• Submitted by: manso
• Society
• 02 / 03 / 2011

---

2011.02.02 - 17:35:19 / Los Palacios, Cuba.- The protection of the Yaguasa criolla, endemic bird in the Caribbean only found in few islands of the region, is prioritized in the wetland areas of Pinar del Rio; ecosystem that make up some 10 000 square kilometers of the Cuban archipelago.

According to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment the environmental education project in favor of the protection of the species, which has been underway with the cooperation of the University of Havana, has reduced the number of hunters in lakes and rivers found in southern part of Pinar del Rio.

The reports reveal that despite the prohibition of hunters in the area, which is one of the main causes of the reduction in the numbers of the yaguasa criolla, work in favor of promoting information on the education and work on the state of vulnerability of the animal is very important in the region.

It adds that it has also been a victim of the process of degradation of its habitat to develop tourism, mainly in other Caribbean islands.

The cancellation of a stamp with the image of the bird in a local museum is an example of the conservation program in the region which is registered in the Cuban wetland preservation highlighting its ecological and economic importance in the Zapata Swamp in Matanzas; Lanier, at the Isle of Youth and those that exist in southern Pinar del Rio.

Web pages in the territory are announcing community promoting and training actions on the ecosystems found in different areas of Pinar del Rio where all of its municipalities have access to the sea.

There will be debates, video projects, expositions, contests among other activities within the framework of World Wetlands Day celebrated on Wednesday. The swamps, lakes, mangroves, open coasts and plains have considerable biological diversity, alleviate erosion and the reduction on the impact of the metrological phenomenon as they work as a barrier between the water and land situations.(ACN)