In bad weather, good practices (Part II and Final) (+Photos and Infographics)

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A mal tiempo, buenas prácticas (II Parte y Final) (+Fotos e Infografía)

The destruction caused by Irma as it passed through the coastal community of Punta Alegre, north of the province of Ciego de Ávila, in the municipality of Chambas, was one of the reasons why Coastal Resilience also focused its attention on Punta Alegre.

The pages of the digital newspaper Invasor recall that, on the night of September 8, 2017, the powerful hurricane unleashed the forces of the sea and destroyed what it found in its path by 250 meters. The next day "small and medium-sized boats appeared 100 meters from the coastline, on the mainland."

This area is also considered among those most affected in the medium and long term by the rise in the average sea level, a challenge in the face of the retreat of the coastline and the increase in soil salinization, which requires the development of preventive mitigation and adaptation actions to climate change.

PUNTA ALEGRE: THE HURRICANE OF ADAPTATION

Two years after the intervention, Teresa López Seijas, coordinator of Coastal Resilience for the UNDP, considered that relevance is achieved in the development of that locality, where owners of private farms and workers from the Forestry UEB of the municipality of Chambas have rehabilitated some 50 ha of mangrove forests.

A mal tiempo, buenas prácticas (II Parte y Final) (+Fotos e Infografía)

During the recent monitoring of the results, in charge of Mrs. Paola Larghi, external evaluator of the project, the impact of the elimination of exotic species, the creation of ecological passes and the cleaning of canals, actions that favor the growth of plantations and natural regeneration of mangroves.

Peasants, community factors and agricultural and forestry companies from the municipality of Chambas, who demonstrate commitment and sensitivity to ecosystem restoration, are involved in these rehabilitation actions.

Manuel Castillo, director of the Chambas Forestry Base Business Unit, highlighted the responsibility of his entity with the management of some 50 ha, where 13 workers labor and, eventually, others join to collect seeds and sow, in the area between the estuary of the Chambas River and El Mamón beach.

From his resilient farm, with 79 head of cattle and an annual contribution of 18,000 liters of milk, Jorge Ariel assures that he has been involved in mangrove restoration for years, however, now he undertakes it with greater force, based on the acquisition of scientist knowledge for the management of the area and the improvement of the material conditions.

The damaged mangrove is used for the manufacture of charcoal for social and family consumption, as well as making deliveries to the Forestry UEB for exporting and reinforcing its productive chain with a local mini-industry for the manufacture of milk derivatives.

The remains of the charcoal ovens also contribute to the natural regeneration of the plantations, this farmer said, who is also motivated to develop a bio-digester that will sustain itself with the manure of the cattle and will reduce the consumption of electrical energy in his home, others in the community and mini-industry.

A mal tiempo, buenas prácticas (II Parte y Final) (+Fotos e Infografía)

María del Carmen Olivera Isern, coordinator of Coastal Resilience in the province of Ciego de Ávila, considered that these initiatives are developed from the transfer of scientific knowledge by specialists from the Bio-food Research Centers (CIBA) and Coastal Ecosystems (CIEC).

The recently inaugurated Community Center for Civic Capacity Building and Knowledge Management (CCCC) also contributes to the management and contribution of knowledge, where more than 50 people have been trained to date on issues related to cope with natural disasters and conservation of the coastal ecosystem.

Ileney Igalza Galañena, coordinator of the international Coastal Resilience project by the CIEC, explained that students, managers and workers from key sectors of the local economy, community authorities and representatives of political and mass organizations are included.

Yamilé Jiménez Peña, one of the coordinators of Coastal Resilience in the territory, underlined that knowledge is transferred to different actors in the economy to favor the proper management of the coastline and achieve an integrated vision of disaster risk reduction and adaptation to climate change.

She added that the center promotes the synergy between Coastal Resilience and the international project Connecting Landscapes, also with an intervention site in Chambas (Farm School with Landscape Approach Rincón Los Hondones), to extend agro-ecological practices and the use of efficient microorganisms from the mountains to the coastal zone.

The strengthening of capacities to face natural disasters is also due to the creation, in the municipality of Chambas, of the first management center for disaster risk reduction with an integrated vision of this activity to adaptation to climate change.

Rudy Montero Mata, director of the Institute of Geophysics and Astronomy, stressed that this entity is a key tool for decision-making in terms of preserving human, material and environmental resources.

Jorge Luis Garrido Vidal, president of the Municipal Government of People's Power in Chambas, expressed the responsibility of the center with the preparation of leaders and inhabitants of the communities support for the management of multidisciplinary groups, the updating of PVR studies and the facilitation of intersectoral exchange.

A mal tiempo, buenas prácticas (II Parte y Final) (+Fotos e Infografía)

A mal tiempo, buenas prácticas (II Parte y Final) (+Fotos e Infografía)

A mal tiempo, buenas prácticas (II Parte y Final) (+Fotos e Infografía)