May 21, 2008

The environmental damage caused by deforestation can have serious effects on the public health of surrounding communities. Developing countries are particularly susceptible to the environmental degradation caused by the clearing of trees for lumber, livestock grazing areas or farmland. Few have the resources to implement remediation programs or enforce laws dictating land use and protection. Cuba, however, has managed to increase its tree cover substantially even at its economic low, while improving environmental and public health in the process. Taking advantage of international support, Cuba has developed uniquely-tailored conservation programs, such as the highly effective one implemented throughout the Cauto River Basin in the eastern part of the island. The Cauto project integrates local communities into the reforestation and remediation process, providing income and employment through sustained environmental protection that gives them a stake in its long-term success. Cuba demonstrates through the reforestation of the Cauto River Basin how nations with few economic resources can most effectively prevent and roll back environmental damage, thereby benefiting regional public health, economic security and community structure.

Many negative effects of deforestation are shared globally, such as biodiversity loss that eliminates potential medicinal plant species, the release of pollutants into the air and waterways,[1] and elevated carbon dioxide levels.[2] The most acute costs from loss of tree cover, however, are often borne by local communities. Loss of vegetation promotes desertification of the soil, robbing it of nutrients and exacerbating erosion. Poor soil quality, in turn, makes sustainable agriculture increasingly difficult. Without leaves and roots to soak up water and hold down topsoil, deforested areas are unable to absorb rainfall or maintain riverbanks, thereby elevating the risk of flash flooding and hurricane damage, as well as the public health risks that come from flooding.

Deforestation also contributes to local climate and temperature changes that foster the spread of diseases. The amount of humidity or shade provided by wooded areas affects the species that thrive there, and, consequently, the spread of diseases that develop through contact with those species. As a watershed deteriorates, risk of disease downstream grows due to increased pollution, flooding and a change in the ecosystem. One incidence of such consequences was found in Haiti, where researchers for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the University of Alabama at Birmingham found a significant increase in hookworm infections among children as a result of deforestation. The longitudinal study showed that hookworm was not previously common in Haiti, but that incidence of the infection rose from zero to between 12 percent and 15 percent between 1990 and 1996. As rainfall and temperature were relatively stable throughout that time, this trend was attributed to flooding caused by runoff from the tree-stripped watershed.[3]

Cuba has also suffered significant deforestation over its history. When the island was first discovered it was 90 percent forest land, but that ratio was diminished to a mere 14 percent by 1959. Droughts have doubled in frequency since the 1980s and erosion has increased, as well as soil salinity, compaction and loss of fertility, making crop cultivation more difficult.[4] In Cuba, deforestation contributes to vulnerability of flooding and hurricanes, food insecurity due to poor soil conditions, and economic and social hardship born of environmental degradation in rural areas.

The damage that develops with the loss of tree cover not only threatens the physical health of the local population - it also jeopardizes the community structure itself. Loss of nutrients in the soil makes farming less and less viable, impacting economic opportunity in deforested areas. As more people move away from affected communities to look for other sources of income, family structure and basic health and education services suffer. Throughout Latin America, poor economic opportunities in rural communities have driven many to relocate to cities, often settling in unhygienic and overcrowded outskirts of metropolitan areas. Cuba has recognized reforestation as a top priority to ensure the food security of the entire nation, as well as to support rural communities and avoid overpopulating major urban areas.

Although Cuban forests suffered a degree of illegal logging and clearing to provide land for livestock or crops, particularly in the trying economic times of the 1990s, legislation and government initiatives have shown a constructive effort to strengthen legal and grassroots environmental conservation. Cuban reforestation projects enhance sustainable preservation by involving local populations, thereby giving those living in regions undergoing environmental remediation a stake in its success, as well as a source of pride and income that fortifies rural communities and mitigates the need for illegal logging.

