Cuban specialists continue recovering emblematic seaside resort of the country

CAMAGUEY, Cuba, Feb 21 (ACN) The beach resort of Santa Lucia, on the northern coast of the province of Camaguey(central Cuba), is renowned for its beaches of crystal-clear waters and proximity to the coral reef, one of the largest in the western hemisphere, for which it holds incalculable values that give it worldwide prestige.

For years the coral reefs have been one of the main attractions for domestic and foreign vacationers, along with the unparalleled beauty offered by the ecosystem, with a high degree of conservation and serves as habitat, among others, to colonies of pink flamingos, sparrow hawks and seagulls.

But inadequate cleaning methods and the impact of extreme weather events are among the essential triggers of erosion in the main destination of the territory, which contains more than 100 km of beaches.

The implementation of a monitoring system made it possible to identify since 2007 the causes that originated the erosive processes in the area, thanks to the work of specialists from the Environmental Research Center of Camagüey (CIMAC by its Spanish acronym)), belonging to the delegation of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment.

Isis Hernandez Sosa, head of the biodiversity department of the first mentioned institution, explained that a year later they were involved in the national beach maintenance program with the intervention, in a local way, in those places where there was a greater impact, after the passage of Hurricane Ike, which caused the most damage.

As part of an integrated package over a decade, work has been done on the reconstruction of the dunes, the rehabilitation of the beach fronts, the creation of accesses and new vegetation, in addition to the elimination of exotic species and structures in the first line, as they constitute other elements that increase coastal erosion.

They have also replaced more than 9,000 cubic meters of sand in the indicated period.

The recovery and maintenance of the ecosystem, and above all the protection of the resorts, becomes, for the reasons analyzed, a key element for the conservation of the resources that nature offers to human beings.

A premise that the Cuban State enunciated since 2017 in its Plan to Confront Climate Change, known as Tarea Vida ("Task Life"), with special emphasis on sandy beaches.