International project on endangered species takes first steps

HAVANA, Cuba, Feb 24 (ACN) Cuba will soon start working on a project related to the lignum vitae (“tree of life”) approved by the Tree Species Program of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and funded by the European Union.
The purpose is to examine the current distribution, abundance, and population dynamics of these trees with a view to the preparation of a non-detriment findings (NDF) report and establish regulations for its conservation.

As required by CITES regarding wood exports, a positive report would allow forestry companies to use this valuable species sustainably and even assign a given amount to artisans.

However, according to the Institute of Ecology and Systematics (IES)—the scientific authority—delays in the execution of the project due to the COVID-19 pandemic have limited the work of specialists in the natural areas.

This project will pave the way for the legal protection and control of this and other threatened species of high ecological value or protected by international conventions, of which Cuba is a State Party. Its goals are in line with the 2021 World Wildlife Day theme: “Forests and Livelihoods: sustaining people and planet”.

CITES called to celebrate World Wildlife Day on March 3, the day designated by the UN General Assembly on December 20, 2013.

Highly appreciated as a medicinal plant, the lignum vitae is a small wild tree that grows in the coastal and stony areas of Cuba.