By Elena Godinez Dalmau

Interview with Dr. C. Adela Haber Vega, delegate from the capital and CITMA worker

Havana has a Provincial Environmental Strategy, for five-year cycles, since 1997, approved by the Provincial Government, as well as its annual implementation plans. In this Strategy, prepared with the participation of provincial directorates and delegations, scientists, experts and others, the main environmental problems of the province are identified and priorities are defined. All this based on scientific results, such as studies of hazards and vulnerabilities and, taking into account in its implementation, the necessary human, material and financial resources.

Since 2017, the Provincial Plan for Confronting Climate Change, Life Task, has been approved by the Board of Directors. It defined the actions to be carried out in the short, medium, long and very long terms, for each of the prioritized areas and in accordance with the defined goals.

Both, together with other instruments of environmental management, have allowed us to move forward, despite the strict blockade to which the US government has subjected us for more than 60 years, which limits the execution of many investments to solve environmental problems inherited most of the years of colonialism.

Our province, under the direction of the Party and the Government, has carried out actions for the protection and conservation of the environment.

In 2020, the short term of the State Plan for Confronting Climate Change, known as the Life Task, concluded and work is being done on the execution of the actions defined for the 2020-2030 period. Among the main results of its implementation, the following stand out:

In the North Coast prioritized area, the section of the Malecón Habanero from La Chorrera to La Punta, the culmination of specific Urban Regulations for Adaptation to Climate Change and the intervention in the Traditional Malecón with technical solutions for coastal protection, which included the underpinning of the wall and the undermining of the road. Likewise, the drainage tube of the Anti-Imperialist Tribune was repaired, an action prior to the placement of the spearhead.

In the Section from Cojímar to Rincón de Guanabo that includes Playas de Este, the Guanabo settlement and the river of the same name, the most significant results are those related to the supply of drinking water and the start of the execution of the Treatment Plant. de Residuales de Peñas Altas, which will provide a solution for the dumping of residuals from the Reparto of the same name, from La Veneciana, from Brisas del Mar and from the tourism development of the Real Estate Campo de Golf Bellomonte. The Territorial Planning Plan for the Eastern Beaches was completed and studies are being carried out to prepare the executive project for the rehabilitation and maintenance of the Guanabo beach.

In the prioritized area of ​​Bahía de La Habana, the San Matías Waste Treatment Plant is in the start-up phase; and the Prosperidad community is 80% complete; Both plants will contribute to the sanitation of the Luyanó and Martín Pérez rivers, river currents with the largest contributions of contaminant load to this ecosystem.

As an action to improve the water supply to the population and tourism development, the Palatino-Old Havana Conductor was completed and the Cruise-East Conductor was started, which allows a greater guarantee of this service to the municipalities of Old Havana, Havana Center and the tourist development of the Bay. Also, the pontoon drainage works began, which will mitigate the flooding in the area.

With the objective of evaluating the population's perception of risk in the face of the impacts of climate change, a Final Perception Study was carried out on the residents of the popular councils of the municipalities of Habana Vieja and Centro Habana, where the effectiveness of the measures was demonstrated. training actions carried out.

In the prioritized West Coast area of ​​the city, from La Puntilla to Marina Hemingway, the rehabilitation of the drainage network began in the area from Calle 70 to Jaimanitas.

In the Almendares Vento Basin, of national interest, the second stage of the Special Plan for the Territorial Ordering of the Almendares-Vento Basin and its comprehensive protection plan began. Of the 16 prioritized polluting sources, the National Zoo and the Las Guásimas Population Served have resolved the treatment of their residuals, and progress is being made in Expocuba. In addition, the existing water supply and sewage networks in the Rio Verde neighborhood are rehabilitated. Regulatory measures and measures to reduce the water balance approved to third parties have been adopted to reduce the volumes extracted, as protection measures aimed at recovering their levels.

International funds have been managed, which contribute to the execution of actions for adaptation and mitigation of the impacts of climate change. The international projects that are carried out by the General Directorate of Transport of the province, related to the implementation of a low-carbon transport system and the sustainable mobility plan for Havana, contribute to this purpose. On the other hand, the approval by the Green Climate Fund of the "Adaptation Plan for the Coastal Zone of Havana" project proposes formulating a Plan that considers climatic risks and specific vulnerabilities in the medium and long term and integrates the measures adaptation and investment decisions in the development planning process, with the involvement of both local and national stakeholders.

It is also necessary to recognize other results that contribute to the rational use of natural resources and the protection of the environment in the province.

⦁ Working relationships between delegations, provincial directorates and institutions, which intervene in the rational use of natural resources and the protection of the capital's environment, are strengthened, promoting the integration of actors and factors at different levels, with the accurate direction and Party and government support.

⦁ The 2016-2020 cycle of the Provincial Environmental Strategy was completed and work is being done on the 2021-2025 strategic environmental cycle. As part of this process, a diagnosis of the main environmental problems in the province was carried out.

⦁ The update of the General Plan for Territorial and Urban Planning of Havana was approved, taking into account the studies carried out on danger and vulnerability.

The hazard and vulnerability scenarios of the Havana coastal area were updated, associated with the increase in the average sea level for the years 2050 and 2100, as well as the studies of Hazard, Vulnerability and Risk of flooding due to intense rains and strong winds, in the 15 municipalities of the province.

⦁ More than 5,500 ha of soil benefited, in addition to the production and application of organic fertilizers, bioproducts for pest control, biofertilizers and mineral fertilizers, as part of the Provincial Soil Improvement and Conservation Program.

⦁ The forest index reached 19% and the green area covered amounts to around 13,400 ha. Specifically, in the hydroregulatory strips of the main rivers and reservoirs, a total of 20.6 ha have been reforested. Work is being done on the development of the Strategy for the Regeneration and Development of Urban Green in the city.

⦁ The work in the protected areas of the province is strengthened, promoting the development of nature tourism in these spaces. It was recently approved by the Executive Committee of the Council of Ministers, in the category of Protected Natural Landscape, the Ensenada de Tiscornia.

⦁ More than 50% of the capital's population has a safely managed aqueduct service and new works are being carried out to increase it. The water potability index reaches 98.45% and the implementation of the monitoring program for the bacteriological quality of drinking water continues.

⦁ The management of urban solid waste in the capital continues to be a priority for the authorities of the country and the province. Actions continue to be carried out at the 100th Street Landfill with the aim of mitigating its impact on the hygienic and environmental state, and intense work continues in the search for a comprehensive solution for the management of urban solid waste. However, together with these efforts, it is necessary to continue fighting social indiscipline and making the population aware of these issues.

⦁ Science continues to develop research that contributes to the solution of the environmental problems currently facing the capital. Among the research projects that contribute to the priority of environmental management for the sustainable development of Havana, the following stand out: Obtaining alternative formulations and procedures for the control of the giant African snail at a local scale; Indicators for the Life Task in Havana; and the Ordering, management and conservation of urban trees in towns of four municipalities in the province of Havana.

⦁ Despite the social isolation imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic, intense work has been carried out aimed at training capacities on issues related to environmental management and education, promoting the use of social networks. The Environmental Training Network has been strengthened, as well as the work of scientific-recreational, cultural, educational centers, entities and organizations from various sectors and the social media, among others, which actively participate in raising environmental culture.

⦁ Similarly, various projects and actions aimed at increasing environmental awareness and improving the population's quality of life are promoted and developed, and international funds are managed and executed to improve the capital's environment.