Celebrating 25 Years of Action for Biodiversity

75 per cent of Haiti’s 2,000 species of fauna are endemic [ ] 119 Saving the rhinoceros iguanas from extinction in Anse-à-Pitre A characteristic trait noted in Haiti — which constitutes a new trend in the past decade — is the growing involvement of civil society in the management and governance of biodiversity in the country. Local groups often operate in collaboration with international NGOs and receive the support of certain cooperation agencies. Such has been the case for the protection of the rhinoceros iguana population in south-eastern Haiti. Conservation efforts have been based on the combined efforts of the Organization of Active Youth of Anse-à-Pitre (OJAA) and the Munic- ipality of Anse-à-Pitre, as well as the Grupo de Jaragua, the International Iguana Foundation and the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF). It began in 2012 when the Inter- national Iguana Foundation (IIF), in consultation with Grupo Jaragua, a Dominican civil society organization, undertook a scientific expedition to Anse-à-Pitre in the south-east of the country in order to find rhinoceros iguanas (Cyclura cornuta) that were believed to have been extinct since 2007. A small population of rhinoc- eros iguanas was discovered, and IFF started working with the youth group OJAA in a breeding operation. Very quickly, the OJAA committed to protect and monitor the species. Thanks to the financial resources provided by the Critical Ecosys- tem Partnership Fund (CEFP), IIF involved the local municipality, and a municipal by-law was passed estab- lishing the first Iguana Reserve in Haiti. The Reserve is jointly managed by the OJAA you group and the Mu- nicipality of Anse-à-Pitre. It currently protects 3,000ha of dry forest for the conservation of the small population of rhinoceros iguanas. IFF has assisted the OJAA and the Municipality of Anse-à-Pitre in the preparation of a management plan integrating the needs of local cattle breeders who use the remains of the dry forest for the itinerary of their animals. Information, Education and Communication activities have also been undertaken for local communi- ties, focused on the safeguard of the iguanas. The experience of OJAA and the municipality of Anse-à-Pitre thus epitomizes a model illustrating a strong sense of community commit- ment in the context of a common property ownership system, in which the members of a social group work to reduce the potential collective damages to the environment. Haiti Haiti T he Republic of Haiti occupies one-third (27750 km²) of the second largest island of the Caribbean, known as Hispaniola, and shared with the Dominican Republic. The country is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the north, and the Caribbean Sea to the west and south. Most of the territory consists of rugged and mountainous land with abrupt slopes and deep valleys, with five mountain ranges occupying 75 per cent of the country. The rest of the territory consists of flat expanses, with coastal and marine access. Haiti is located in an internationally recognized biodiversity hotspot, the Caribbean, which ranks fourth in the world for major diversity indices, and perhaps containing the highest concentration of endemic species on a land area basis. Kayla Gibson