In Haiti’s southern coastal regions, rising seas, saltwater intrusion, and deforestation are driving families from their land. In communities such as Les Cayes, Port-Salut, and Île-à-Vache, livelihoods are collapsing as arable soil turns saline and fisheries disappear, forcing thousands to seek survival elsewhere.
Many head toward Port-au-Prince, where the influx of displaced people collides with a capital already fractured by gang violence and mass displacement. In precarious urban settlements, environmental exile becomes entangled with insecurity, as access to housing, food, and even movement is often controlled by armed groups.
Environmental breakdown in the south is triggering a chain reaction: rural exodus, overcrowded urban neighborhoods, and escalating violence. Haiti’s crisis is not only defined by politics or guns but also by the struggle for land and water, with climate change emerging as a driving force behind both displacement and insecurity.
