• Submitted by: admin
• Science and Technology
• 06 / 06 / 2007

Cuba has reached June 5 - World Environment Day - with some 24.95% of its land surface covered in forests, according to information noted at the end of December 2006, representing an increase of 0.4% in relation to the previous year.The data was presented to Granma International by Dr. José Antonio Díaz-Duque, deputy minister of science, technology and the environment (CITMA), who pointed out that in relation to this index, the country has maintained a sustained growth. In 1958, just 14% of Cuban territory was covered in woodland.The deputy minister stated that gains have also been reported with respect to other important environmental health indexes, such as the reduction of organic pollutants currently being analyzed in three ecosystems: mountain massifs, the main hydrographic basins and bays.In the mountain massifs, the reduction was, on average, some 17%, as a result of the work carried out on coffee pulp-removing machines and in integral pork farms in order to make better use, through the process of recycling, of waste products generated and thus avoid them being dumped into rivers and streams, according to the deputy minister.In the case of hydrographic basins, the reduction has been 3.8%, and in the bays, 3%. With respect to these, a decrease has occurred thanks to work carried out on the rainwater drainage networks, the treatment of water from tributary sources and residues from the industries located in the surrounding areas.
MORE THAN 500,000 HECTARES OF AGRICULTURAL LAND RECOVERED

Díaz-Duque highlighted the recovery of 515,000 hectares of agricultural land. In Cuba, 70% of agricultural land suffers from some level of deterioration.

He indicated that they are currently working to rehabilitate, annually, half a million of these areas affected, principally, by erosion, salinization and a lack of organic material, among other factors.

During the 5th International Convention on the Environment and Development held in Havana in 2005, attended by representatives of 25 countries, the deputy minister admitted that soil degradation and water shortages are the greatest challenges facing the island with respect to its environmental situation.

Asking him about the reestablishment of areas subjected to mining extraction, he acknowledged that much still remains to be done.

Nevertheless, he stated, over the last 15 years, work has been carried out in a more serious fashion, through the enactment of the laws on Mines (1994), the Environment (1997) and Forestry (1998).

SOME 96% OF POPULATION HAS ACCESS TO POTABLE WATER

He mentioned that currently some 96% of the population has access to a potable water service and 95% to treatment systems for dirty or residual waters.

In relation to care for biological diversity, the deputy minister reported that studies into flora and fauna are being completed and updated, thus allowing them to identify new and endemic species, plus those in danger of extinction. He also stated that some have already disappeared within the country.

Cuba possesses a national strategy for the protection of its biological diversity which is carried out both in situ and ex situ. In situ care is witnessed through the maintenance of a system of protected areas, whilst the ex situ is carried out at the 12 botanical gardens throughout the island.

He highlighted the fact that 22% of the islands surface is safeguarded under the in situ method.

USE OF GAS IN ELECTRICITY CO-GENERATION: AN EXAMPLE OF CLEANER PRODUCTION

Díaz-Duque also confirmed that there is a determined effort underway to apply strategies for cleaner production, that is to say, the use of technologies that would permit a greater use of raw materials and minimum employment of said resource. He also mentioned the effective treatment and re-use of residuals generated to avoid polluting the environment.

The use of natural gas for electrical co-generation, the substitution of the populations refrigerators for more efficient ones (which consume less electricity and do not contain refrigerating gases that damage the ozone layer) and the use, by certain campesinos in mountainous areas, of pig manure for the production of biogas that is subsequently used for cooking, are just some of the examples put into practice by the country within this strategy.

CONTINUE EDUCATING IN CARE FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

The education of the population in the field of the environment, that must continue to be promoted, has also contributed to the achievements made. The countrys strategy in this sphere is being carried out in two ways: formal and informal.

The formal is being carried out in schools where students, as part of curricular activities, are investigating the principal problems affecting the planet and the human species, as well as studying information that is specific to Cuba. They also take part in competitions related to care of the environment and saving energy, amongst other subjects.

Meanwhile, the informal method is being implemented through campaigns and work carried out in communities and industries, promoting a love of nature in general and the need for humans to care for it, considering that it is they who are the principal predators. Here, we see participation on the part of ministries, scientific institutions, the media, mass organizations and the community itself.

GRANMA PROVINCE WINS VENUE FOR JUNE 5

The official praised the sustained effort that has been developed over several years in the eastern province of Granma, allowing the region to win the venue for World Environment Day in Cuba.

Soceoeconomic improvements for the population who live in inaccessible areas and the work carried out in protected areas has been favorable for sustainable development in the mountains, one of the aspects in which the region has been most outstanding.

According to the deputy minister, they have reduced the quantity of pollutants in the Cauto river, reforested its basin (one of the eight prioritized throughout the country) and created woodland farms on the banks; they have also recovered affected agricultural land and repaired the meteorological service (the radar in Pilón).

A BALANCE BETWEEN ECONOMIC GROWTH, SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT AND PROTECTION OF NATURE

The deputy minister of CITMA described as "positive" the work that has been carried out in the environmental field since 2001 to date. However, he highlighted the need to continue efforts to achieve a balance between economic growth, social development and the protection of nature.

The worldwide environmental organization WWF affirmed this year that Cuba is the only country that has made progress towards sustainable development.

In 2001, the island was the venue for World Environment Day and became the first nation in the Caribbean and the third in Latin America (the others were Brazil and Mexico) to receive that distinction awarded by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).

During the interview, Granma International enquired about the promulgation of a new National Environmental Strategy, that came into force last April 18, following two years of consultations to set out the principal problems and new scenarios.

NEW ENVIRONMENTAL STRATEGY: A NECESSITY

Díaz-Duque commented that in over the last 10 years, environmental problems have varied and it has been necessary to create an instrument that would permit new ways of working. The previous strategy was created in 1997, prior to the Environment Law.

Among the characteristics included in the law, he mentioned that it was passed by the Council of Ministers and must be evaluated on an annual basis. It has a temporary framework - 2007-2010 - and concrete goals are established within the legislation. Besides this, the organizations involved have to guarantee that the proposed goals are met, with the allocation of financial, material and human resources.

The deputy minister of CITMA mentioned that, as well as tackling the principal problems contained in the previous legislation, the new National Environmental Strategy includes other issues of vital importance for the country, such as the availability of water resources - which are finite - thus entailing activities to manage and conserve it, and a focus on studies into danger, vulnerability and risks surrounding disasters, such as those linked with climate change, earthquakes, forest fires and hydro-meteorology (droughts, hurricanes, floods).

Source: By Lyliam Riera, Granma Internacional