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Cuba guarantees comprehensive
sustainable development in the mountains
By Navil Garcia
Alfonso —Granma International staff writer—
ON
the immense plain that makes up the greater part of
Cuba’ territory, four dispersed mountain groups rise
up on the island’s geography. They include, in the
west, the Sierra de los Órganos; in the center, the
Escambray, and in the east, the Sierra Maestra,
together with the Nipe-Sagua-Baracoa.
These systems feature beautiful landscapes and
untold natural wealth, and some 700,000 people live
in them, in 48 municipalities throughout eight of
the country’s 14 provinces.
The
montañeses, as mountain-dwellers are called
here, amount to almost 6% of the total population,
and live their lives in direct contact with nature.
They maintain many of their customs, although their
communities are quite different from what they were
years ago.
The
Turquino Project – which takes its name from Cuba’s
highest mountain peak, the Pico Real del Turquino,
1,974 meters above sea level, in the east— is a
program for comprehensive and sustainable
development to harmonize production and social
development with conservation of the environment and
reinforcement of the country’s defense system.
This
program, which involves a number of central state
administration agencies, has changed life for the
historically marginalized montañeses, who now
have highways, electricity, water and food supplies,
schools, hospitals and cultural centers for
entertainment.
From
an economic standpoint, all of the country’s coffee
and cacao production are based in the mountains,
particularly in Baracoa, thanks to its excellent
environmental conditions.
The
mountains contain the greatest volume of forests in
the nation, which provide a large percentage of raw
materials for the lumber industries.
Cuba’s forest enterprises cover 1.165 million
hectares of woodland; the national flora and fauna
enterprise possesses 670,000, and the rest belongs
to entities such as the Revolutionary Armed Forces,
the Ministry of the Interior and the sugar industry.
In
provinces like Ciego de Avila, 434 km east of
Havana, the diversification of the local economy
includes the creation of centers for the genetic
improvement of animals; cooperatives for food
production and the development of micro-industries.
In
Florencia, one of the two mountain municipalities in
that province, four television and radio
transmitters have been installed, and progress
continues on the computerization of enterprises
based there to improve their accounting systems.
A
similar situation may be seen in other regions
covered by the Turquino Project, including the vast
territory of the Ciénega de Zapata, the wetlands in
Matanzas province that used to be one of the most
backward regions in Cuba.
The
old, traditional houses using palm tree wood and
thatched roofs have been gradually substituted by
new communities with stucco houses and all the basic
services.
This
project has been recognized by the UN Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO) as the only one in
the world that has such a positive social and
economic impact, and so few negative effects on the
environment.
Cuba’s mountains are home to the greatest biological
diversity of the archipelago, and 70% of its species
are endemic. From them come a considerable volume of
products for domestic consumption and export,
including fruits, precious woods, meat and produce.
These ecosystems are generally quite fragile and
vulnerable to uncontrolled economic development.
Hence the priority that the Revolution places on
creating environmental awareness among the
population, so that old habits that cause pollution
may be eliminated.
It
is no coincidence that a lot of the country’s
social, economic and political history has had the
mountains as a backdrop. During the independence
wars, they sheltered and nourished the patriots.
One
of the main goals of the Turquino Project is to keep
the mountains prepared for the country’s defense in
case of a military aggression. The montañeses
see to that, with help from the state: maintaining
the island’s natural treasures and guaranteeing
sustainable development in a perfect integration of
human beings and nature.
(Translated by Granma International)
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