Deforestation in Cuba.

Subject  > Area & Country Studies Essays

Centuries prior to the ruling of the Castro government, in the 16th century precisely, 90 percent of Cuba was covered with forests. Agriculture Ministry officials in Cuba revealed that the Castro government, in the last for decades, had sown 1.24 million acres of trees, of which were mainly derived from the mountainous zones of the Sierra Maestra, Escambray, and Sierra de los Organos. This reduced Cuba's forest cover to 53 percent and by 1960 it was down by 13.5 percent. Ultimately, mining, farming, sugar planting, supplying timber and setting up cattle ranches, demolished Cuba's forests over the centuries. Deforestation, in any case, is both detrimental to the environment and to the economy of Cuba. Forest products are extremely important to the economical well-being of Cuba because ...

... in Cuba for the benefit of both the general public and the rural population whose income and survival is dependent on forest products. The short-term goal of this initiative is to strengthen the institutional ability of the forest service in the planning, coordination, supervision, implementation, and control of forest-related activities and the capacity to involve and engage civil society, which includes the private sector, farmers, and rural communities, in the responsible management of forest resources. A new law enacted in 1998 by the Cuban government, the Forest Law, was also implemented in order to protect and preserve the island's remaining forests and promote responsible and sustainable use of natural resources. The law states that Cubans who want to cut down trees must get

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