Caribbean's Largest Small Island Developing State Charts New Pathway to a Sustainable Future

Havana, 17 September 2014 - From combatting desertification and drought, to disaster preparedness, and the better management of natural resources and protected areas, Cuba is well on its way to implementing the Small Island Developing States Accelerated Modalities of Action (S.A.M.O.A. Pathway) - the main outcome document of the Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS), recently held in Apia, Samoa.

The Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Ibrahim Thiaw, visited Cuba to see first-hand the progress Cuba is making in combating desertification, promoting sustainable land management and responding to disasters, in order to identify ways to encourage greater South-South cooperation in these areas.

Mr. Thiaw visited the Meteorological Institute and the Environmental Agency, where he attended a presentation on its programme to combat desertification and drought. His agenda also included visits to demonstration sites of sustainable land management in Pinar del Río - the Cuban province with the highest percentage of forest cover.

The Caribbean's largest small island developing state, and with a population of over 11 million inhabitants, Cuba is faced with many environmental challenges. Pressure on biological resources in Cuba has been aggravated in recent years due to the degradation of ecosystems to support alternative livelihoods within many communities. The high density of inhabitants per square km, and the destructive effect of human activity on biodiversity has been of growing concern to the governments of Caribbean countries. There has also been a significant impact on biodiversity due to climate change and its related effects: El Niño, extreme tropical storms, and floods.

Efforts to mitigate these pressures were formalized with the Caribbean Biological Corridor (CBC) Partnership, which combines high-level political commitment between Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic, with implementation and support from UNEP and the European Commission through the Delimitation and Establishment of the CBC.

The CBC provides a framework for cooperation among the countries of the Caribbean for protecting and reducing the loss of biodiversity, by rehabilitating the environment, developing livelihood alternatives - particularly in Haiti - and alleviating poverty as a means to reduce the pressure on biological resources.

Speaking at a meeting with Cuba's Minister of Science, Technology and Environment, Elba Rosa Pérez Montoya, Mr. Thiaw congratulated Cuba for its pioneering work to establish the CBC, citing it as a great example of south-south cooperation that could be replicated in the Pacific region, taking into account its specific characteristics.

The project objectives include the demarcation of the CBC in the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Cuba; strengthening the network of protected areas of the island of Hispaniola (Haiti and Dominican Republic); mitigating threats to protected areas, as well as rehabilitation of degraded areas; identification and implementation of alternative livelihoods for communities; and public awareness and education. South-South cooperation is a cornerstone of the project, and it has been so successful that other countries in the Caribbean have expressed interest in joining the CBC partnership.

Cuba is known worldwide for its disaster response system with an excellent track record of protecting human life and livelihoods through preparedness and institutional capacity-building at a local level. As a country highly vulnerable to climate change, and a country with a significant influence in the region, it is thought that Cuba can play an important role in supporting the process towards the Lima-Paris Climate Change Agreement.

Another project of particular relevance for South-South cooperation is the Capacity Building Centre for Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation for Cuba and the Caribbean, recently created by the Government of Cuba jointly with the Government of Norway.

On the last day of his visit, Mr. Thiaw met Cuba's Director General for Multilateral Affairs and International Law, Pedro Núñez Mosquera, to discuss how Cuba's leadership in the area of disaster risk reduction and preparedness, and their experience gained in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals can inform the post-2015 development agenda.

For more information, please contact:

Alejandro Laguna, UNEP Information Officer, Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean

Email: alex.laguna@unep.org

Tel.: (507) 305-3164