The First Victims of Environmental Degradation

It’s easy to forget who the first victims of environmental degradation are as nations clammer to protect their interests during climate negotiations at Copenhagen. I have a long-time friend who works as a missionary in Haiti, through the Northwest Haiti Christian Mission (any support would be most welcomed). In a recent web entry, he noted the daunting challenges Haiti faces as a result of environmental debasement. Challenges so big, in fact it leads Curtis (my friend) to believe that it’s environmental problems that pose the greatest threat to Haiti’s development.

To take an excerpt from Curtis:
“In short, environmental problems pose the most immediate and serious threats to those who already live on the margins, those who toe the line of subsistence every day. The poor of countries like Haiti will be the first to be displaced/starved/killed by the degradation of the environment and the least capable to deal with it.” (and yes, it’s “toe the line”, not “tow the line” – he got it right)

To get a birds-eye view from airplane, one is struck by the deforestation that scares the Haitian landscape. Such deforestation creates a destructive ripple effect including landslides that have killed thousands of Haitians. The environmental ignominy compounds the devastation of natural disasters, beyond just the landslides. Periods of drought are either magnified or caused by the absence of trees, which help give life to the soils. The resulting erosion of land has lead to poor agricultural output, making them more dependent on food imports.

Pollution and run-off makes clean water a scarcity. The coral reefs that once drew thousands of tourists to Haitian coasts are dying along with the economic benefits they brought.

With a very limited medical infrastructure (often relegated to medical mission projects and the work of non-profit organizations), the health problems that accompany environmental breakdown, even small health problems, become a major problem.

So while it’s easy to be cynical about the smoke and mirrors show that is the Copenhagen Climate Conference, it’s even easier to forget that there are real victims to real environmental problems right now. One does not need to overcome skepticism to climate change to see that these are things that need to be taken seriously. I hope that we don’t get so distracted by the political theater surrounding “greenhouse gas” emissions, that we overlook the real problems that humanity faces. Because a country as small and shattered as Haiti, does not have a loud enough voice to be heard over the shouting of talking points.