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1. Haiti’s Failed Quest for Stability and Development after the 2010 Earthquake: Why Did It Go Wrong?

Author:
Koldo Echebarria
Publication Date:
11-2023
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Global Development (CGD)
Abstract:
Haiti is once more experiencing a severe crisis of instability and political unrest. The devastating 2010 earthquake catastrophe was seen as a chance to break with the past and steer the nation in a new direction. Although some progress was made, it was only short-lived, insufficient to establish a growth path, uneven across sectors, and, as we have since learned, politically unsustainable. The analysis identifies several reasons the effort was insufficient to bring stability and growth: (i) objectives spanned reconstruction and development while resources were limited; (ii) the approach taken to build up security was unsustainable, leaving an underfunded and institutionally weak police force; (iii) divisive and confrontational politics was recognized as the critical challenge but it was not dealt with as such; (iv) coordination between Haitian authorities and international actors suffered from a deep sense of mistrust, never achieving a shared and clear action plan; (v) state-building efforts failed and institutions deteriorated further; and, (vi) the project-by-project approach followed by international donors dispersed effort, limited adaptation to a complex reality and increased transaction costs. Policy recommendations follow the analysis, arguing for a more focused strategy from the international community with a long-term programmatic approach. Until a reasonable level of stability is reached, security and social protection should take precedence. A final reflection will be offered on how lessons learned in Haiti can be useful in other fragile contexts.
Topic:
Development, Natural Disasters, Earthquake, Instability, and Aid Effectiveness
Political Geography:
Caribbean and Haiti

2. Guided by Experience: A Comparative Analysis of the U.S. Military Responses to Natural Disasters in Haiti (2010 and 2021)

Author:
Christopher Davis
Publication Date:
03-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Advanced Military Studies
Institution:
Marine Corps University Press, National Defense University
Abstract:
In 2010 and 2021, Haiti was struck by a massive earthquake and both times it left the nation in the grips of a humanitarian crisis. The U.S. military responded to both events with a large-scale, interorganizational relief effort to provide aid to the affected areas. Though the disaster in 2010 created unprecedented challenges, the U.S. Southern Command met those challenges and applied their lessons to its response to the 2021 earthquake 11 years later.
Topic:
Disaster Relief, Humanitarian Aid, Natural Disasters, Armed Forces, and Earthquake
Political Geography:
Caribbean and Haiti

3. Climate Change Resilience: The case of Haiti

Author:
Marc J. Cohen and Bhawan Singh
Publication Date:
03-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Haiti's climate has changed over the past four decades. Annual mean temperatures have risen, and the rainy season now begins up to three months later than usual. Projections of future climate change indicate that annual mean temperatures will continue to rise over the course of the 21st century. Rainfall variability is also expected to increase, meaning more extreme droughts in the dry season and more intense rainfall in the wet season. Sea-level rise and increased storm surges are also expected. The coastal plains are increasingly subject to the influx of saltwater, and as ocean surges lead to saltier soils, farmers can no longer cultivate them. These factors will exacerbate current serious problems of flooding and erosion in coastal areas that lie in the direct path of tropical storms and hurricanes. In the absence of significant adaptation efforts, these dynamics will in turn have severe impacts on water resources, land, agriculture, and forests. Annual population growth of 1.5 per cent means over 11 million mouths to feed by 2020 and additional pressure on agricultural resources.
Topic:
Climate Change, Development, Poverty, Natural Disasters, and Infrastructure
Political Geography:
Caribbean and Haiti

4. Balancing Foreign Direct Investments: Disaster Risks and Development in Haiti

Author:
Laurent Lamothe
Publication Date:
04-2013
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Columbia University World Leaders Forum
Abstract:
This World Leaders Forum program features an address by Laurent Lamothe, Prime Minister of the Republic of Haiti, titled Balancing Foreign Direct Investments: Disaster Risks and Development in Haiti, followed by a question and answer session with the audience.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Natural Disasters, Foreign Aid, and Foreign Direct Investment
Political Geography:
Caribbean and Haiti

5. Is Tourism Haiti’s Magic Bullet? An Empirical Treatment of Haiti’s Tourism Potential

Author:
Athena R. Kolbe, Keely Brookes, and Robert Muggah
Publication Date:
06-2013
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Igarapé Institute
Abstract:
Tourism is often described as key to Haiti’s salvation. The economic potential of foreigners visiting the island nation is cited in virtually all major assessments of the country’s current development problems. This may seem at first counterintuitive: the impoverished and disaster-stricken country has long-struggled with violence and political instability. But it is increasingly regarded as necessary. Immediately after the January 2010 earthquake it was recognized that strategic investments would be needed to secure Haiti’s economy once foreign aid had diminished. Tourism was recently elevated to a top priority by Haiti’s current administration and the Ministry of Tourism. The government hopes that an influx of foreign currency generated by tourist dollars could help lift the country out of aid-dependency. This is not as surprising as it may seem. Haiti used to be a Caribbean destination – Graham Green described it as a tropical idyll in the mid-twentieth century during the early years of the Duvalier regime. What is more, former U.S. president Bill Clinton publically reminisces of his honeymoon in Haiti and until the 1990s Club Med ran a resort just an hour outside of Port-au-Prince. Yet the prospects for tourism are still highly uncertain. After coups in 1991 and 2004, recreational tourism has all but vanished. Since the devastating 2010 earthquake, one is more likely to see missionaries and aid workers in Haiti than vacationers. This Strategic Note assesses the extent to which Haiti is safe for tourism and explores how tourists and those in the industry view their role in Haiti’s development efforts to increase tourism. It draws, as in past Igarapé Institute publications, on both quantitative surveys and qualitative research. Informed by this empirical evidence, the study sets out a number of recommendations to improve the tourism industry within the country. This Strategic Note considers the perceptions of tourists visiting Haiti in 2013 and their motives and perceptions of the country. A total of 2,231 tourists were surveyed with a response rate of almost 75 per cent. An additional 390 tourism professionals were also consulted and interviewed.
Topic:
Government, Natural Disasters, Tourism, and Economy
Political Geography:
Caribbean and Haiti

