• Submitted by: manso
• Business and Economy
• 08 / 25 / 2010

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SANCTI SPIRITUS, Cuba, Aug 23 (acn) A commission to evaluate river basin conditions in the Cuban central province of Sancti Spiritus agreed on the need to increase reforestation and soil-improvement actions in the Zaza basin, the second largest one in the country.

National Forest Office Director Carlos Diaz Maza, attending the commission’s meeting, asked local authorities on the field to make a thorough study of the use of the soil and the situation of the wooded area and to take measures to re-establish the ecosystem of Zaza basin.

The vice president of the provincial Administration Council, Jose Lorenzo Garcia, said the basin is affected by erosion due to inadequate use of the land. He pointed out that only nine percent of the area is covered by woods, while a large number of polluting sources threaten the area.

The Zaza basin spans across 2,413 square kilometers of the Villa Clara and Sancti Spíritus provinces, representing more than two percent of the national territory and 264,000 people live in the area.

Its main river, the Zaza, gives name to the largest reservoir of the country. This lake has a capacity of 1,020 million cubic meters of water used in agriculture ¬¬–mainly rice cultivation–, aquiculture and the power generation with a small hydroelectric plant located on its main canal.

The reservoir is only filled to 16 percent of its full capacity because the drought hitting the area.
 
Source: ACN