Manglar Vivo Project in Mayabeque

Live Mangrove Project in Mayabeque. Photo: Ecured.

Mayabeque, Cuba: The coastline of the south of the provinces of Mayabeque and Artemisa recedes about 1.2 meters per year, so 5 coastal communities could disappear by 2050 due to climate change.

Hence the importance of protecting mangroves, actions where the interrelation of the different entities involved in conjunction with local governments is fundamental.

According to the Section Chief of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment of Cuba (CITMA), in Batabanó, Elenne Quiñones Echevarría, the population's awareness of the protection of the ecosystems on the coasts increases significantly. "For example, in the Surgidero de Batabanó they are aware that if they do not recover the red line of the coast, they will have to move because of the vulnerability of the area," she said.

Specifically, in this territory, they implement strategies, since the students in their class work are directed to solve the different environmental problems of the community, and thus manage to involve the family.

The red mangrove is one of the most important species for its medicinal properties and was used indiscriminately. "People peeled it and the plant died, but today its uncontrolled use diminishes," Elenne explained.

The techical director and assistant researcher of the Institute of Ecology and Systematics of the CITMA, José Manuel Guzmán Menéndez, commented that due to their importance they are proposing the celebration in Cuba of the National Mangrove Day.

Sponsored by the Climate Change Adaptation Fund, the United Nations Development Program, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment and the Ministry of Agriculture, it was held the award ceremony of the Manglar Vivo contest in the town of Surgidero de Batabanó, in the province of Mayabeque.

More than 100 works were presented in the contest in the categories of story, poetry and painting, in topics related to the mangrove, its importance, citizen participation in its care, protection and conservation and its recovery as a measure to adapt to climate change.