• Submitted by: manso
• Society
• 06 / 18 / 2011

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2011.06.17 - 18:33:14 /radiorebelde.icrt.cu. Havana, Cuba.- The Cuban national reforestation program has enabled to increase the area covered by typical species or others economically important to more than 3.8 million hectares, while avoiding soil erosion.

The achievement is the result of governmental policies aimed at expanding timber and fruit tree plantations, a researcher with the Agricultural and Forest Research Institute, Arnaldo Alvarez told ACN.

Alvarez explained 20 percent of the total area was planted less than three years ago and noted that with the recent leasing of land, the number of farmers who are exploiting lands that were previously plagued with marabou bushes.

Forests are currently threatened by the effects of climate change entailing higher average temperatures, increase of the sea level and less raining.

According to figures by the Cuban Ministry of Agriculture, the largest forest areas are located in the provinces of Pinar del Río, Camagüey, Holguín, Villa Clara and Guantanamo.

Cuba has 26.7 percent of its area covered by forests and the goal is to reach 29.4 percent by 2015, according to the Ministry of Agriculture.
(ACN)