The sea rises and swallows lots in the south of Haiti

Two specialists contacted by AyiboPost call on the State to act to help the population become aware of the risks

The sea is rising.

One by one, the islands disappear, followed by the fish.

“Help!” shout the inhabitants of the Cayem Islands.

Six of the nine islets of the pair of islands located in Grand’Anse, Grande Cayemite to the east and Petite Cayemite to the west, have gradually been submerged in recent years, observes to AyiboPost Lisma Saint-Jean, a fifty-year-old fisherman from the area.

People take shelter on these small stretches of land around the Cayemites, sometimes for several weeks, to trap fish and ensure their survival.

But with each rising tide, the water continues to rise. It floods homes on the mainland of the Cayemites Islands, and attempts to block them have failed, witnesses said.

“We are really worried about the future of the island given this situation,” says Niclerce Lindor, a native of Pointe Sable in Grande Cayemite.

“So far,” the man said, “no authority has looked into the problem.”

A coral islet threatened with extinction due to rising waters in 2021. Locals used to go to this islet to fish. | © William Cinéa

After the earthquake of August 14, 2021an increase of 10 to 15 cm in sea level was observed over nearly 250 m at Pointe Sable – a locality of the Cayemites, according to a report of the General Directorate of Civil Protection (DGPC).

The institution estimated that the “temporary” alternation of rising and falling tides on the island should not last beyond three months after the earthquake.

But today the problem persists, causing the loss of livelihoods and the displacement of many families.

In 2015, the research team of Botanical Garden of Les Cayes visits an islet near the Cayemites Islands as part of a project dubbed the Conservatoire des îles d’Haïti.

When the team returned to the area in 2023, the islet had disappeared, William Cinéa, initiator of the Cayes botanical garden, revealed to AyiboPost.

Other islands in Haiti are suffering the effects of rising sea levels, linked to climate change.

After Hurricane Matthew in 2016the two mangrove areas located at Cow Islandwhich were protected by several hills, were reached by sea level, destroying the vegetation and fauna of the ecosystem, according to Cinéa.

The advance of the sea is endangering the island of the English located a few kilometers from Saint-Louis du Sud, notes Cinéa. The island is home to the historic remains of Fort Saint-Louis.

The phenomenon of rising sea levels is global.

“Island countries like Haiti are particularly affected,” Paul Judex Edouarzin, an ecologist and specialist in environmental governance, told AyiboPost.

Rising waters at Île-à-Vache affect the coastline in 2015.

According to a press release issued by the World Meteorological Organization in November 2023, sea level rise between 2013 and 2022 is twice that of the first decade of satellite observation (1993-2002) due to continued warming of the oceans and melting of glaciers and ice sheets.

These warmings are due to the release into the atmosphere of large quantities of greenhouse gases mainly by rich countries since the start of the industrial revolution in the 18th century.

According to Edouarzin, rising sea levels will have significant repercussions on Haiti, both economically and environmentally.

Economically, it could cause the destruction of coastal infrastructure essential to the tourism sector, alter agricultural areas and cause the salinization of coastal plains, thus compromising agriculture.

In terms of environmental impact, climate change and sea level rise can affect marine coastal ecosystems, causing, among other things, coral bleaching, obstruction or destruction of turtle nesting areas, and other natural habitats.

Alongside the influence of global climate phenomena, the islands of Haiti are faced with the impacts of the actions of their inhabitants.

These impacts include deforestation, unregulated extraction of sand and rock for construction, and coastal erosion which makes the soil extremely fragile.

Deforestation of mangroves on Île-à-Vache for charcoal production by locals.

An agroforestry engineer and botanist, Cinéa reports that “topsoil almost no longer exists on Île-à-Vache.”

Commonly grown crops on the island, such as peanuts, cassava and potatoes, are unsuitable, making the soil more vulnerable to winds.

The situation is similar on the Isle of the English, where the plant ecosystem, which still protected this space, is disappearing, according to Cinéa.

Two specialists contacted by AyiboPost are calling on the State to act to help the population become aware of the risks.

Public institutions must implement ecosystem restoration initiatives to help save flora and fauna.

“If nothing is done, we can expect the disappearance of the resilience resources of our ecosystem,” warns Cinéa.

Bags of charcoal from the deforestation of mangroves on Île-à-Vache.

In the Cayemites Islands, sea levels continue to rise, increasing the risk of significant damage. “We live here in great uncertainty,” says Vladimir Cangas, a fisherman and resident of Anse du Nord, a town in Grande Cayemite.

When the tide comes in, “I sleep with one eye open and one eye closed to stay alert in case the waters could invade,” explains this father of four, worried about his family’s future on the island.

Cow Island