THE forests seen by the first inhabitants of Cuba were dense and leafy. More than 4,000 species: carob, ceiba, Royal palm, mahogany, cedar, soapberry, tamarind, ebony, Guaiacum, Acana, walnut, and oak trees, many of them hardwoods, extended throughout the island. Such was the profusion that, according to testimonies of the day, you could walk for 200 leagues beneath the shade.

In his General History of the Indies, Frey Bartolomé de las Casas affirmed that during his first voyage to Cuba, Christopher Columbus himself not only referred to the exuberance of the vegetation, but also noted his impressions in his navigation diary: A thousand different sorts of trees, with their fruit were to be met with, and of a wonderfully delicious odor. It was a great affliction to me to be ignorant of their natures, for I am very certain they are all valuable; I am bringing specimens of them and of the plants that I have preserved. (Sunday, October 21, 1492).

Studies on the subject also affirm that during his other two voyages to Cuba, Columbus discovered new varieties and fruits that aroused his admiration. It was the same case with diverse species of fauna.

The felling of forested areas began with colonialism. Indeed, the timber’s primary use was in the construction of caravels, galleons, and other vessels to continue the conquest of other lands on the continent. Later on, the extermination of these species was linked to the development of civilization given the increasing population, the growth of cities and the needs that they generated, as well as the consolidation of a class that required large, colonial houses, stylish furniture, and other works built using those excellent woods at that time.

That took place over several centuries but reached its climax in the 19th and 20th centuries. The damage was of such magnitude that in 1900, just 54% of Cuban territory remained covered in forests. Indeed, in 1947, the nation stopped exporting lumber. By 1959, only 14% of forests remained.

If we confine ourselves to specialist literature, during the neocolonial period (1902-1959), the annual rate of deforestation was the highest in our history (70,000 ha/year), "fundamentally caused by the accelerated expansion of the sugar industry and the displacement of large numbers of campesinos to the mountains, who stripped extensive areas in order to support their families."

Nothing else could be expected than the rupture of the ecological balance of these areas, leading to the extinction of diverse species of plants and animals. In the past, a large number of animals present throughout the island were affected via the destruction of their habitats or as the targets of indiscriminate hunting. Today, a significant number of them are extinct or threatened with extinction, such as the macaw or Cuban Red Macaw (Ara tricolor), considered among the country’s most beautiful birds. According to experts, the last one of that kind died at the beginning of the 20th century in a house in Cerro, Havana.

While, in this context, the development of the sugar sector was of great detriment to Cuba’s natural heritage, in later years, the leveling of land for agricultural and social projects after the triumph of the Revolution, also took its toll.

The difficult task implied in the construction of a new country in all contexts and the urgent economic, cultural, educational, medical, and other tasks that this involves – and the fact that the island did not have the environmental awareness that it does today – led to a very slow increase in the replacement of devastated forests. One clear indication of that is the increase of the just 5.5% from 1959 to 1991.

Aware of the role played by forests in the conservation of ecological equilibrium and biodiversity, climate regulation, the maintenance of water sources and volumes, and soil protection, the Cuban state has paid particular attention to reforestation.

Official figures confirm that, over the past 11 years, the country has increased its forested areas to 25.7% of the total area, with the incorporation of more than 55,000ha reforested from 1998 onward. According to the same information, in January of this year, Carlos Alberto Díaz, forestry director at the Ministry of Agriculture and secretary of the Reforestation Systems Commission, told the Cuba a la Mano online publication that in 2009, around 100 million trees were planted, placing Cuba as one of the top countries in the world and the first in Latin America in terms of its forest growth in the past 50 years.

For 2010, the island is planning to increase forest coverage on the banks of rivers and reservoirs in order to protect the water and soil. More than 67,000ha are to be planted, some 11,000 more than last year.

According to official sources, reforested areas are to be increased annually – with a target of 29.3% of the total surface area by 2015 – in keeping with guidelines established at the Rio Summit.

Cuba is not isolated from the rest of the world and, like other nations on the continent, could easily be affected by climate change, landslides, earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis and other natural phenomena or serious accidents, on occasions caused by the ambitions of transnationals, such as oil spills and gas leaks into the atmosphere that endanger life.

We must also engage in intensive work in order to maintain the presence of animals and plants on this planet, to keep them alive so that they do not become names in reports of species that are extinct.