SHI :: Providing farmers and communities in the tropics with long-term assistance implementing environmentally and economically sustainable technologies.

The National Weather Service predicted a severe hurricane season in 2007 with 23 - 30 tropical storms and hurricanes hitting the Atlantic coast. When Hurricane Dean hit the Yucatan Peninsula in late August 2007, most of us watched from the safety of our own homes, but the families living in Northern Belize experienced the category five tropical storm first-hand. SHI's Country Director in Belize, Nana Mensah, reported major damages, including destroyed homes and $30 million dollars loss of papaya crops, and therefore the loss of hundreds of jobs as well. Those losses in Belize were the first reported in areas where SHI works. Three successive tropical storms hit Nicaragua's Atlantic coast in July 2007 which caused the Escondito River to surge 6.5 meters above its normal level. 2,800 people were evacuated and many left homeless.

The paths of natural disasters cannot be diverted, but relief efforts are not the only way in which the danger and pain associated with them may be alleviated. For over ten years, SHI's efforts in Central America have worked to prevent natural disaster damage. While the initial destruction of tropical storms and earthquakes comes in the form of wind, rain and tremors, it is the after effects that can be most damaging.

Reforestation, along with the use of more sustainable methods, help to prevent some of the most devastating effects of storms and earthquakes, such as mud slides and flash floods, which lead to the loss of homes, crops and lives. SHI's local staff, families and volunteers have planted more than 2 million trees and converted thousands of acres of deforested land into sustainable uses. Families report that these efforts are successful in protecting their land and loved ones. SHI Field Trainer, Juan Carlos Sandres says, "After the experience of devastation in my country from Hurricane Mitch in 1998, Sustainable Harvest Honduras has been dedicated to sharing agro-forestry techniques with families that were impacted by the disaster. We have been able to improve many vulnerable areas through soil conservation, reforestation, crop diversification and disaster prevention training. We know that when there are natural disasters, the families we work with are more resilient and their parcels of land are much less susceptible to erosion and crop loss."

For years scientists have argued that global warming leads to more hurricanes that are harsher in severity. For a hurricane to occur, ocean heat is necessary, and global warming is arguably one of the causes of a trend of increasing ocean temperatures around the world. The U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports, "The intensity of tropical cyclones (hurricanes) in the North Atlantic has increased over the past 30 years, which correlates with increases in tropical sea surface temperatures." Additionally, they predict that these storms will become even more intense in the coming years and there will be heavy rains in high latitude areas while subtropical land regions will face droughts. Global warming is a massive, international problem, but SHI is working at the local level to affect global change. SHI founder Florence Reed says, "We are making large strides by implementing techniques that offset climate change while combating poverty."

Many of SHI's practices, like wood-conserving stoves, work to reduce carbon emissions. These stoves use a small fraction of the amount of wood as an open fire place and greatly reduce toxic smoke in the home. SHI is also working with families to construct biogas digesters which use manure and other organic material to produce methane gas for cooking. As SHI continuously works to prevent slash-and-burn farming, we simultaneously work to lower carbon emissions. When large amounts of land are burned, the change in land use may cause the carbon sink to be reduced in size, and this in turn increases carbon dioxide in the atmosphere-contributing to global warming. Therefore, SHI's work to stop slash-and-burn farming is also work to stop climate change and prevent severe weather disaster damage.

- Written by Smaller World Participant, Alexandra Dyke
Reprinted from our Fall 2007 newsletter