|
|
CUBA
Village with English Past, Ecological Present
By Patricia Grogg
COCODRILO, Isla de la Juventud, Cuba, Jul 31, 2010 (IPS) - Only hurricanes disrupt the tranquility of Cocodrilo, a Cuban coastal village
founded by immigrants from the Cayman Islands in the early 20th century.
The 320 residents make their livelihood from farming, fishing or the forest,
the last of which they learn to care for in school. But that wasn't always the
case.
On the southwest coast, Cocodrilo is about 100 kilometres opposite Nueva
Gerona, which sits on the north coast and is capital of Isla de la Juventud, the
second largest Cuban island. "Life was very difficult here; there was no
highway like there is today, or electricity. The life of the fishers was hard,"
Jenny Rivers, 78, tells Tierramérica.
Nights in Cocodrilo used to be "as dark as a wolf's mouth." Finally, with the
new century, came 24-hour electricity, generated by a diesel energy plant.
In the morning, Rivers settles in front of her window to watch the sea that has
fed several generations of her family. "My parents came from Cayman, and
my husband was the son of William Jackson, founder of Cocodrilo, which used
to be named Jacksonville," she says. English was the common language back
then.
Some of her Caymanian (or "caimaneros" as they are known here) nieces and
nephews have come to visit. "They say this looks a lot like the Cayman Islands,
because of the houses, the landscape," she says.
What does Rivers do when there is a hurricane? "Ah, I go to Nueva Gerona
with one of my daughters. They take all of us to safe places," Rivers responds
nonchalantly.
Two of her great-grandchildren study at the Cocodrilo primary school. The
boy says he wants to be a doctor. The girl hasn't decided what she wants to
be when she grows up. Like everyone born here, they learn how to swim at an
early age, and these days their teachers instill in them the importance of
caring for the environment.
"This town is in a protected area. We have to take care of the trees, clean up
garbage and prevent fires," Yenia Amador, nine, said to Tierramérica. "We also
shouldn't throw toxic waste into the sea, because it makes the fish sick,"
added Isaura Soto, also nine.
Among the birds of Isla de la Juventud's lush landscape, Jenny Ruiz, eight,
prefers the "tocororo," the Cuban trogon (Priotelus temnurus). "It's blue, white
and red, which are the colors of the Cuban flag. One shouldn't throw stones
at the tocororo or any other bird," she said.
As of this year, Cocodrilo has a forest biomass gasification plant to generate
electricity. It is part of an international project for production and distribution
of renewable energy throughout Isla de la Juventud. The town will be able to
save 75 percent on fossil fuel for electricity and produce fewer greenhouse
gas emissions.
"This experience will allow us to evaluate the technology and forest
management, and if it is working, it can be expanded to other communities
with similar characteristics. Also, what we're doing in environmental education
can be disseminated to other places," José Izquierdo, an expert in protected
areas, told Tierramérica.
Like the turning points for the forest and energy, for the fishers there is also
a "before" and "after" in the town's history. A ban on hunting sea turtles
reoriented the work of Cocodrilo's seafarers, who for generations had made a
living from the turtles. "But now we live better," said Gertrudes Figueredo, 56,
with 27 years of marine experience.
With support from the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF), Figueredo and her
colleagues improved their fishing equipment. Also, for catching the mutton
snapper (Lutjanus analis) and other appetising fish species, they receive 20
percent of their income in cash.
Cocodrilo is the only human settlement on the south side of the island, which
is "a wetland of international importance" under the Ramsar Convention.
Among the area's fauna are endemic birds like the "zunzuncito," or bee
hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae), and the Cuban pygmy owl (Glaucidium siju
vittstum).
Some 126,200 hectares of the Lanier Marsh and the South of Isla de Juventud
were included in November 2002 in the 1971 Ramsar Convention (named for
the Iranian city where it was signed) to preserve the wetland ecosystems and
plan for their sustainable use.
The animal inventory so far includes 35 bird species, 11 reptiles (five
endemic), six mammals (four were introduced), seven hymenopterous insects
(wasps, ants), and five land crustaceans.
An ecological station for managing the protected area is run by experts in
conservation of autochthonous species, particularly the turtles.
The sea turtles are monitored from April to September along the extension of
the beach, the station's principal scientist Bárbara Martínez explained.
Monitoring includes counting nests, and eggs per nest, among other
measurements, for comparison with previous years.
"The turtles tend to deposit their eggs very near the tide line. The researchers
move them farther inland so they are not damaged by the sea and prevent the
eggs from spoiling. This is part of the species management," said Martínez.
The iguana is another species that is vulnerable due to destruction of habitat
and hunting -- and is also getting attention from Martínez and her team.
Data gathered here is sent to the National Center for Protected Areas, in
Havana, where the behavior of the species across Cuba is studied.
(*This story was originally published by Latin American newspapers that are
part of the Tierramérica network. Tierramérica is a specialised news service
produced by IPS with the backing of the United Nations Development
Programme, United Nations Environment Programme and the World Bank.)
(END)
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
What is RSS?
