One of the great disasters of Haiti has been its lack of preservation of its own environment. Haiti comprises the western side of the island of Hispaniola, the eastern side of which is taken up by the larger country of the Dominican Republic. The D.R. is largely lush with rainforests and vegetation; by contrast, the Haitians have, over time, felled more than 90 percent of their own trees, in large part because most of its 8 million people use charcoal to cook, and electricity is not ready available throughout much of the country. As a result, Haiti has become astronomically drier and dustier and less able to grow its own crops than other Caribbean countries. Haitians balance the color of the sometimes bleak landscape with the striking and dramatic hues of their clothing and headwraps.

along the eastern border's international highway, near Banica
Haiti

© Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli