Néstor Álvarez, deputy delegate of the Environment, in a conversation with Prensa Latina confirmed that due to the exceptional characteristics of this territory there are 16 protected areas, most of which are officially administered.
Among these, the following stand out in the north of Sancti Spiritus: Jobo Rosado, Buenavista, Caguanes, Lebrije to the east, in the center the Lomas de Banao and Fomento, in the south Tunas de Zaza, and in the great mountain range of Guamhuaya, Topes de Collantes.
These areas, managed by the Sancti Spíritus Agroforestry Company, maintain the protection of flora and fauna and a constant rehabilitation of their forests by the families who live there.
Among the reasons for declaring a protected area are to extend its forests and ensure biodiversity, expand research and monitoring, financial sustainability, community progress, contribute to the Tarea Vida and nature tourism.
According to Álvarez, work is ongoing to raise the categories of some areas and progress is being made towards the approval of others in development phases. The latest were Lomas de La Canoa-Cueva La Chucha and Lomas La Tasajera, in Yaguajay.
In the more than 140 hectares of La Lomas de Tasajera in the northern mountain range of Las Villas with a large number of caves, various Cuban species of bats live, with
276 genera of vascular plants, including the Tabernaemontana (rooster’s egg), a tree species endemic to Sancti Spíritus. In Lomas de la Canoa and Cueva La Chucha, with more than 1,800 hectares, three different formations coexist: a complex of mogotes vegetation, a mesophilous semi-deciduous forest – lowlands with flat to undulating topography – and a gallery forest.
On the slopes of the elevations and cliffs, more than 450 species of vascular plants grow, about 50 endemic, five threatened and most of them have economic potential due to their timber, medicinal, honey and ornamental value.
The protected areas in the north of Sancti Spiritus have an original flora where palm trees stand out and more than 300 species grow, most of them endemic with scarce presence due to the existence of invasive plants, fires and illegal logging, among other causes.
The international collaboration project Connecting Landscapes contributes to safeguarding the biodiversity of flora and fauna, as well as soil conservation.
The Yaguajay area is one of the four in the country to benefit from the international project Building coastal resilience in Cuba through natural solutions for adaptation to climate change, known as Coastal Resilience.
ef/ro/rga
