As part of the project, “Preservation of Heritage and Support for the Tourism Sector” (PAST) the office of UNESCO in Port-au-Prince undertook a floristic inventory for the conservation of the monuments and the natural environment of the historic national park Citadelle, Sans-Souci, Ramiers (PNH_CSSR).
The aim of this study was to revise the different species and evaluate their conservation status as a means to stop the erosion of biodiversity and propose actions for the conservation and restoration of the natural spaces for the well-being of the population and the conservation of the monuments. The preliminary results revealed that the PNC-CSSR has a great diversity of plants that can respond to health, nutritional and environmental resilience issues.
Actually, the inventories have shown that the park has a high rate of endemic plants to conserve. More than fifty medicinal plants have been identified and five to eight species of trees exist on the site with large roots that prevent landslide and protect the area of Citadelle.
Nevertheless, the park is also threatened with high fire hazard owing to the fact that the ecosystems have been disrupted and invaded by the pioneer and invasive plants such as ferns. Moreover, agroforestry practices over a large part of the PNH-CSSR convey the impression that the area is conserved and protected. Additionally, severe erosion of sol and of the biodiversity has been noticed.
This research has shown that it is urgent to stop the elimination of stabilization species to avoid landslides; one must invest in environmental education, develop conservation and safeguard plans for critically endangered species and restoration plans for degraded ecosystems to strengthen the environmental resilience to protect the monuments. The inventory realized in the context of the project PAST, co-financed by the Haitian Government and the World Bank, displays that there is a need for the PNH-CSSR to be classified among the protected areas like Park Macaya and the Visited.
Nature is our wealth; our daily actions can lead to its protection and degradation. Haiti is the second richest Caribbean country in floristic biodiversity. The flora of the country, which describes the plants dating from 1930, will have a century soon. However, these resources are very little known, valued, and preserved. Consequently, the Haitians barely know about the riches of the flora.
On the occasion of the world biodiversity day, celebrated this year, around the theme” the solution of our problems is in nature”, it is relevant to sensitize the Haitian population generally and that of the park in particular on the threats of biodiversity. An ideal moment to display that the solutions for health, food safety, environmental resilience in the face of climate changes and natural disasters are also found in nature.
