Cultivating Human and Ecosystem Health: Planetary Health Applications Through Agroforestry in Rural Haiti

Planetary Health acknowledges the interconnectedness of human health and the natural systems on which human health depends. In recent years, public health, healthcare, and environmental professionals have called for coordinated efforts across sectors to mitigate the adverse effects of global environmental change. However, long-term investments in environmental change may be harder to justify when faced with urgent human health needs. Using Haiti as a case study, one of the most environmentally degraded and socially vulnerable countries in the Caribbean, we explored the implementation of two rural development interventions in Haiti amidst critical human health needs. Using qualitative approaches including focus groups (n=3), individual interviews (n=2), and a document analysis, we examine the origins, design, implementation, and outcomes of the two rural development interventions, including the factors that supported long-term success. Findings show that cross-sector innovations designed to address both ecosystem health and human health generate tangible planetary health benefits in areas such as food security, nutrition, soil retention, and agricultural education, which increase community members’ access to more livelihood opportunities. We posit that use of a planetary health framework in health program design and implementation can be a viable and effective strategy for addressing complex development challenges.