Above: seedlings being planted in Haiti in 2012

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Haiti President Michel Martelly and Dominican Republic President Danilo Medina will visit the Northeast department of Haiti Wednesday to launch a reforestation project on the island.

The project is launching on the occasion of World Environment Day. Martelly and Medina will visit Ouanaminthe, where the two countries have built a seedling production centre with help from Cuba.

The goal of the project is to “allow the two countries to protect themselves from the ravages of deforestation and natural disasters caused by environmental degradation,” according to a Haitian government statement.

Martelly declared 2013 the “year of the environment,” with plans to continue reforestation efforts launched last year.

Over last few decades, Haiti has experienced significant deforestation, with just 2 percent of its forest cover remaining.

In March, the Clinton Foundation and Yunus Social Business announced a partnership called “Haiti Forest,” which is committing to redevelop the country’s forest cover.

The government of Haiti has committed 10,000 hectares of land for that initiative.