On Friday, May 2nd, 2025, the Haitian Government, represented by Ketleen Florestal, Minister of Planning and External Cooperation, and Moïse Jean-Pierre, Minister of the Environment, signed, along with Catherine Boucher, Chargée d'Affaires a.i. at the Canadian Embassy in Haiti, the Memorandum of Understanding for the Koridò Vèt (Green Corridor) Project in the Baradères-Cayemites Terrestrial and Marine Protected Area in southwest Haiti.

Worth CAD 15 million over five years, the Green Corridor project is part of Canada's international commitment to climate financing. It recognizes that climate adaptation is a key objective in the face of future challenges. According to the memorandum of understanding, "the project's primary objective is to enable adaptation to climate change and biodiversity conservation in the Baradères-Cayemites Protected Area, while contributing to the food security of the region's inhabitants. The project also aims to strengthen women's economic empowerment and leadership in biodiversity conservation and the sustainable use of ecosystems."

"This project, which aims to protect biodiversity along the Southern Peninsula Green Corridor, is very important for Haiti, particularly for the populations of the affected municipalities. It will contribute to strengthening the resilience of the beneficiaries, particularly women, as well as our fragile and vulnerable environment in the face of climate change, as an inevitable natural phenomenon," explained Ketleen Florestal, Minister of Planning and External Cooperation.

For her part, Catherine Boucher stated that "this project directly contributes to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, particularly the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) #2, 5, 6, and 13, which aim, among other things, to support the creation of a world free from hunger, gender equality, the provision of clean water, climate action, and the empowerment of women and girls—important and priority issues for Haiti."

Through this project, the Haitian and Canadian governments say they hope to reach more than 60,000 people, including nearly 40,000 women and girls, in five municipalities: Baradères, Corail, Pestel, Grand Boucan, and the Cayemites Islands. These women, some of whom are already involved in their communities, will be able to strengthen their capacity and empowerment, assert their leadership on climate issues, and encourage the adoption by their communities of nature-based solutions as responses to the challenges of adapting to climate change, while fostering social cohesion within the communities.

HL/ HaitiLibre