Jean Wiener - Revitalizing Haiti’s Coastlines

While certain areas of Haiti remain picturesque, it’s hard to find a place within the beleaguered island nation untouched by the trifecta of violence, pollution, and corruption.  Serving as executive director of the Fondation pour la Protection de la Biodiversité Marine, or FoProBiM, Jean Wiener is considered by many to be Haiti’s foremost environmentalist, and the expert in all matters concerning the Haitian coast.  But Activism is not something that happens in a vacuum. Jean’s decades-long efforts to clean, restore, and preserve the fragile ecosystem, is a constant balancing act between the country’s environmental issues and the basic survival needs of its impoverished population. How do you convince a fisherman struggling to put food on his family’s table that it's within his own best interest to engage in sustainable practices?   This important conversation between Jay and Jean deals head on with some of those challenges - challenges that are both unique to Haiti but hold relevance for any kind of activism and advocacy. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.