Coping with Climate Change: Stress and Resilience in Nan Orèl, Haiti

 

Climate change is a complex phenomenon with multiple implications, affecting countries to varying degrees depending on their infrastructure and response capabilities. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has confirmed the existence of evidence of the effects of human activities on health, with estimates predicting an increase in global morbidity related to climate change. The issue of climate-induced migration is complex and controversial. The World Bank report "Groundswell" anticipates 140 million internal climate migrations by 2050 in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and Latin America, while the IOM estimates that there were 272 million climate migrants in 2019.

This summary focuses on the psychological consequences of climate displacement on affected populations. It analyzes the social representations of the stress experienced by displaced persons following Major Climate Events (MCs) and its impacts on their lives.

Haiti is particularly vulnerable to climate change and climate displacement. Its environmental situation is precarious, with significant deforestation, increased risks of floods and droughts, and insufficient natural resource management.

Migration is a common phenomenon in Haiti, and climate change is only exacerbating the situation. Rural populations are moving to cities in search of better living conditions, but often find themselves in precarious neighborhoods exposed to natural hazards. Populations displaced by climate change are often exposed to situations of stress and trauma. The Haitian government is aware of the importance of the issue of climate displacement and has integrated the link between environment and migration into its overall migration policy. There is a wealth of literature on the environmental situation in Haiti and on the relationship between displacement and environment. However, the issue of the mental health of climate-displaced persons has not yet been sufficiently studied.

 

The case of the city of Port-de-Paix and the district of Nan Orèl

The city of Port-de-Paix is located in an area at risk of floods and droughts. The district of Nan Orèl is made up of displaced populations, many of whom are victims of climate change.

The objective of the study is to understand the social representations of stress among climate-displaced persons in this area, in order to inform the reflections and actions aimed at improving public health and reducing vulnerability to climate change. The article aims to contribute to the understanding of the climate change-global health nexus through a study of climate-displaced persons in the precarious northwestern Haitian district of Nan Orèl.

Climate-displaced persons in Nan Orèl are exposed to several stressors, including:

• Extreme weather events
• Floods
• Loss of property
• Economic hardship
• Insecurity
• Limited access to basic services

These stressors have a significant impact on the mental health of climate-displaced persons, who express feelings of sadness, anxiety, depression, and discouragement.

 

Climate change, climate displacement and mental health

Climate change and natural disasters have significant impacts on the mental health of populations. These impacts are manifested by a variety of symptoms, grouped under the concepts of solastalgia, eco-anxiety and eco-paralysis. These three concepts highlight the important psychological impact of climate change on populations and constitute an additional source of stress.

Post-traumatic stress is a form of stress that occurs after a traumatic event, such as a natural disaster. It is characterized by symptoms such as flashbacks, nightmares, feelings of fear and sadness. People displaced by climate change are at increased risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

In the context of climate displacement, this approach can be used to analyze how displaced people perceive climate change and its impacts, the strategies they develop to cope with stress and anxiety, and their needs for psychological support.

 

The approach of social representations in the assessment of stress

The concept of social representation is complex and polysemic. For the purposes of this study, we draw on the definitions of Moscovici and Jodelet. According to Moscovici, social representation is a way of interpreting the world and thinking about our daily reality. It is a form of social knowledge that the person constructs from his or her experiences and that guides his or her behavior.

This approach was used to analyze the thinking of climate-displaced persons in Nan Orèl around stress. The objective was not to assess the level of stress, but to search for the risk of post-traumatic shock and stress generated by extreme climate events (MCs). The hypothesis of the study is that the displaced people of Nan Orèl do not make an association between stress and MCs. The objective is to identify the main stressor of these major life events.

 

Methodology

The study is exploratory and descriptive in nature and focuses on climate stress using the representational method of verbal association tasks. The study was conducted with a sample of 100 climate-displaced persons living in the district of Nan Orèl. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore the social representations of stress, the experiences of the participants and their coping strategies. The objective is to collect the contents of the respondents' representations of climate change, extreme climate events (MCs), stress and life stressors.

The method combines free associations and hierarchical evocations.

The respondents had to associate words with the object of representation studied.

The study considered two factors: environmental (MCs) and psychological (stress syndromes).

Three inclusion criteria were used:

a) Age group (25-65 years old)

b) Climate-displaced person status

c) Number of years of residence in Nan Orèl (more than 12 months)

A standard questionnaire based on the characterization technique was used. It was written in Creole and administered by trained students. The data was entered into Google Form and analyzed with R Studio. The sample was selected during preliminary visits, and then 33 climate-displaced persons aged 25 to 64 were selected. They had all experienced MCs before residing in Nan Orèl.

The sample presents characteristics specific to the general population of Haiti.

 

Results

• Level of general knowledge about climate change

Knowledge about climate change is limited and often associated with extreme weather events (rain, floods, landslides) and their consequences (misery, famine).

• Classification of climate events and MCs for respondents

Cyclones are identified as the most dreaded MC, followed by droughts, floods and landslides. Material losses (homes, livestock) are the main consequence of MCs on the lives of the respondents.

• Assessment of the risks of post-traumatic shock

The symptoms, feelings and emotions experienced by displaced persons after MCs include fear, sleep disturbances, depression, anxiety and nightmares. The most common psychosomatic symptoms are headaches, high blood pressure, fatigue/sleepiness and insomnia.

• Representations of stress

Stress is associated with intrusive thoughts, economic problems, depression, anxiety and insecurity. Migraine and headaches are the most common psychosomatic disorders and are mostly associated with stress.

 

Major life stressor

It is defined as an event that has significant negative consequences for the individual's physical and psychological well-being, usually causing a radical change. In this study, the major life stressor was determined by the attribution or free association of scores ranging from 0 to 3 (3 being the most significant and 0 having no effect) to situations known to be stressful and anxiety-provoking (insecurity/kidnappings, economic problems, illness of children, loss of property due to environmental problems).

The mode with the highest frequency of association is considered to be the major consequence of climate events on the lives of the respondents.

 

The results are as follows:

• Children's illness is the major life stressor for displaced people in Nan Orèl, with 82% of responses. This is followed by economic problems (48%), loss of property due to environmental problems (39%) and insecurity/kidnappings (33%).

Children's illness is the main stress factor for displaced people in Nan Orèl. This situation is accentuated by the precarious living conditions and the dependence of parents on their children for an improvement in their socio-economic situation.

The social representations of stress among climate-displaced persons in Nan Orèl are influenced by their socio-economic situation, their culture and their experiences.

 

Recommendations for future research:

• Conduct similar studies with larger and more representative samples of the climate-displaced population in Haiti.
• Explore the impact of other factors, such as gender, age, and education level, on representations of stress and life stressors.
• Conduct longitudinal studies to follow the evolution of representations of stress and life stressors in populations displaced by climate change.

 

Conclusion

The study emphasizes the importance of considering mental health in public policies on climate change and migration. It is necessary to put in place psychological and social support programs to help displaced populations cope with stress and improve their quality of life. Investments are needed for research on climate migration and the production of reliable data for planning and adaptation.

Tools and materials for community psychosocial care need to be developed and disseminated. The lack of qualified human resources for psychological care remains a challenge to be addressed. The environment-migration axis is of capital importance in Haiti's migration policy and requires greater visibility and promotion. Evidence and country-specific migration models are needed for better planning of climate change responses.

DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/etudescaribeennes.24487