Guantanamo: Long-standing Drought, Permanent Challenge

Guantanamo, Cuba, Jan 4 (ACN) The unwanted and permanent drought in Guantanamo have given locals the strength to face it and advance, said environmentalist Mario Montero in statements to the Cuban News Agency.

The expert said that 37 years after the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, described drought as a major challenge to face Guantanamo province, such alert is still a dramatic reality today.

Montero said that after the second half of September 2022, one of the rainiest periods here, drought prevailed in over 90 percent of the province.

With that in mind, the expert said that local farmers made a heroic work, which advance the development of agriculture—not the necessary unfolding—but all despite lack of water and excess of salts damaging the soil.

You do not need to be an expert in the field---Montero said—to understand the effort required to achieve large harvests in a territory in which drought combines with other extreme weather phenomena.

Montero, who is a founding member of the International Network of Organizations against Desertification, said that the damage inflicted by hurricane Matthew on the area of Baracoa and Maisi, along with those inflicted by hurricanes Irma in other Guantanamo regions reflect the prevalence of a changing climate.

In 2022, major actions with the national climate change program known as Life Task focused on lowering the loss of water sources, protecting water quality and increasing availability for human consumption and for agriculture and industries.