DESERTIFICATION CUBA'S MAIN ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEM

o 76% of potential agriculture land possesses some level of damage
o 11 out of 14 provinces show signs of the phenomenon

BY LILLIAM RIERA

DESERTIFICATION has now reached over six billion hectares worldwide, affects a billion people and is on the rise. Cuba is not exempt from this problem.

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The Cauto River in 2001, before the completion of the reforestation project with the help of various organizations, including the UN Development Program. But desertification is most intense in the Eastern province.

Gisela Alonso, president of Cuba's Environmental Agency, told Granma International that "approximately 76% of the country's potential agriculture land has some level of damage: erosion, salinity or compression," according to information provided in reports by the Agriculture Ministry (MINAGRI).

Alonso explained that similar to other countries, in Cuba the phenomenon's origin is due to exploitation, deforestation (many forests are cut down in order to use the terrain for agriculture or cattle rearing) and an intense and irrational use of natural resources.

The truth is that currently "in 11 out of 14 provinces plus the special municipality of the Isle of Youth, there are signs of deforestation," noted María Nery Urquiza, specialist from the Environmental Education, Management and Information Center (CIGEA).

It comes as no surprise then, that within the nation's environmental strategy, this is considered the main problem.

The CIGEA specialist told our weekly: "The five eastern provinces have the most desertification.

"70% of Las Tunas, for example, has been affected; Granma's problems can be seen at the mouth of the Cauto River...but in Guantánamo, the situation has reached a critical point." Salinization is the most damaging factor in that region.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the island, on the Pinar del Río coastal plains, erosion from wind and rain has caused the worst damage. Consequently, every year some 40 tons of land per hectare end up in the sea or the rivers, contaminating the water.

Those amounts can also increase after hurricanes, she explained, if areas are not properly protected; to this we must add the loss of forestland, which takes 15-20 years to grow.

Urquiza commented that the consequences of last year's hurricanes Isidore and Lili in the western part of Cuba were catastrophic. However, she highlighted that some prevention plans are being organized in conjunction with the Civil Defense, the Forest Ranger services and the MINAGRI.

REVERSING THE SITUATION

The CIGEA expert recalled how 15 years ago, the work carried out to desalinize, recover and restore the Guantánamo area has allowed a coastal strip in the southern part of that region to obtain "some agricultural production, which provides some food for the population."

She proudly added that this was one of the experiences awarded in 2000 by the UN Environmental Program, and considered a success in the fight against desertification and global drought.

The work undertaken at the Cauto basin in reforesting the riverbanks was also recognized at the World Conference of Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Cuba has a national program to fight desertification and drought, coordinated by the CIGEA and involving various organizations, research centers, universities and communities.

In addition to recovering the affected areas and implementing short-term prevention measures, it also aids and raises the local population's quality of life.

Urquiza, who heads the program, explained that they are trying to reforest areas by planting indigenous species in order to recover the biological diversity of the ecosystems.

In Dos Ríos, where the Cauto and the Contramaestre meet and where José Martí fell in battle fighting for Cuba's independence, a project is also underway to rescue fruit species such as tamarind, lemons, sour sop and eggfruit... whose existence is confirmed by Martí's poetic descriptions of them in his diary.

Formerly, all the cattle ranches were fenced in with surrounding cashew trees, but now there are none. The saddest part of this, she adds, is that if you ask a child of the Cauto basin about the tree, they don't recognize the word. "Desertification also erodes language."

KNOWLEDGE, POLITICAL WILL, AND RESOURCES

Urquiza believes this battle can be won with the participation of local campesinos. "Our objective should be for each person taught to then spread and multiply their knowledge and experience."

The demonstration farms created in the Cauto Basin "have become a formidable experience in this sense."

The research institutes in the Cauto area have formed multi-disciplinary groups supporting campesinos working in the pilot area and learning how to apply certain environmental-friendly technology.

Alonso believes that, without a doubt, in addition to political will and a basic amount of resources, "knowledge is needed" to successfully confront desertification.

MINERAL EXTRACTION AND DESERTIFICATION

Alonso and Urquiza agree that mineral extraction has already caused impacted areas in the country. When mining activity ceases, these zones are similar to lunar landscapes, where only the mineral layer remains.

However, the Cuban economy cannot dispense with mining, given its importance for exports. For this reason "we must carry it out it in a way that will allow us to recover the land as much as possible."

Studies are underway to test the environmental impact in mining areas, and one of the questions being asked concerns the "compulsory" rehabilitation of those areas, Alonso stated.

Although she also noted that this responsibility belongs to those who have caused the damage, she added that in the past four years, the state has assigned MINAGRI a larger budget to develop the national soil rehabilitation program.

"Rehabilitation is a "long and expensive process." The specialist noted the need to apply sequential short-term reforestation" requiring sowing and substituting plant variety - from the smallest to the tallest and with a lot of foliage - in order to care for the soil before reestablishing forestland.

Alonso commented on the new process established in new mining areas, moving soil to preserve it; the soil will later be returned, thus making rehabilitation easier.

Urquiza stated that "very positive recovery experiences already exist and are being applied, especially in the nickel-rich areas of Mao, in eastern Cuba."