Ecology: The Natural Sanctuary

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The Republic of Cuba is an archipelago rich in biodiversity. With a total area of 42,855 square miles, it includes Cuba itself, the largest island in the Antilles, the Isle of Youth (formerly the Isle of Pines), and more than 1,600 small isles and keys that form the southern Canarreos group, and the northern Sabana-Camagüey group. In 1996, the population of Cuba was estimated at more than 11 million people.

For its strategic location, Cuba was called "Key to the New World," a well deserved title. It brought advantages, as it became the place for the provision and repair of the Flota de Indias, the galleons that traveled as one fleet between Hispanic America and Spain. In turn, it became a gathering place for sailors, passengers and crews that filled Havana with their quarrels and their unsavory ways.

Across the Florida Channel, at a distance of 112 miles, is the Florida peninsula of the United States. The Paso de los Vientos, 48 miles wide, separates Cuba from Haiti and 130 miles away, across the Yucatán Strait, stands Mexico. The Caribbean Sea washes its southern shores, where Jamaica can be seen on a clear day, across the Columbus Strait, at a distance of 87 miles. Cuba's 2,175 miles of shore include some of the best bays in the region: Mariel, Cabanas, La Habana, Cárdenas and Nipe to the north, and Guantánamo, Santiago de Cuba and Cienfuegos to the south. Cuba, situated in the tropical Caribbean zone looks towards the sea, but has always depended, above all else, on its agriculture.

Other characteristics of the country are: Is seasonally humid climate, with a dry season (November - April) and a rainy season (May - October), with relatively frequent storms and hurricanes, under the influence of “ENOS” [El Niño/Oscilacion del Sur (Southern Oscillation)]. Plains are numerous (75% of the surface) with three principal mountain ranges: Sierra Maestra in the southeast, Guamuhaya in central Cuba and Guaniguanico to the west. Mangroves or marshes sporadically cover its coasts. Near the coast one can enjoy some of the most beautiful and best-preserved coral reefs in the hemisphere. Given the long and narrow geography of Cuba, its rivers are not lengthy and lack abundant waters. Eighty-five percent of them are less than 25 miles long, with basins under 77 square miles. Mangroves and marshes cover 8.26% of Cuba.

Having an average yearly temperature of 29°C (84.2° F) and a relative humidity of 80%, Cuba enjoys the highest biodiversity of all the islands in the Americas. Native varieties include 51% vascular plants and more than 80% land invertebrate animals, especially mollusks. Cuba holds the first place in the Antilles for tall trees, including 100 species of native palms. Due to the continuity of the insular platform's ecosystems, its endemic content is inferior to that of the land. Up to 5,000 species of marine plants and animals are thought to be present (without the inclusion of plankton) with 600 species of marine fishes, of which 150 are of particular interest to the fishing industry, and another 60 species whose habitat are coastal lakes. The marine fauna has a high diversity of ecosystems, due to the heterogeneous environmental conditions. The Island does not have any animals that are considered a danger to man. The vertebrate group is poorly represented on the island, with mammals at the top of that group. On the contrary, birds constitute a characteristic element of the fauna, with 350 species (land and aquatic) reported on the island. Some of these birds came from North America, from which they emigrated to Cuba and other parts of the Caribbean due to damage to the ecology of their original habitar.

n recent years, throughout the world, the very existence of the planet on which we live is not only seriously threatened but already seriously damaged due to excessive mining, pollution, deforestation, droughts and the expansion of deserts, accelerated extinction of important life forms, decrease of drinking water, the rising ocean level due to melting of the polar ice caps and mountain glaciers and holes in the ozone layer with unpredictable short-term consequences. The diversity of the environment, the endangered ecological balance, the survival of the biosphere and the salvation of the planet, have imposed the unavoidable challenge to join in the rescue efforts, in solidarity for better, more ethical, healthy, gentle behavior among men, to find a sustainable development that does not harm the environment but, rather, improves the living conditions of present and future societies. 

