The scientific project of the Bio-food Research Center (CIBA by its Spanish initials), aimed at the integrated management of the Great Wetland located in the North of Ciego de Ávila (GHNCA by its Spanish initials) to achieve its sustainability and adaptation to climate change, will have an impact on the development of the province of Ciego de Ávila.
With the unification of the converging factors in the GHNCA, it is expected to improve the environmental, economic and social order; contribute to sustainability and adaptability from the evaluation of the climate in different scenarios; and achieve ecosystem balance through environment- and community-based solutions. Moreover, the development of policies and strategic plans designed at the conservation and rational use of natural resources.
The project will favor the production of goods and services associated with aquaculture, tourism and agriculture; and, therefore, the rise of the quality of life of the communities located in the wetland, which include Manatí, La Pesquera, Embarcadero, El Salado, La Escondida, Manacas, Cayo Guanal and Playa de Cunagua.
The study will begin with the establishment and updating of the environmental base, taking into account characterizations and analysis of the behavior of climatic and meteorological variables (rainfall, temperatures and winds). Besides, the classification of soils according to their origin, topographic position, slopes, drainage, depth, texture, structure and degree of erosion; and the analysis of the annual and monthly flows of the rivers, the fluctuations of flows and the quality of the surface waters will be other aspects for consideration.
Characterizations of the natural lagoons, inquiries regarding the peculiarities and availability of groundwater, noise levels and their relationship with biodiversity; and the identification, location, distribution, diversity and abundance of flora and fauna species will be added to this. A sociodemographic characterization, which includes aspects related to the quality of life of the communities and the customs of the human groups, the description of the fundamental economic activities that take place in the area, the infrastructure created and the cultural resources with heritage value are some others.
The MSc. Yamilé Jiménez Peña, CIBA's Deputy Director of Investigations, stated that “a lot of work has been done in function of the GHNCA, but in an independently way. The entities have done that hard labor from their perspective and mission. The CIBA project intends to integrate and improve these studies, with the aim of instituting an integrated management program that constitutes an effective tool for making decisions regarding the rational use of this ecosystem, in its adaptation to climate change”.
She emphasized that the project responds to Tarea Vida and government programs, led by Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, to integrate science into local development and the production of goods and services.
"There is agricultural activity in the wetland area that we can reorganize after knowing the characteristics of the soils and their suitability for different crops, according to the conditions of the ecosystem," she emphasized.
The project headed by the CIBA also includes the provincial companies of Hydraulic Utilization, Hydraulic Resources, Fisheries and Forestry; the Territorial Delegation of CITMA, the ministries of Construction, Agriculture and Tourism; the University Máximo Gómez Báez, Geocuba and the Meteorological and Research Centers on Coastal Ecosystems.
Among the main problems identified in the GHNCA, the transformation of the surface and groundwater regime stands out, due to the construction of hydraulic and civil works to achieve a better use of the water resources of the northern basin of the province. Another one includes the affectations in the quality of the vital liquid, as a consequence of the discharge of waste without or with poor treatment from different polluting sources. In addition, changes in the dynamics of the marine currents after the construction of the causeway that connects the cays to the big island, which has had a negative impact on the characteristics of the inland sea and the biodiversity of the area, is other of the leading issues.
Other difficulties are associated with the limitation of the arrival of terrestrial waters to the coastline, which affects the increase of salinity levels in the interior sea and has unfavorable effects on biodiversity. The damage caused to the dunes by construction activity, the expansion of invasive exotic plant species and the introduction of plant varieties that have had a negative impact on the ecosystem are some worrying troubles too.
In the tourism sector, wastewater is not reused for fertigation of green areas and gardening, and the nature in the GHNCA is not properly exploited during excursions.
Meanwhile, forest activity faces the consequences of the introduction of unsuitable species to the ecosystem, as well as the impact of forest fires and illegal logging. The flora and fauna of the wetland have also suffered the devastating effects of drought and hurricanes.
From the socioeconomic point of view, the goods and services offered by the GHNCA have not been evaluated, the communities and institutions that carry out activities within this area do not have sufficient knowledge about the current problems of the ecosystem, and communicational work on the importance of the wetland and the protected areas is deprived.
The huge ecosystem, lacking in administration, has an area of 226,875 hectares and covers four of the 10 municipalities in the province of Ciego de Ávila (Chambas, Morón, Bolivia and Primero de Enero). It has three protected areas: the Central-West ecological reserve of Cayo Coco and the fauna refuges La Loma de Cunagua and El Venero, the last one dedicated to the conservation of populations of aquatic birds and the Cuban crane.
It also has a breeding center for the American crocodile with hundreds of specimens that are released into the natural environment for their development when they reach their adult stage.
According to a report by the Cuban News Agency (ACN by its Spanish initials), “it is the objective of prioritized actions as part of the Tarea Vida, as it is one of the scenarios of danger and vulnerability of the coastal areas of Cuba and the adjacent cays, associated with the rise of the sea level for the years 2050 and 2100 ".
Base on the specialized literature, wetlands are areas of the earth's surface that are temporarily or permanently flooded, regulated by climatic factors and in constant interaction with the living beings that inhabit them.
They are considered as such "extensions of marshes, swamps and peat bogs, or surfaces covered with water, natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, stagnant or current, fresh, brackish or salty, including extensions of marine water whose depth does not exceed six meters at low tide". In addition," they may include their adjacent riverside or coastal areas, as well as islands or extensions of seawater with a depth greater than six meters at low tide, when they are within the wetland”.
Wetlands are ecosystems of great hierarchy due to the hydrological and ecological processes that occur in them and the biological diversity that they support.
They are considered the most productive ecosystems on Earth and are a source of biological diversity, they provide water and primary productivity, on which countless animal and plant species depend for their survival. They foster high concentrations of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish and invertebrate species and are important sources of drinking water.
Since 1997, World Wetlands Day has been celebrated in commemoration of the signing of the Convention on Wetlands, in Ramsar, Iran, on February 2, 1971. This agreement was the first of its kind on the planet aimed at the conservation and rational use of these ecosystems.