Ecobreves – CUBA: Repopulating Species Harmed by Hurricane

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

HAVANA, Jan 6 2002 (IPS) - Cuban experts are awaiting help from foreign institutions to save more than a dozen species that were thrashed by Hurricane Michelle last Nov 4 at the Cienfuegos Botanical Garden, 336 km from Havana Winds reaching 200 km per hour hit Cuba two months ago and destroyed plant specimens like the Sandalo arbum, natural camphor and nutmeg (Eugenia cariofilata), difficult to reproduce and valuable for their aromatic properties and essences.

The specialists at the Botanical Garden, which was founded in 1901, contacted their colleagues in Germany, Belgium, Chile and Italy in search of seeds or plants to replace the ones that Cuba lost.