Cuba has committed itself, nationally and internationally, to take up the challenge in its entirety, in a rational and satisfactory manner. It is a very difficult task to carry out for several reasons, among which are the accumulated historic destruction of its natural resources and the scant or nonexistent presence of the ecological culture required for an adequate and sustained use and management of natural resources and the environment, as well as the economic difficulties to draw from the national budget the high amounts demanded by sustainable develop. ment and the rescuing of the national natural heritage.

On January 1,1959 the economic possibilities in Cuba were few and were irrationally carried out by contaminating and outdated industries, with indiscriminate damage to fauna and flora, erosion and salinization of the soil and a deficient infrastructure for water delivery and for correct waste disposal. The present contamination of the water, both inland and marine, is mostly due to waste material that has been irresponsibly dumped into rivers, bays and coastal areas. From the very beginning of Cuba's sugar industry, its development was accompanied by deforestation, caused by the need for new, virgin land and wood for fuel. It has been estimated that in 1511, when Spain began the conquest and colonization of the Island of Cuba, thick forests rich in precious lumber such as cedar, mahogany and ebony covered 95% of its soil. By 1812, during the initial period of sugar expansion, in the occidental/central part of the country, it was still 89% and by 1900 it was 54%. By 1959, after six decades under the influence of the United States, when more and more regions were exploited to the east, only 14% of Cuba was wooded land. During the first 300 years of colonial rule, with weak economic and demographic development, deforestation amounted to 6% of the land while the first six decades of the twentieth century led to almost a total destruction of forests with an additional 40% of the land over (11 million acres), a territorial equivalent to the total devastation from 1511 to 1900.

The unavoidable fallout of an ecological disaster of such magnitude affected the entire environment, a situation worsened by the relentless application of chemicals to crops, and the recurrent negative effects to biodiversity due to the destruction of the natural habitat of some of the species. By the 1950s Cuba had become a land of latifundia. Indeed, 87% of the national farm area was comprised of large sugar and cattle holdings, many of them controlled by North American capital. The Cuban economy was and still is predominantly agrarian, whose production is meant for cyclical foreign markets, which bring unstable prices for its two basic exports: sugar and tobacco. Both products have historically been victimized by severe monopolies, from which they have not been liberated in the last four decades.

Calculations indicate that, beginning in the sixteenth century, 14,000 identified species have become extinct, amounting to 10% of the Cuban fauna. In 1959, only 64% of the population had potable drinking water, 28% had sanitary services and 23% of Cubans were illiterate. Infant mortality was 60 for every 1,000 births, and life expectancy was 61.8 years. The most recent indexes place Cuba among the leading countries in the world, with a population with access to medical care and to potable drinking water, even in the most remote areas of the country. The massive literacy campaign of 1961 eradicated illiteracy. Infant mortality and life expectancy are now 7.2 per 1,000 and 75 years respectively.
 

But damage to the physical or natural setting, creates different scenes of a worldwide drama, leading to many tragic irreversible situations. Five hundred million people live with air pollution; depletion crises affect 15 of the main international fishing areas. A billion people do not have drinking water, and two billion do not have proper sanitary conditions. According to UNESCO, the amount of drinking water in the so-called developed countries today is one-third of what it was in 1970 and one-quarter of the population in those countries live in extreme poverty. Each year 7 to 10 million acres of forests are lost and worldwide desertification is advancing at a rate of 15 million acres per year. Even in developed Europe, forests are suffering from the accelerated effects of air pollution, with yearly losses estimated at 35 million dollars. Every 24 hours, 150 to 200 species become extinct, threatening the disappearance of 25% of our biological diversity unless urgent measures are taken during the next 30 years.

