Sustained reforestation actions in eastern Cuba

LAS TUNAS, Cuba, Jan 26 (ACN) With a registered forest cover of 20.07%, the province of Las Tunas has nearly doubled the amount of land planted with trees since the mid-1980s.

This sustained increase is all the more noticeable in a region characterized by extensive plains suitable for cattle raising and by the lowest rainfall record in Cuba, with an average of 1,038 millimeters annually.

However, a report by the State Forestry Service in the province reveals that the general reforestation program was not fulfilled in 2021, with only 604 hectares planted of a plan of 1,537.

The text recognizes, nonetheless, the good results in the production of seedlings, the rehabilitation of hydro-regulating strips, the management of natural regeneration and the planting of living poles, fruit trees and melliferous plants.

Agroforestry authorities in the province alert to illegal actions that damage the forests, especially logging, and make emphasis on the measures to prevent fires, which in 2021 affected 16 hectares.

The challenge for 2022 is to plant the most beneficial species to the economy and the environment in a province where the forest patrimony exceeds 165,180 hectares.