Cuba to Present in Turkey Progress vs. Desertification

HAVANA, Cuba, Aug 28 (acn) Cuba will show its progress in the struggle against desertification and drought during an important international meeting to be held on October 12-23 in Ankara, the capital of the Republic of Turkey.

During these days the 11th period of sessions of the Conference of the Parties (COP-12) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification will take place in the populous city of that Eurasian country, Engineer Delby Garcia told ACN on Wednesday.
This specialist is responsible for the 15 Operating Program (OP-15), funded by the Cuban government with the help of the Global Environment Fund (GEF), in support of the National Program to Combat Desertification, considered to be a platform for the comprehensive implementation of Sustainable Land Management (SLM).
He stressed that the initial objective of the Program is to strengthen capacities for planning, decision making and regulatory systems, which are essential elements for the implementation of an appropriate SLM in Cuba.
The scientist explained that desertification is land degradation in arid, semi-arid and sub-humid areas, due to inappropriate agricultural practices, water shortages and long droughts.
He specified that on the planet this scourge affects 35 million square kilometers and 250 million people, and in Cuba 14 percent of its territory.
Factors in the Cuban archipelago leading to desertification are deforestation, inadequate establishment of crops and plantations, poor management of farming technologies and of areas under irrigation and long droughts, he pointed out.
The most affected area is the Guantanamo-Maisi southern strip, where there are 40 settlements inhabited by over 30 thousand people, specified Garcia.