[NYTr] Cuba's Flora and Fauna Under Scrutiny

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

Agencia Cubana de Noticias (ACN) - Aug 3, 2007
http://ainch.ain.cu/mailman/listinfo/ingles


Flora and Fauna Under Scrutiny

By ORFILIO PELAEZ

Cuba enjoys a rich biodiversity characterized by a large number of 
endemic species. More than 52 percent of the island's complex plants 
are endemic and 43 of the 46 species of amphibian are exclusive to Cuba.

One of the main environmental problems threatening Cuba, as presented 
in the recently published 2007 to 2010 National Environmental Strategy, 
is the loss of biological diversity. Among the causes of this problem 
are the destruction of habitat and ecosystems, the introduction of 
exotic species, and the existence of limited regulatory mechanisms to 
prevent and penalize poaching, as well as the illicit trade of 
endangered species.

As part of efforts aimed at protecting ecological areas, specialists 
from the National Museum of Natural History, in cooperation with the 
Chicago Field Museum, the Eastern Center of Ecosystems and 
Biodiversity, and other institutions performed a series of Fast 
Biological Inventories that took place in six regions rich in flora and 
fauna.

The studies, in a short period, compile a general inventory of the 
existing populations of plants and animals that exist in a targeted 
area, to update existing data on the biological organisms that live 
there to design effective actions to assure the preservation of those 
biological resources. A preliminary report about the state of 
conservation of mammals, birds, insects, amphibians, reptiles, 
arachnids and vegetable species is compiled and delivered to local 
government authorities and scientific institutions.

Dr. Reinaldo Rojas Consuegra noted that the areas targeted for the 
study were the Zapata Swamp Reserve, the Sierra de Cubitas Mountains, 
Alexander Humboldt National Park, the Pico Mogote Ecological Reserve, 
La Bayamesa National Park, and the Siboney-Juticu Ecological Reserve.

The evaluations that are done provide a working platform to put into 
practice environmental education programs in the surrounding 
communities to encourage local population participation in protecting 
biodiversity.

The Fast Biological Inventories have already paid off. For example, in 
the Zapata Swamp, a research project concluded in 2002, discovered 
several new Cuban species of mollusks and reptiles, and identified the 
main threats to biological diversity and to the ecosystem's natural 
resources. The Zapata Swamp is the largest in Cuba and is considered 
the best-preserved swamp in the Caribbean.

[The author is a journalist with Granma newspaper]