Biodiesel in Haiti supporting sustainable agriculture

In a courageous effort, a French group has started producing biodiesel in Haiti, one of the poorest countries in the Western hemisphere. Years of mismanagement, political instability, and economic decline have led the hilly island state to the brink of environmental collapse. Haiti is plagued by degradation on an unprecedented scale, with virtually all forest gone, and with devastating floods, heavy soil erosion and declining agricultural yields as a result (a good overview of this dramatic situation can be found in Jared Diamond’s book Collapse, part three of which has a chapter on the causes of Haiti’s environmental disaster.) Biodiesel Haiti is now trying to restore the damaged landscape by planting Jatropha curcas shrubs, the oil-rich seeds of which can be used for the production of biodiesel.
Biopact