanent loss of Haiti’s valuable rich topsoil, and build soil health for agrarian Haitian communities, where 60% of the population relies on agriculture.
- Enable locals to participate in the global fight against climate change.
- Provide education on climate change and conservation.
- Conserve biodiversity in Haiti where several species are endemic (only found in Haiti).
- Protect critical infrastructure such as hydroelectric dams, irrigation canals and roads.
- Protect watershed and increase groundwater recharge where people in villages rely on ground water.
- Protect fisheries and marine. More than 400 villages in Haiti rely on fisheries.
- Reduce human trafficking.
- Reduce poverty, giving hope to communities.
- Build sustainable and resilient communities one acre at a time for a transformed Haiti.
What would you like readers to take away from this article?
Readers may have concerns about how the work is being done with the unrest in Haiti. Most of the unrest is in large cities like Port Au Prince. It’s relatively peaceful in the rural areas, enabling our work to proceed. We are one of the few organizations which has continued our operations during Covid and the unrest.
The program has ambitious goals to reduce soil erosion and help foster a prosperous economy in Haiti. Volunteers, funding and partners are needed for the scale-up phase to cover an estimated hundreds of thousands of acres in Haiti which could benefit from conservation measures. We would like to bring awareness to the cause and help people realize that if it can be done in Haiti, it can be done in many parts of the world. Small contributions and awareness in the US go a long way to assist the hard-working communities in Haiti. The project is currently done by 100 percent volunteers in the US with no paid staff. We would like to partner with organizations that have operations in Haiti.
How should readers get in touch with you and/or your organization?
Contact Information:
Phone: 202 744 3660
Or through our website: https://www.betteruniverseandcitizens.org
Kudos
Many thanks to Dr.Tawainga Katsvairo and Better Universe and Citizens, Inc. Green Success Stories is happy to support and highlight your efforts! We invite you the reader to do the same.
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