The Cauto River Basin serves as an example of a reforestation effort undertaken with international support that has been successful through integral popular involvement. The basin is composed of the Rio Cauto, a 140 kilometer-long river located mostly in the Granma province, and its tributaries. This watershed winds through three different provinces and is the largest and most important one in Cuba. The Cauto River Basin covers an area of nearly 9,000 square kilometers. That’s 8 percent of the country, with 10 percent of its population.[5] The river basin and surrounding areas have suffered extensive environmental damage related to deforestation. Trees were cut for fuel and to make charcoal, land was cleared to allow for uncontrolled grazing and agriculture, the riverbeds and canyons were continuously eroding due to flash flooding, there was a widespread loss of indigenous plant species, and the river bed was too salinized to support crops.[6] Although there had been repeated attempts by the Cuban government to reforest the area, those efforts had not been successful.

In 1997, however, Cuba tried a new, holistic approach to reforestation that has been markedly successful. The government created the National Watershed Council, which integrated consideration of local natural resources into the governance of the region. The level of environmental damage and necessary remediation for Cuba’s waterways were assessed, and specific councils were established for the five most important river systems, including the Cauto. Governing bodies were created in each province to coordinate environmental needs with economic and social services. To reforest the Cauto River Basin, the Cuban government paired with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Local Human Development Program and the governments of three regions in Italy to fund and implement a community-based approach to repairing the environmental damage.

The Cuban government allowed the local firm Bayamo Forest Company to oversee the creation of integral forest farms, or man-made forests aimed at preserving the biodiversity and balance of the ecosystem through management of resources and water systems. The first ones planted focused on emergency reforestation, and employed local residents to maintain them. As a part of this initiative, the land to be reforested was divided into parcels of 6 to 14 hectares and funding was provided to build comfortable, well-furnished houses on each plot, complete with a fuel-efficient stove, photovoltaic solar energy panels and a color television, to encourage residents to remain in the area.[7],[8][9] Families moved into these houses as employees of the Bayamo Forest Company to oversee the development of the project. Although the tenants are not formal owners of the land they manage, their attachment to the project is encouraged by 30-year terms of service. Under Cuban law, after 30 years of renting the same unit, a tenant may legally buy that home, a process that Raúl Castro clarified and streamlined in April 2008. Few Cubans, in fact, legally own their homes and nearly all are tenants, even on agriculturally farmed land.

The first trees planted by Cauto residents were fast growing and easily adaptable to the environment for quicker reforestation. Once the river banks were repaired to a basic level, thereby slowing the erosion process, communities began to plant other species. Families planted trees for timber, fruit trees, medicinal plants, and even began small-scale organic farming and raising livestock. The communities in the region either consume the food that they grow or sell it to supplement their income.[10] The economic opportunity that local residents enjoy motivates them to remain dedicated to the project and continue reforestation and conservation efforts.

The Cauto River Basin restoration effort has been recognized by the UNDP and has been highly successful in increasing tree cover. Over 24,000 hectares of the region were reforested between 1997 and 2002.[11] By 2002, the project had created 159 comprehensive forest farms employing over 1,300 individuals.[12] Reforestation efforts have also been integrated with other environmental remediation projects, including treatment of residual waters.[13] Not only has the Cauto reforestation project endured, it has shown meaningful results in improving environmental health and the quality of life of local residents.

Cuba shares a history of deforestation with many Latin American countries. Latin America lost 4.3 million hectares of woodland between 2000 and 2005 alone.[14] Cuba, however, managed to steadily increase its forest area to nearly 22 percent in 2002.[15] By 2005 Cuba enjoyed 24.7 percent tree cover,[16] showing a significant impact of reforestation efforts in recent years. The government has announced its goal to increase that figure to 29.3 percent by 2015.[17] Cuba differs from much of the developing world by promoting a firm and comprehensive reforestation policy, seeking out and allocating the resources necessary to implement it and weaving the local populations into the development and execution of environmental protection projects. Using limited resources, reforestation efforts give rural communities a vested interest in the health of their environment, while improving protection against natural disasters, infectious diseases, and other threats to public health and social cohesion.