6. Putting the pieces together: Haiti's path to a working state

Author:
Blanca Antonini
Publication Date:
09-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution
Abstract:
The earthquake of 2010 brutally exposed the vulnerabilities of Haiti's people, as well as confronting an already weakly governed country with massive humanitarian and logistical dilemmas. While progress has been made towards reconstruction, the underlying fragility of the country remains. Even as certain donors reconsider their aid to the country, Haiti continues to suffer from economic dependence, environmental risk, an institutional vacuum, a heavily fragmented political landscape, and a continuing cycle of poverty and violence.
Topic:
Corruption, Development, Humanitarian Aid, and Natural Disasters
Political Geography:
Caribbean and Haiti

7. President Martelly – call on Haiti's youth!

Author:
Henriette Lunde
Publication Date:
01-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution
Abstract:
Half a year has passed since Michel Martelly was inaugurated as the new president of Haiti, and so far the earthquake-devastated country has seen little progress from his presidency. The reconstruction process is slow, and frustration and disgruntlement are growing among the population. Important time was wasted during the five months it took to appoint a new prime minister and put a new government in place. Martelly's mandate was largely given to him by the country's youth, who have high expectations of him. Integrating youth into the reconstruction process is important for reasons of political stability, but young people also represent the country's most important resource per se by constituting a large and – relative to their parents – better-educated part of the workforce. To battle the image of Haiti as a weak state in a land of strong NGOs, the Haitian state needs to assert itself and take on the responsibility of providing services to its citizens. Recruiting young people on a large scale for public sector employment in basic service provision and establishing a national youth civic service corps would strengthen the position of the state and let youth participate in the reconstruction process in a meaningful way. However, a civic service corps would demand high levels of co-ordination and transparency to avoid becoming an empty institution reinforcing patrimonial structures. The youth who brought Martelly to power represent a great potential asset for the country and need to be given the place in the reconstruction process that they have been promised.
Topic:
Democratization, Natural Disasters, Fragile/Failed State, and Youth Culture
Political Geography:
Caribbean and Haiti

8. After the Storm: Haiti’s Coming Food Crisis

Author:
Athena R. Kolbe, Marie N. Puccio, and Robert Muggah
Publication Date:
12-2012
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Igarapé Institute
Abstract:
Far from global media headlines, tropical storms devastated Haiti during the recent hurricane season. In late August 2011, 19 people were killed when hurricane Isaac touched down.1 More than 50 more people were killed when Hurricane Sandy ripped through Southern Haiti in October 2012.2 Some 16 more people were killed in November 2012 during flooding in the northern city of Cap Haitien.3 And the impacts extended beyond death and injury: rain triggered mudslides throughout the country, washing out homes, roadways and bridges and bringing transportation to a near standstill. Compounding extensive protracted internal displacement generated by the 2010 earthquake, government officials estimate tens of thousands more were made homeless.
Topic:
Natural Disasters, Crisis Management, Food Crisis, and Hurricane
Political Geography:
Caribbean and Haiti

9. Haiti Progress Report 2010

Publication Date:
01-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Even before the earthquake struck on 12 January 2010, Haiti was the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere, ranked by the United Nations Development Programme as one of the world's 50 poorest countries (2009). In short, life was already a struggle for most families. Then the earthquake hit, and lives were turned upside down. It was the most powerful earthquake in Haiti for 200 years.
Topic:
Development, Human Welfare, Humanitarian Aid, Poverty, and Natural Disasters
Political Geography:
United Nations, Caribbean, and Haiti

10. What Is In Haiti's Future?

Author:
Robert Maguire and Tara Nesvaderani
Publication Date:
03-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
Haiti's slow pace of recovery from the January 2010 earthquake is due to the magnitude of the calamity, pre-existing conditions, institutional weaknesses, resource limitations, a cholera epidemic and disputed elections. The pace of new cholera infections and deaths has begun to slow, although infections and death rates remain high in rural areas and risk of renewed high infection rates is significant. Following protracted controversy after presidential and parliamentary elections held in late November 2010, second round runoffs have been scheduled for March 20th with President Rene Préval remaining in office through mid-May. The unexpected return to Haiti in mid-January of former dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier and the potential return of exiled former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide have added to the country's turmoil and uncertainty. Scenarios for Haiti's future are based not only on the international community's ability to provide needed support, but also on the ability of Haiti's leaders and people to successfully elect a credible national government.
Topic:
Development, Poverty, and Natural Disasters
Political Geography:
Caribbean and Haiti