In view of this danger, the result of a historic aggression to the environment on a worldwide scale, has affected the very social fabric of our planet, rich and poor countries are divided by unequal levels of development and exchanges, major international organizations have called upon the governments of the world to attend conferences for the purpose of analyzing the extent of the problem and to propose solutions. The rich countries have 20% of the world population consuming two-thirds of the metals and three-fourths of the energy. The poor ones suffer from a demographic explosion that multiplies poverty and profoundly threatens their ecosystems. Among the conferences, it is worth mentioning the "Conference on the Environment" held in Stockholm in 1972, where the basis for sustainable economic development was established aiming to control and reverse the ecological damages caused by dominant means of production and consumption. Also, we should mention the "United Nations Conference on the Environment" (CNUMAD), held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, presented the relationship between economic growth, economic development and the environment. The most fragrant violators were exposed and a call was made to promote a greater and more active world awareness of these problems. An international agreement was reached in Rio, a world strategy with global proposals for the execution of an integrated action for economic development in tune with the environment, rational and sustainable growth: thus is the content of its transcending Agenda 21.

Colonial legislation dealing directly or indirectly with the environment dealt mostly with mines and forests beginning in the second half of the nineteenth century. The 1876 code regarding forests, for example, addressed the prevention of damages due to flooding, the preservation of springs and rivers, land conservation, preventive measures against the destruction of topsoil and land erosion, the provision of some protection against violent winds and aiming to influence favorably climactic issues or land conditions.

The text of the law, in practice, was not implemented: deforestation and its effects, as previously stated, not only continued but were accelerated. Similar lacks of results were obtained by decrees in 1923 and 1936. The 1923 code proposed to protect certain species of lumber that continued to be exploited foolishly (eg, ebony, Cuban walnut or cork palms). The 1936 code ordered the replanting of the forests, declaring the Ciénaga de Zapata a national refuge, where fishing and hunting were forbidden. With better results, in a 1939 law, the forestlands of Topes de Collante at the Sierra Escambray were declared a national park. Likewise, in 1949, the forest at Cacahual, a 500-meter radius surrounding the monument where Antonio Maceo and his aide Francisco Gomez Toro are laid to rest, was protected. And, in 1950, the mountains of the Turquino farm in Niquero were declared "Protective Mountains." During these several decades, legislation regarding the environment entailed 402 dispositions addressing the fauna and flora, vegetation health, sanitary ordinances and mines, water resources, housing, ports, jobs, fishing, tourism, animal health and public health. In 1954, a decree prohibited the exploitation or extraction of the sands along the following Keys: Piedra, Chalupa, Diana, Romero, Macho y Blanco, as well as from the waters of Cardenas Bay. These regulations, as well as the additional protection of forestlands, were duly violated.

Beginning in 1959, a program was set in motion for short and long term strategies to reverse the dreadful legacy vis-à-vis the environment and biodiversity during centuries of neglect. This program commenced with agrarian reform laws and other legislation regarding education, health, sanitation, forest replanting and the conservation of tourist centers. Subsequently, by Law 998 (dated January 5, 1962), 92 laws were repealed and some others were modified, some of which had been issued by the government itself, in order to facilitate putting into practice the regulations that declared national parks of places such as: Cuchilla del Toa, Gran Piedra, Sierra Maestra, Escambray, Laguna del Tesoro, Sierra de los Organos, Península de Guanahacabibes, Cienaga de Lanier and Sierra de Cubitas y Sierra Cristal. In addition, other special regulations were issued for the Península de Hicacos, where Varadero beach is located, one of the main tourist attractions of the country, as well as for Cuba's capital, the City of Havana, with its high concentration of population, economic activity, and the human patrimony of "Old Havana" and its urban and architectural richness dating back to the sixteenth century. In the 1990s, there were already 275 protected zones, 22% of the surface area of the archipelago, part of an evolving system that worked to resolve grave problems that required much time, enormous resources and a dynamic ecological culture in the people.

