Haiti Reforestation Act

THE HAITI REFORESTATION ACT OF 2009- PROMOTES SUSTAINABLE APPROACHES TO REFORESTATION AND AFFORESTATION

US Senator Richard Durban (D) from Illinois recently introduced a bill in the US Senate addressing the issue of reforestation in Haiti. Bill S 1183, the Haiti Reforestation Act of 2009, if enacted into law will authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to provide assistance to the Government of Haiti to end within 5 years the deforestation in Haiti and restore within 30 years the extent of tropical forest cover in existence in Haiti in 1992. In the process of drafting the Haitian Reforestation Act of 2009, Senator Durban's staff met with Lambi Fund of Haiti board member Jay Schoenberger to discuss our reforestation efforts. It must be noted that Lambi Fund's approach to reforestation is reflected in the portion of the bill which governs NGO involvement.

While Bill S 1183's primary focus is to work with the Haitian government, it also provides support for NGOs engaged in reforestation and afforestation activities. We are very pleased that the bill describes eligible agencies as those whose activities, similar to the Lambi Fund’s, support grassroots sustainable economic and environmental activities. As stated the bill will give preference to organizations which:

· Focus on sustainable income generating growth
· Provide seed money to start reforestation or afforestation collaborative
· Partner with local communities
· Focus on efforts that build local capacity to sustain growth after the completion of grant program
· Secure the involvement of local communities and indigenous peoples to protect forests in existence and carry out reforestation and afforestation activities

The Lambi Fund of Haiti is extremely interested in your opinion about Bill S 1183
www.opencongress.org/bill/111-s1183/show