The following photos were taken during a March 2009 field assignment in Haiti. The purpose of that trip was to conduct a post-disaster environmental needs assessment following the 2008 hurricane season. This gallery offers some images of what Port-au-Prince looked like at that time, and provides a visual context for the sort of building construction and materials that made the city so vulnerable to the January 12 earthquake. It also offers a brief look at some of the environmental challenges facing Haiti. Now more than ever, Haiti will need help to reverse many of these trends as it starts the long process of rebuilding. It will be one of the most significant environmental recovery efforts ever launched.

Erosion just beyond Port-au-Prince

Half-built homes in Port-au-Prince

Layers upon layers without supporting foundation and infrastructure support.

Hillside views in Port-au-Prince

A view of shaky hillside developments in Port-au-Prince

Perspective from below

A step back, looking up

deforestation

Felled trees for building at market

charcoal production, another driver of deforestation

urban blight, a cumulative consequence