Environmental issues in Haiti include a historical deforestation problem, overpopulation, a lack of sanitation, natural disasters, and food insecurity. The major reasons for these environmental issues are corruption, foreign intervention by the U.S and human exploitation, and the embezzlement of taxpayers' funds for personal gains. In addition, there is not sufficient protection or management of the country's natural resources. Other environmental issues, such as decreases in precipitation and more severe natural disasters, will likely arise in Haiti as a result of climate change. Experts agree that Haiti needs to adopt new policies to address both the issues that already exist and to prepare for the effects of climate change. Issues Deforestation Deforestation in Haiti occurred primarily during the colonial period, and later after the Haitian Revolution to pay a post-independence war indemnity to France. Deforestation has led to soil erosion by decreasing tree cover and leaving soil exposed. In the present era, arboreal fallow, or trees cleared for agricultural production, are then transformed into charcoal as a secondary agricultural by-product. Today, 'primary' forest cover in Haiti is estimated at less than 1% of all land area. In an earlier study using the Food and Agricultural Organization (United Nations) global standard definition for 'forest', which includes areas that have been degraded by as much as 90% (10% canopy), approximately 30% of Haiti was estimated to be covered with trees and/or forests. However, because the United Nations definition does not distinguish between areas that have been previously deforested and those never deforested (primary forest), and the use of different canopy cover values can yield different per cent forest cover values, and because primary forest is the most important forest for the preservation of biodiversity, it is argued that only the value of <1% primary forest is relevant for environmental issues in Haiti because it addresses both deforestation and biodiversity. Haiti had a 2018 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 4.01/10, ranking it 137th globally out of 172 countries. Charcoal Charcoal production and consumption in Haiti is a widely misunderstood phenomenon. Charcoal is the primary source of energy for Haitian residents. The UN reported that 92% of Haitian households rely on charcoal for cooking, and approximately 10,000 bags of charcoal are burned daily in Haiti. Media has popularly portrayed Haitians as engaged in a widespread and lucrative illegal market for charcoal in the neighbouring Dominican Republic. Conservative estimates calculate the illegal movement