In general, the following main problems have been identified:

• The degradation of the soil due to erosion, bad drainage, salt intrusion, acidity and compacting, among other problems
• The worsening of sanitary conditions and environmental conditions in urban locations, including the capital
• Contamination of the water in land and sea
• Deforestation
• Loss of biological diversity

The legislation to which we have referred, covers a lot more ground since it also addresses foreign investment, nuclear energy, cultural patrimony and state administration while recodifying other repealed measures. Subsequently, other laws were enacted such as Forest Patrimony, Wild Fauna and its Violations (1993), Veterinary Medicine (1993), Land Water (1993), Regulations for Vegetation Health (1994) and Mining Law (1994). A Minister of Science, Technology and the Environment (CITMA) was charged with overseeing the implementation and compliance and these laws. In response to International Environmental Rights, agreements were signed regarding fishing delimiting the maritime economic zones with neighboring countries such as Mexico (1976), the United States (1977 and 1988) and Haiti (1977). Between 1921 and 1997, Cuba signed more than 60 agreements or treaties relating to the environment, the greatest number of them since 1975, concerning energy, fishing. protection of plants, water contamination, prohibition of bacteriological weapons, exploitation and the use of outer space, the protection of workers, the protection of world cultural and natural patrimony, the wild flora, nuclear 

accidents, biological diversity, protection of the ozone layer, etc.

Nevertheless, the road ahead is long and difficult. Yet to be enacted are several specific and updated regulations regarding trade and the environment, investment and the environment, and consumer protection. There are free trade zones and industrial parks beginning a process that should contribute to the solution of these problems, in favor of new technology by foreign investors, new facilities to replace the contaminating outmoded ones. Evolving legislation and education programs should keep pace with the ecological goals to be attained with the irreplaceable support of an educated society.

On January 16, 1965, two programs were instituted: The National System of Reforestation through the planting of lumber and fruit trees, known as the Manatee Plan, and the Turquino Plan, for economic and social development as well as the protection of the environment in mountainous zones. Soon afterwards, in 1997, a measure was introduced so that all new investment or construction must contain, among the official documents for its approval, an ecological permit. To this end, considering the National Strategy for Biological Diversity, designed through the National Program of Environment and Development as Cuba's response to Agenda 21, a study was undertaken for the management of the river basins, with their corresponding land management programs and with particular attention paid to the Cauto and Zaza Rivers for their deforestation and pollution due to the uncontrolled dumping of industrial waste. The resulting diagnosis for solving the contamination of the basins was 18% of a possible total solution and 30.6% for a partial solution, including new projects at Toa, Guantánamo-Guaso, Hanabanilla, Ariguanabo, Almendares-Vento and Cuyaguateje rivers. Interest in the recovery of the river basins, extended to the bays, especially those of La Habana, Santiago de Cuba, Cienfuegos, Cárdenas and Puerto Padre. 

With the promotion of laws such as those that have been mentioned and the creation of the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment, together with other organizations of State Administration, important modest improvements have been obtained, considering the longstanding legacy of neglect as regards the environment and biodiversity. Law No. 81, on the environment, approved in June of 1997, states in its second article: The environment is patrimony and a fundamental interest of the nation. The State exerts its sovereignty over the environment throughout the national territory and, in this sense has every right to take advantage of its resources according to its development and environmental policies.

To the above accomplishment others could be added, including:

