Ancon Peninsula: Fun Vs. Protection

Located in the province of Sancti Spiritus and one of the most important tourism sites in the country you will find the colonial town of Trinidad.

A UNESCO World Heritage Site for its architectural and cultural values, this town in south central part of the country also has beautiful beaches and has countless wonders that treasures the third villa founded by the Spanish colonizers on the island.

The beaches of Trinidad represents an attractive option to enjoy the summer months either with family, friends or simply with a partner.

In this sense, the Ancon Peninsula is highlighted for its exceptional possibilities and becomes in the summer a refreshing and entertaining paradise for thousands of vacationers excluding the hundreds of foreign visitors that visit the so called Museum City of the Caribbean.

Located 15 kilometers from the city of Trinidad, Ancon has one of the most beautiful beaches on the island and its marine bottom is full of gorgonians, fans and star fish, black coral, sponges and small tropical fish.

That is why, specialists from the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (CITMA) in the territory are concerned: the erosion of the coast which received a large number of visitors in July and August, more than the real capacity of the area.

Experts from the Environment Unit and Center for Environmental Services, entities that work under CITMA in Sancti Spiritus province say that in many occasion the population does not know the fragility of the coastal areas and the consequences of its indiscriminate use.

According to technicians, a viable solution to preserve the maritime ecosystem and its environment is to foment and consolidate an educational project that on one hand can help the reduction of illegalities and on the other to teach people on the importance of maintaining the beaches clean.

Work in favor of conservation measures have increased but this has not guaranteed the care of the peninsula; in what is left of the summer vacation two control tests for bathers will be carried out, informed Gisela Martin, director of the provincial center to AIN News Agency.

She explained these will consist in regulating the entrance of people to the so called natural pool, created in an artificial manner for tourists lodging in the Hotel Costa Sur.

In this small area, said Martin, some 900 people visit the site each day, much more than what can take the spot.

In addition, said the directive, if this rate continues the loss of sand will provoke deterioration on of the dunes in addition to the erosion process that the Ancon region currently suffers associated to climate change and the elevation of the sea level.

Despite the current studies of the peninsula which shows symptoms of stability, thanks to the environmental work underway and the cohesion of different government and state entities for its preservation the truth is that it's still not enough.

This is not a measure to prohibit the use of the area and close the doors to this natural paradise, which is turned into a recreational center for many locals from Sancti Spiritus during the summer; but before its loss we must define legal and social policies to plan its use from a sustainable point of view.

The protection of the peninsula cannot be left only to the initiative of the people and more over when the people themselves have a negative impact in the majority of the circumstances.

From this reality, the measures should not be temporary and the vitality of the beaches should not be exclusively left for the specialists, but at some moment we must look for ways to establish a halfway point to solve this current situation: fun vs. protection.