International project favors climate change adaptation in central Cuba

CIEGO DE AVILA, Cuba, Jul 10 (ACN) Through the training of workers from sectors such as agriculture and water resources and of residents of coastal communities, the international project “Mi Costa” paves the way for the improvement of climate change adaptation in areas vulnerable to climate change.

The project’s National Management Unit stressed the importance of the training to take subsequent action in degraded wetland areas along Cuba’s southern coast, which involves rehabilitating more than 14,400 ha of mangroves, 6,500 ha of swamp forests, and 920 hectares of grass swamp and raises awareness of climate change-related threats at community level.

According to Orestes Perdomo, an official with the UNDP Cuba office, the project includes training some 165,000 people from socioeconomic entities and settlements in the 24 municipalities and seven communities involved in “Mi Costa” and building the capacity of the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment with financial assistance provided by the Green Climate Fund and the Cuban government.

Hiorvanys Espinosa Pérez, vice-governor of the province of Ciego de Ávila, referred to the impact of this effort on the consolidation of Tarea Vida (Task Life), a brain child of the Historical Leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, given his will to promote environmental protection and the efficient use of natural resources to preserve life on the planet.