Why international support for Haiti must include climate security

A few weeks ago, the UN acknowledged for the first time that climate change adversely impacts food security, water scarcity, and the humanitarian situation in Haiti, aggravating existing instability. This is a step forward, taken as the UN agreed to continue supporting wide-ranging work in the country, and as momentum builds for a “multinational force” to be deployed to help rein in rampant gang violence. Up to now, international interventions have focused on political and security approaches to cure the symptoms of Haiti’s ills but have failed to address their causes. Without properly addressing climate and environmental challenges, the violence, exclusion, and poverty that confront so many Haitians are doomed to spiral further and become entrenched in daily life. With the…