A press release added that they are using funding from the Global Environment Facility for this purpose.

The note specifies that as part of the eighth replenishment cycle of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the island is participating in the Blue and Green Development in Cuba’s food and urban sectors project.

This initiative takes place within the framework of the global program Blue and Green Islands, which promotes the reduction of negative impacts on the environment and the incorporation of an environmental approach to productive processes to make them more sustainable.

The Cuban initiative, currently being formulated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the Center for Research on Protein Plants and Bionatural Products (CIPB), will contribute to prevent, reduce and reverse environmental degradation processes in ecosystems of global interest. It is a plan through the application of nature-based solutions in the agri-food sector, as well as promoting the sustainable development of urban and peri-urban communities in 10 western municipalities, as basic pillars for a transition to a sovereign, sustainable and resilient productive matrix, according to the message.

FAO Deputy Director General, Maria Helena Semedo, said that for the fulfillment of the 2030 Agenda they need a healthy planet and a healthy population.

Hence, these projects will help countries conserve and use natural resources sustainably, while providing nutritious diets and green, climate-resilient livelihoods, and contribute to the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the Paris Agreement.

On the other hand, the FAO in Cuba said that the regional conference of this entity has highlighted the theme The Amazon and the Caribbean added to the inclusive and resilient rural transformation of the initiative Mano de la Mano (Hand in Hand).

The initiative, present in 15 countries in the region, achieves a significant impact on their rural transformation, with emphasis on more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable investment.

They stressed that on March 20, in Georgetown, Guyana, the Organization held the high-level event Specific investments for resilient, sustainable and inclusive agrifood systems as part of the proposed Mano de la Mano event.

There, FAO shared progress and results, as well as the new national and regional challenges that will be integrated into the idea.

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