University Sequesters Carbon and Conducts Research in Haiti

By Duncan Pearce C’17

Special to the Messenger

Earlier this year the University of the South made its first payments for carbon sequestration to farmers in Haiti’s Central Plateau. This represented a milestone for Zanmi Kafe (Haitian Creole for Partners in Coffee) and a Zanmi Agrikol (Partners in Agriculture) to develop the first payment for ecosystem services program in Haiti, a project initiated by students working with Sewanee biology professor Deborah McGrath. 

Launched in 2013 with the establishment of a 15,000 seedling nursery in the mountainous region of Bois Jolie, Zanmi Kafe promotes carbon sequestration through the planting and care of trees. The project has developed into a large collaborative effort aimed at improving livelihoods by reversing the negative impacts of deforestation. The project involves outreach students and interns from Sewanee, as well as Haitian interns, agronomists and farmers.

For many rural Haitian families, cutting trees to grow crops or produce charcoal is a primary source of income. However, this practice of forest-clearing erodes hillsides and subsequently lowers soil productivity, which exacerbates poverty and poor health in the region. After examining reforestation efforts in the developing world for more than a decade, McGrath concluded that breaking this vicious cycle would require some form of financial incentive that could offset the opportunity cost of maintaining trees in lieu of making charcoal. 

The idea behind payments for ecosystem services is that companies or universities desiring to offset their carbon footprint purchase credits from sellers engaging in carbon sequestration activities, such as tree planting. The payments are made to landowners to maintain ecological services such as carbon sequestration, watershed protection and biodiversity provision. 

When the idea of planting trees was discussed with the farmers of Bois Jolie, they wanted to grow coffee like their parents once did. Because coffee grows well in a shaded understory, it encourages the planting of a diverse agroforestry system that provides fruit and other products. Paying farmers to sequester carbon encourages them to plant and protect seedlings as well as maintain existing trees that provide shade for the coffee. 

Unlike most carbon-offset programs (in which credits are purchased on the open market), Sewanee students directly support tree planting. The Sewanee Student Government Association agreed to use part of the student Green Fee for sustainability projects. Last spring, following her outreach trip to Haiti, student Mary Cash led an effort to raise awareness about how students can pledge their fee to support reforestation efforts in Haiti. Nearly 400 students pledged their fee, and it was from these funds that 45 Haitian farmers were paid for planting seedlings the preceding summer. On a March 2015 Spring Break outreach trip led by Dixon Myers, Sewanee students hiked to each farm to count, measure and assess the health of every seedling that could be found. This exhaustive survey provided data necessary to calculate the carbon payments for the farmers and furnished a baseline for future monitoring. On-farm research conducted by Sewanee and Haitian student interns provides information that will help farmers manage the system more sustainably. A baseline survey of ant, beetle and bird diversity will be used to assess the impact of the agroforestry system on the region’s ecology. Photosynthesis measurements help determine the optimal light level for coffee productivity and health. 

A sister project, Zanmi Foto, started by Sewanee art professor, photographer Pradip Malde, trains Zanmi Kafe families to document their lives in a way that stimulates conversation among friends, and neighbors. The Zanmi Foto archive already has about 20,000 photographs. 

For folks who have been participating in this project for years, the first distribution of carbon payments was more than just another step down the long road to reforestation; this day was the culmination of years of hard work. The payments connecting Sewanee students to farmers demonstrate Sewanee’s care and commitment to the well-being of its Haitian friends. Zanmi Kafe and Zanmi Foto are about integrating outreach, sustainability and hands-on problem-solving to create respectful, long-lasting relationships that better the lives of all those involved. 

The Sewanee-Haiti Institute would like to thank the Sommer and Harris families as well as the global outreach program at St. Andrew’s-Sewanee School for their generous support. To learn more go to <www.haiti.sewanee.edu>.