Haiti Cultural Ecologies

Haiti General Information 

Haiti Economic Indicators

United States General Information

US Economic Indictaors 

The air quality index in the United States falls within the “good” range, averaging around 39–40.

New York State General Information

NYS Economic Indicator

The life expectancy in New York State is 82.6 years 

The CO₂ emissions is 7-8.4 metric tons per capita

The air quality index in New York State is 50, which falls within the “good” range

New York City General Information

NYC Economic Indicators 

The unemployment rate in New York City is 5.8% in 2025

The Gini coefficient is 0.5470

The life expectancy in New York City is 82.6 years.

The CO₂ emissions is 6.2 metric tons per capita

New York City’s average annual Air Quality Index (AQI) is 45.8, which falls within the “good” range, indicating generally clean and healthy air quality.

Climate Change and Enviromental Issues

Environmentally, Haiti is challenged in a way that affects the economy and the well being of its people. Overall, Haiti has economic challenges that result in broader problems socially. Specifically low GDP per capita, High inflation and unemployment are some of the bigger factors for Haiti’s poor economic outlook. Because of these economic factors, public accessibility to healthcare, education, and humane living conditions are almost never available. As a result, Haiti has a low life expectancy, poor air quality and widespread poverty. Other social blights such as weak infrastructure and pollution hinder Haiti’s ability to grow economically and impacts the overall stability of the country.

The problems that the country experiences include hurricanes, flooding, deforestation, soil erosion, drought, and susceptibility to climate change. This is because rising sea levels, which result from climate change, as well as increased intensity of storms, pose a threat to coastline dwellers, while deforestation has led to a significant percentage of the country being susceptible to landslide disasters and crop failure.

Such challenges have a direct effect on the economy. Climate change has negative effects on crops, houses, and infrastructure such as roads, thereby resulting in reduced agricultural production, thereby contributing to a decline in the GDP. The shortage of food resulting from the effects of drought and storms increases inflation, while a decrease in land and infrastructure increases unemployment.Climate change also leads to displacements, thereby contributing to increased poverty.

In response, the planting of trees, disaster preparedness, and adaptation to climate change have been initiated by Haiti, alongside other international organizations. The enhancement of storm warnings for hurricanes, as well as agricultural sustainability, has been initiated, but progress is still minimal due to instabilities in the political setting. The challenges that Haiti is undergoing underscore the philosophies of justice, vulnerability, and sustainability, where Communities of least advantage in Haiti are most significantly impacted by climate change, though they are not significant in relation to global emission levels.