Deforestation
Exhausting Haiti's Forests
In the mountains outside Port-au-Prince, Haiti, residents slowly kill one of the only remaining mature trees by taking what they call "fat wood," which are little cuttings of sap-laden wood that are used daily to start their charcoal cooking fires. Although no one will admit to doing it, eventually the tree will fall and locals will take the wood for building purposes. With little vegetation left to prevent erosion, soil slides off the steep slopes with each heavy rain.
