The Government’s will to promote sustainable development is expressed in the design and implementation of specific policies such as the Natural Resources and Environment Macro Program that, in turn, responds to the priorities established in Cuba’s National Economic and Social Development Plan.

Odalys Goicochea, general director for the Environment at the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (CITMA), explained how the regulations are articulated with the existing social demands and problems.

“Tarea Vida” (Task Life), a Cuban State Plan to Face Climate Change, for example, underwent adjustments in order to provide more specific attention to social aspects, and the need to involve scientists and the population to solve the community’s problems, Goicochea said.

Several strategies, including the National Environmental Strategy, approved for the 2021-2025 period, and whose implementation will allow measuring the progress made in this area, thanks to indicators such as the ecological footprint index, the environmental quality index and the climate resilience, are proof of the efforts made in the regulatory field.

The highest expression of Cuba’s political willingness to protect the environment is the recent approval by the National People’s Power Assembly (Parliament) of the Law on Natural Resources and Environment System.

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