Responsible Organisation

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
This project was implemented in collaboration with various agencies of the Cuban Government with the participation of non-governmental and grassroots organizations under the coordination of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment of Cuba. The Cuban Government financed the project with specific support from Cubasolar; Humboldt University, Germany; Eurosolar, Italy; and SODEPAZ, Spain.

Description

Several problems characterised the area, including:

• Persistent drought and erratic rainfall (400 to 900 mm of rainfall and 2,500 mm of evapotranspiration),

• Recurring damage caused by cyclones;

• Actual and potential salinization due to: a water table linked to the sea; inappropriate irrigation: and cultivation and species selection practices;

• Deforestation: erosion due to overexploitation of forests in the past, extensive grazing and inappropriate cultivation practices;

• Food vulnerability when catastrophes and/or national financial restrictions occur.

The above problems were addressed by :

• Reducing migration to city by upgrading the quality of life and guaranteeing food at the local level;

• Regional planning for integrated watershed management;

• Establishing of early warning and natural resource monitoring systems;

• Installing local reference projects;

• Launching multiple strategy for communication, education and training;

• Adopting the most advanced and appropriate technology making use of traditional knowledge and selective use of modern techniques:

• Agroforestry; recovery of salinized land;

• Implementing land conservation projects;

• Intensifying livestock production thus converting areas to forestry and agroforestry use;

• Developing irrigation infrastructure and optimisation of available water resources;

• Using of organic fertilizers

Issues Addressed

Land use

Results Achieved

• Implementation of contingency plans when disasters occur; during the 1998 floods, no one died;

• Establishment of an early warning meteorological system;

• Improvement in upper and middle basin water retention;

• Implementation of sustainable models of high productivity in mountain conditions (based on agroforestry); valley conditions (based on salinized land recovery and management); and arid coastal conditions (based on the intensification of livestock raising);

• Expansion of the economic scale of models;

• Communication efforts with 60 percent of the population in the area;

• Development of infrastructure for the most advanced technology in the field of land fertility, in vitro plant production and hypocotyledonary grafting;

• Reforestation by planting 10 million trees in arid conditions;

• Development of agencies for institutional coordination and the harmonization of public policies.

• Integration of efforts in each river basin agency and in the national river basin agency;

• Greater awareness of the phenomenon of desertification at the national level and greater recognition of it by the most influential circles;

• Inclusion of environmental education plans at all school levels;

• Satisfaction of basic food needs; the surpluses are sold at local markets or to other provinces;

• Mulitdisciplinary municipal and provincial development plans prepared through consultations with all sectors of society.

Lessons Learned

The benefit obtained by including the activities to combat desertification in regional sustainable development programmes and their links at the national level. This idea underscores the existence of an institutional framework and social coordination in which activities are integrated in a synergetic manner.

Another key aspect is the decisive value of prior investments in human and social capital. A healthy and educated population has the capacity to participate actively in innovations, which reduces the time and costs of adopting and applying advances in technology and procedures.

The case of Cuba also shows the effect of social organization, which has mechanisms for convening and solidarity firmly embodied in culture and daily life. The base for expansion and replicability of reference projects is mainly the social organization infrastructure at all levels.

The building of specific bodies and clear competence for the implementation of action programmes is essential to the project. The scientific-production pole ensures quality in the development of the technical proposals, while in the three areas, operational activities are coordinated and also have a focal point for general coordination and links with activities and programmes actually or potentially related to the objectives of the project.

In the awareness-building and dissemination activities, the use of multimedia strengthens the activities of each of the media and accelerates the application of the strategies and techniques developed.

The inclusion of opinion, political and social leaders greatly favours the dissemination of innovations and also contributes to building social capital in terms of confidence and mobilization.

Contacts

Elizabeth Migongo-Bake
Programme Officer, Land-use and Natural Resources Management
DEPI/TCU
UNEP
Nairobi, Kenya.
Tel. (+254) 2 621234; Fax (+254) 2 226886
Email: Elizabeth.Migongo-blake@unep.org
Website: http://www.unep.org