Deforestation in Cuba.

Deforestation in Cuba. Centuries prior to the ruling of the Castro government, in the 16th centuryprecisely, 90 percent of Cuba was covered with forests. Agriculture Ministry officials inCuba revealed that the Castro government, in the last for decades, had sown 1.24million acres of trees, of which were mainly derived from the mountainous zones of theSierra Maestra, Escambray, and Sierra de los Organos. This reduced Cuba's forestcover 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, demolishedCuba's forests over the centuries.Deforestation, in any case, is both detrimental to the environment and to theeconomy of Cuba. Forest products are extremely important to the economical well-beingof Cuba because they play a primary role in the production of tobacco, sugar, and citrusfruits, a few of the island's main exports, as well as in construction and electrical andtelephone services.Pico Torquino in the Sierra Maest ra, Cuba's highes...Above all, forests play a crucial role in the protection andconservation of Cuba's natural resources and their contribution to improving theenvironment as a whole.In Cuba, there are approximately 40,000 persons who are employed in theforest sector, which includes 1,200 professionals, 2,000 technicians, and 70 researchers,to name a few. Since forests are a source of long-term employment, particularly in ruralcommunities, many people who work in the forest sector, who rely on forests as theirmain source of income, find themselves facing the possibility of unemployment with theonset of deforestation.Currently, several initiatives are being undertaken to improve the issue ofdeforestation. Current initiatives include a joint initiative of the Cuban and Canadiangovernments as part of their cooperation program called the Institutional Strengtheningof the Cuban Forest Service...