ABSTRACT
Some of the most damaging impacts of climate change are seen on small island nations. These countries are commonly exposed to the direct effects of climate change, including sea-level rise and severe storms as well as other pre-existing environmental stresses that are exacerbated by climate change. On islands with a legacy of colonialism, high population densities, fragile ecosystems, weak economies with widespread poverty, and limited governmental capacity to respond to adverse circumstances, serious challenges undercut efforts to adapt to changing climate. Haiti is a prominent example of this combination of physical exposure, harsh socioeconomic conditions for many inhabitants, and historic barriers to national development imposed by wealthy nations. This chapter examines how Haiti, which is prone to a wide assemblage of environmental stressors, including devastating flooding, damaging hurricanes, destructive earthquakes, and fast-moving landslides that are tied to anthropogenic deforestation and loss of rainfall-absorbing topsoil dating to the colonial era, has come to be one of the most vulnerable countries in the world in a time of climate change.
