ECONOMY-CUBA: Cuba Eyes Ecotourism Trade

By Dalia Acosta Reprint | | Print |

Dalia Acosta

HAVANA, Apr 6 1999 (IPS) - Cuba is entering the thriving ecotourism market by declaring eight sectors in the north of the country to be protected areas – among them a huge Caribbean flamingo reserve.

The areas set aside for the controlled development of ecological tourism are located in the northern part of Camaguey province, 570 kilometers east of Havana, according to a government announcement.

The decision followed a study from the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment that evaluated the impact of tourism on the Camagueyan coast and keys.

“Approximately 100,000 flamingos and 400,000 nests can be found during the birds’ mating season” in addition to manatees, crocodiles, pelicans and other birds according to the official National Information Agency.

The Caribbean pink flamingo is included on the list of endangered species issued by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, but Cuban environmental officials say the bird no longer faces extinction.

Cuba’s National Enterprise for the Conservation of Flora and Fauna stated in 1998 that the number of flamingos would reach 230,000 in the next two years through an integral program for the study and care of this species. The flamingo population rose eight times this decade and officials now believe the total could reach 250,000 during the year 2000

The flamingos suffered a serious setback in numbers 10 years ago as a result of the construction of a land bridge in northern Camaguey, uniting Sabinal Key and the Cuban mainland, one of the first constructions of this type in Cuba, environmentalists said.

The project did not take into account the flow of currents, seriously affecting the mangrove swamps and with it the habitat of various species.

Now the danger is over, in addition to the pink flamingo reserve located at the mouth of the Rio Maximo the Santa Lucia coral reef – considered one of the richest in the world for marine life – also has been approved for controlled tourism.

The ecotourism study establishes norms which must be followed for the preservation of the selected territories and include “strict regulations for access and public conduct,” said a statement by the National Information Agency.

“Designating areas of exceptional natural value for tourism is a growing international practise in both industrialised and underdeveloped countries.”

Officials at the World Tourism Organization estimate that the demand for ecotourism is growing by approximately 20 percent annually in the international market.

Cuba’s National Study of Biological Diversity, completed in 1995, recorded the presence of 6,500 plant species, 51 percent of which are native to Cuba, and 19,600 species of animals, representing half of Cuban fauna. At the same time, the study showed that 10 percent of animals and two percent of plants faced various threats.

In Camaguey province there are 72 protected areas distributed throughout 1,900 square kilometers.

According to the financial weekly, Opciones, “98 percent of plants, and nearly all vertebrates, native and migratory birds, and 86 percent of critical habitats” are protected in some way in Cuba.

Ecotourism forms part of the economic development strategy designed by the government of President Fidel Castro, which hopes to expand the number of visitors to Cuba to seven million a year.

According to the Minister of Foreign Investment and Economic Collaboration, Ibrahim Ferradaz, the 20 percent average annual growth of tourism on the island will necessitate the construction of 80,000 hotel rooms over the next 10 to 12 years.

The gross income from tourism has grown nine times since 1989 and last year reached USD 1,800 million, according to Ferradaz.