The newly launched ‘Haiti Forest’ initiative promises to develop sustainable agroforestry on 10,000 hectares of land promised by the Haitian Ministries of Agriculture and Environment.

The program was announced by Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Professor and founder of Yunus Social Business, Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Unite, and former US President Bill Clinton.

According to the press release, the new initiative has four main objectives: to re-forest Haiti; provide sustainable livelihoods to farmers; help mitigate Haiti's dependency on food imports over the long-term; and help identify alternative fuel sources to reduce usage of charcoal.

The initiative will be organized as a social business; a company set-up for maximizing social benefit rather than private profit.

In the past 50 years, Haiti has lost virtually all of its forests. The country is seriously affected by soil erosion and there has been a reduction in the amount of arable land.

Over the next 6 month, planning will take place with rural communities and small holder farmers to determine what trees and crops should be planted, engage community leaders on the reforestation aspects of the project, and work with government to identify applicable land areas.

Read the press release: Yunus Social Business, Virgin Unite and Clinton Foundation Launch Haiti Forest Initiative