Radio Havana Cuba's Science, Technology and Environment Program:
BREAKTHROUGHFor broadcast Sunday, December 17, 2000
Written and narrated by Arnaldo "Arnie" Coro, RHC's Science Editor
Hello, and welcome once again to Breakthrough, our Science, Technology and the Environment twice-weekly feature. I am Arnaldo, Arnie, Coro, RHC's Science Editor, and today I'll tell you about efforts by one Cuban province to increase its forested areas.
Camaguey province is located in the East of the island of Cuba, and it is essentially flat land.... Camaguey, according to the most up-to-date statistics, is way behind in the amount of forest-covered areas when compared with the nation's average.
Cuba has achieved in just forty years a remarkable nationwide reforestation program, that not only stabilized the forest covered surface of the Cuban archipelago, but actually increased it from about 15 percent all the way up to the present 21.4 percent. In other words, about one-fifth of the nation's land surface is now covered by forests, and scientists continue to encourage not only the planting of more trees but also the use by the national reforestation programs of many different species as to increase biodiversity in the new areas that are planted.
But Camaguey province had lagged well behind the national average; as a matter of fact, at the end of year 2000, it has just about 17 percent of its land covered by both natural and cultivated or planted forest areas. According to biologists and weather experts, this has a negative impact on the province's rain patterns. In general, the less area covered by forests, the less rainfall that the area sees all during the rainy season.... Long-term statistical analysis demonstrates that an increase in the forest-covered areas is associated with much better rainfall patterns.
Now Camaguey authorities are working hard to plant more trees as quickly as possible; they had planned to plant both fruit trees and trees from which to obtain much needed wood and its by-products during the year that is now coming to an end. The planning called for some 14 million new trees to be planted, but so far they have only planted some 12 million, and now there is no time left to reach their target figure.
Among the areas that require immediate reforestation are low-lying coastal regions where mangroves and other species provide not only very useful wood and by-products, but also offer protection to the coastline, acting as a natural barrier and also as an excellent shelter and breeding ground for fish and shrimp. Coastal-area reforestation is now also a priority of the Camaguey authorities, and they are carrying on an additional effort to increase planting there before the year's end.
Although Camaguey will not be able to fulfill its rather ambitious goal of 14 million new trees planted during the year 2000, the province will plant almost 12 million, and the programmed forest areas maintenance program has helped to decrease losses due to forest fires during this year's bad drought. Recent statistics show that water stored in the nation's reservoirs is well below the 1999 figure -- something that is worrying both farmers and managers of city water supplies.
Cuba's national reforestation program has been praised by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, FAO, as one of the most comprehensive, well-organized and consistent efforts at a worldwide scale, and experts from many nations have visited here to learn how it was possible, not only to stop deforestation, but actually to reverse the trend and increase the area which is now covered by forests to the present 21.4 percent, which is not too far away from what scientists describe as the maximum theortically possible for the present stage of the nation's economic development and geographical characteristics.
And this was Breakthrough for today, how the eastern Cuban province of Camaguey is fighting hard to achieve the goal of reforesting as much land as possible to match the nation's 21.4 national average of forested areas. From Havana, I am Arnaldo, Arnie, Coro, RHC's Science Editor now wishing you excellent reception of our next show....
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"Breakthrough"
Radio Havana Cuba
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Via e-mail: arnie@radiohc.org
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