• The national process of deforestation has been reversed, with an annual increase of 0.18% in forests in the last 40 years. All logging activities are forbidden in forests, protected areas and preserves. At present, the country has 5,953,260 acres of forest-lands, representing 21.3% of its territory as opposed to 14% in 1959. This reversal in favor of increasing the forests is of the utmost importance since its destruction was the primary cause affecting soil devoted to agriculture, with its accompanying biodiversity losses and damaging climactic changes. The Royal Palm, the fruit trees and some endemic species at risk of extinction are protected by special legislation. As for the fauna, species such as the deer, the manatee, the flamingo, the parrot and the polymita picta are all protected. All of the North Coast of the province of Camagüey, including its keys, has been declared a National Refuge for flamingoes.
• In 1959, 76% of the soil had eroded, the capacity for irrigation was of 395,369 acres, and the water conserved in dams amounted to 12.7 billion gallons. Up until 1997, anti-erosion measures were applied to benefit 7.5 million acres and it is calculated that, by that year, the hydraulic infrastructure of the country provided a yearly volume of 3.5 trillion gallons, reaching 55% of the potential hydraulic resources. All this was accomplished thanks to years of dedication in the construction of dams and mini-dams, which elevated the dam capacity several times, with an increment in the areas of low irrigation from 395,369 acres in 1959, to 2.7 million acres in 1993. It must be considered that in Cuba more than 70,000 persons live in arid zones with prolonged drought conditions, salt intrusion affects the province of Guantánamo and other parts of the country, and deforestation affects 11 out of the 14 provinces. In addition, 700,000 people live in mountains that are affected by deforestation and erosion.
• Another important project being carried out for the recovery of the environment is the marshlands known as the Ciénaga de Zapata, to the south of the province of Matanzas, which is officially included in the International List of Important Marshes, compiled by the Ramsar Convention.
• In that area, with more than 1,738 square miles covered by forests, mangroves, pastures and coastal vegetation, there are more than 900 native vegetable species, 172 bird species, 31 reptile species, 12 mammal species and a considerable number of fish, amphibians and insects. It was in the Ciénaga de Zapata, formerly a hiding place for pirates and smugglers of black slaves, where the famous and ill-fated Bahía de Cochinos invasion took place. The Cienaga de Zapata is the largest and best-preserved marsh in the Caribbean basin.
• The recuperation of some hydraulic marshes, bays and water reserves offer encouraging results, but the principal challenge comes from the erosion of the soil, 76.8% of the land and the marine ecosystems whose condition is highly fragile and of fundamental importance for the economy and society. By 1998, the increase in the capacity of the dams, along with added measures for the construction of the corresponding infrastructure, provided 98.5% of the urban population and 79.4% of the rural population with drinking water. By the same year, proper drainage was available to 93.6% and 82.5% of the urban and rural populations, respectively.

Recovery of the Cauto river basin, measuring 3,475 square miles, and affecting a population of approximately one million people, is another objective. This project, undertaken in collaboration with UNICEF, includes plans for re-forestation, improvement of its soil and adequate water supply for both irrigation and consumption.

During June 2001, Dr. Klaus Topfer, Executive Director of the Environmental Program of the United Nations (PNUMA) visited Cuba, traveled to several provinces and did verify the country's efforts in protecting its coasts, its mangrove ecosystem and the development of tourism with minimal impact on the environment. He praised the results, as well as the restoration of historic Habana Vieja, ever vigilant of the historic and cultural landscape and traditions of this area of the capital, a clear indication, Dr. Topfer insisted, of the defense of national identity.

No less important and transcending are the tasks being carried out for the cleaning and ecological restoration of the bays. The one in Cienfuegos, for example, was declared endangered in 1997, having determined its contamination levels as excessive. The measures that had been undertaken had failed to stop its deterioration since fewer shrimp were being caught, its marine fauna had begun to disappear and an accelerated deterioration of its beaches was noted. After an intense effort against contamination, monitored by the provincial Center for Hygiene and Epidemiology, today the beaches are free from contamination and there has been a significant increase of the common species, especially of the white shrimp. The 47 factories, workshops and centers which were declared sources of contamination no longer threaten the environment or do so at acceptable levels, with 84% of the waste being used primarily as fertilizers for agricultural areas.

In the City of Havana, which reported an increase of 45% of investments for the environment in 2000, contaminants were reduced by 12% during the first months of that year. The percentage of the population that receives piped water increased to 98.5%. At Havana Bay, 208 sources of contamination were identified, 36 of which were completely eliminated and 125 currently being partially resolved. These measures, along with other additional and necessary ones, have begun the process of decontamination and the reappearance of biodiversity in its surroundings, estimated currently at 50%.

