We are thrilled to introduce our latest EDGE Fellow from Haiti- Osé Pauléus. He will be working to conserve Hispaniolan solenodons and their habitats in the Massif de la Hotte in Haiti.
My name is Osé Pauléus, I have B.Sc. Degree in Agro Forestry and Environmental Sciences. I am an experienced and trained community development worker and have participated and organised environmental education and awareness-building programs throughout many years of volunteering with a number of environmental NGOs and youth projects. I worked in the Massif de la Hotte (the area I am going to work in) as part of an international conservation expedition with the Zoological Society of London in 2007.
As an Agronomist and Environmental Scientist by training, I have always had the goal of helping with the conservation of nature whilst improving the quality of life for people who are embedded in it. My passion for helping people and their environment has resulted in me working on an environmental education project, soil conservation project and nutrition project for people living in the countryside. I have also helped to develop some appropriate technologies for rural communities.
Haiti is a country with extreme poverty; especially in the countryside where people don’t find any other activities than subsistence agriculture and charcoal making to survive. The forests are fragmented and cleared, which brings the country to a situation where less than 1.5% of the country’s primary forest cover remains intact, much of which is now found in the Macaya Biosphere Reserve. However, the geomorphological and ecological regions are now being exploited for subsistence agriculture. The destruction of different habitat for several species is a major problem. That causes a persecution for several species that are endangered and faced with a threat of extinction. The Hispaniolan solenodon and the Hutia are not excluded from that threat.
The Hispaniolan solenodon represents one of the world’s threatened mammals and it’s endemic to the Massif de la Hotte. It is a distinct and unique species with ecological and economical importance, it will benefit both the environment, and people in Haiti. Thus, such a species-rich but neglected part of Haiti should be protected and conserved. As my interest focus on conservation, I decided to be one the people that are going to work to conserve the species from extinction.