Cuba celebrates World Wetlands Day

HAVANA, Cuba, Feb 2 (ACN) Cuba joins today the celebration of World Wetlands Day on the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Ramsar Convention, an international agreement that encourages the conservation and wise use of these ecosystems.

Master of Science Jose Manuel Guzman Menendez, technical director of the Manglar Vivo ("Living Mangrove") Project of the Environment Agency, shared an exclusive message with the Cuban News Agency congratulating those involved in the study, protection and restoration of wetlands.
He pointed out that these natural or man-made systems provide essential services such as filtration, recharge and water supply with quality parameters that make possible their use in agriculture, daily life and industrial activities.

They are also a very important source of biological diversity, as they are home to several species for consumption and contribute to the stability of the environment.

However, he described as negative the growing human impact in their disappearance or affectation, "for which we are responsible for reestablishing and restoring them."

Guzman Menendez stressed that the country has dedicated much time to the study of the functioning and benefits of these areas for their conservation and better use in balance between people, plants and animals.

Cuba has six Ramsar sites, included in the list of Wetlands of International Importance, he noted, and several actions are also being undertaken in other significant sites for their existence in coastal areas.

More than 800 hectares of growth with mangrove ecosystem and others of swamp forests were established, and people had the opportunity to be educated and trained on the most effective way to preserve them in order to increase the quality of life, the expert continued.

The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, known as the Ramsar Convention was signed on Tuesday, February 2, 1971and entered into force on December 21, 1975 being the only global treaty that focuses on a single ecosystem.