Les Cayes Botanical Garden Faces Serious Threats

Founded in 2003 on a plot of about six hectares in southern Haiti, this garden is a refuge for the country’s plant diversity, sheltering rare species, some of which are found nowhere else. Created by agronomist William Cinéa, this living study site is threatened by the lack of follow-up on a sale process initiated in 2018. The dispute involves the Paloma family, which owns the land, the Haitian State through the Ministry of the Environment, and the garden’s founder. Environmental activists regret that, if this unique place were to close, it would endanger an ecological heritage of immense value.