This article examines environmental security in Haiti and specifically the
connection between human security and fertility. Rather than viewing population growth as a causal factor leading to the breakdown in Haiti's social order,
this article examines the ways in which the lack of social order in Haiti has
created a context in which fertility rates have remained high. It attempts to
move beyond simplified views of population-environment-security links to a
fuller appreciation of the institutional factors that have contributed to the
country's socioeconomic decline and the breakdown of public order. The principal conclusion is that the tremendous human insecurity in Haiti—which is
due to failures in governance, widespread poverty, and environmental
degradation—has contributed to large desired family size. To succeed, future
efforts to reduce fertility rates will need first to address the economic and
environmental security of poor Haitians and particularly women.
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