Kate Kennedy Freeman of the Modi Research Group wrote an article titled “Charcoal, Construction and Coffins: Tracing Links from Disasters to Deforestation in Haiti” on State of the Planet, one of the blogs from the Earth Institute. An excerpt:

Haiti’s reliance on fuelwood resources increases in the wake of natural disaster. At household level, families increase their production of charcoal to satisfy quick cash needs, while on a national scale disaster and destruction increase demand for coffins and construction. In post-earthquake Haiti, the urgent questions for the Parc Macaya is how to replace charcoal as a coping mechanism, and how to substitute for pine in recovery and reconstruction.