Among the main achievements in agriculture are: the preparation of a National Map of Soils on a scale of 1:25,000; the extension of a network of agrochemical services for more than 60% of cultivated areas, massive application of organic fertilizers, the creation and development of germoplasm banks for the protection of phyto-genetic resources, the implementation of national Services for Vegetable and Animal Hygiene, regionalizing of species and varieties of plants, the development of biological agents for the control of plagues and the implementation of programs for prognoses and diagnoses.

Cuba is a country too deficient in basic natural resources to reach high industrial development, particularly in the area of energy generation such as coal and hydrocarbons, whose volumes ot extraction are insufficient to satisfy internal demand. Its potential for hydroelectric energy is also low due to the hydrological characteristics of its river basins. Thus, the use of renewable biomass as energy is of particular importance to Cuba. Fundamentally through the combustion of sugar cane pulp for energy in the sugar industry, important savings for the economy of the country are being attained during the current "special period." Foreign exchange that would have been used to purchase fuel is thus saved while a renewal resource from the sugar cane itself is put to good use. In the mid-1990s it was calculated, that the biomass accounted, in the natural energy balance, for close to 25% of the total basic energy produced. The sugar industry and its byproducts use 5 tons of sugar pulp and 3.7 tons of sugar straw respectively for each ton of combustible petroleum.

These achievements, and others like them, are relatively recent and, as we have pointed out, are still insufficient, but are already important proof of the results of a well-founded strategy with respect to the environment and biodiversity.
It has been appropriately named a "green crusade" against environmental contamination and aggressions against nature. To accomplish this campaign and to amplify it, the country can currently count on its distinguished scientific, technical potential, and primarily on its human resources.

Beginning in 1996, 15 National Scientific Technical Programs began to be implemented, whose areas of interest we will list. Ninety-nine of its 620 projects are directly related to the environment. They include projects for the agricultural sugar industry, the production of food by sustainable means, agricultural biotechnology. the development of biotechnological products, pharmaceuticals and herbal medicine, human and veterinary vaccines, sustainable development in the mountains, tourism, animal feeding through sustainable and biotechnological means, the challenges and perspectives of Cuban society in the twenty-first century, current trends in the world economy and in foreign relations, global changes and the evolution of the Cuban environment and replacement parts and defense concerns. At the end of 1977, 31,578 persons were working in research and development, of which 14% were directly engaged in research. By 1998, the country had 222 research and development centers, 30% of which devoted to technical activities, 26% engaged in the areas of animal husbandry and fishing, 25% assigned to biomedicine, 10% to Social Sciences and 10% to Natural Sciences.

Cuba dedicates 1.2% of its GNP to R&D and has an index of 1.8 scientists and engineers per 1,000 inhabitants. Many non-governmental, scientific associations are concerned with problems related to the environment in the following areas: Cuban Geography, Cuban Soil Science, Cuban Zoology, Cuban Marine Sciences, Cuban Botany, Cuban Speleology, Zoology and Aquariums, Cuban Sub-aquatic Research, Cuban Meteorology and the Promotion of Renewable Sources of Energy. In addition, the following institutions contribute to environmental education: the Foundation for Nature and Man, museums of natural sciences, national parks, zoological parks, aquariums and botanical gardens. Environmental education began in the 1970s when its themes were incorporated into the National Education System, beginning at the primary grades, and into the very formation and training of Cuban educational personnel. The goal is to promote an environmentalist conscience of producers, who are mindful of their surroundings, who participate in campaigns such as reforestation, cleaning and the rational use of natural resources in accordance with the objectives and principles of sustainable development.

As stated by professors Gilberto V. Trimino and Mercedes Córdoba, the Cuban people need a new ethical conception of their environment as common patrimony and assurance for development and survival. This new conception must face the environmental crisis as a social organization that is rational and respectful of nature, ever mindful of our ecosystems and our cultures: everyone's responsibility, everyone's multidisciplinary and unfailing practice.