Cuba and the Environment

Cuba has been officially classified as sustainable by the World Wildlife Fund in 2006, which means that Cuba officially can provide for its energy, agriculture, and industrial needs without impacting the environment for future generations. Especially in agriculture, Cuba has been a world leader in sustainability. As established by the WWF, “when agricultural operations are sustainably managed, they can preserve and restore critical habitats, help protect watersheds, and improve soil health and water quality.” When Cuba was placed under the U.S. Embargo during the Cold War, it effectively severed ties between Cuba and the rest of the world. This meant that Cuba had limited access to resources such as oil, fertilizer, and coal. Thus, Cuba’s road to sustainability was crafted out of necessity under their formal Socialist rule. Many Cubans fear the determinantal effects of a U.S. presence in Cuba. These Cubans know that “Money talks” and many American companies are eager for the U.S. to begin trading with Cuba. While Cuba has been very sustainable, they still have environmental problems that could become increasingly worse with a U.S. presence in Cuba.

Domestic Attempts by Cuba to Combat Environmental Issues:

Cuban flag above a protected section of the Island
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/02/science/earth/cubas-environmental-concerns-grow-with-prospect-of-us-presence.html

Cuba has a plethora of centralized environmental organizations, including the National Commission of Environmental Protection and Rational Use of Natural Resources, the National Environmental Education and the National Commission for the Protection of the Environment and for Conservation of Natural Resources. However, as reflected by the names of some of these organizations, they are often criticized as redundant, and failing to take the perspectives of Cuban citizens into account due to their highly centralized nature. Despite the existence of such organizations and programs, the ways in which Cuba addresses environmental issues has also come under fire. State propaganda tends to downplay problems on the island itself, resulting to images and data about the environmental mishaps in foreign countries. This tendency is also present in Cuba’s Nationwide Environmental Educational Strategy, critiqued for inadequate application and implementation. As Isbel Diaz Torres, an activist and writer for the Havana Times, points out, “Primary, secondary, and senior secondary education provide an excessively didactic approach,” focusing solely on an abstract love of nature, leaving little room for “holistic or participative perspectives to be found anywhere.” Higher education proves no better, basing its small sect of environmental studies on research regarding basic natural resources rather than the serious environmental issues plaguing the country. However, environmental NGOs and autonomous associations have emerged after the economic crisis of the 1990s, and there are social and community projects which also address ecological problems of Cuba, as many communities are deeply affected by issues such as access to drinking water, air pollution, and waste treatment. Still, Cuba’s government and elite class retain the most influence on environmental policy, and it seems like they will continue serving their own interests rather than those of their people.

Cuban divers fishing out debris from the water
http://sites.psu.edu/cubazvh5116/2015/02/05/environmental-issue/

One of the main major environmental issues that are occurring in Cuba is water pollution. Water pollution is causing the people of Cuba to live in an unsafe environment that is negatively affecting the health and the well being of everyone in the country. The polluted water issue is not being solved and only students and volunteers are making an effort in trying to clean the water and stop the pollution. The Quibu river in Havana is polluted with dead animals, rotten food, bottles and cans, and many more items that should not be in the river. This pollution is causing deaths and diseases among the people of Cuba. The bacteria that is traveling through the water is leading  to infections and diseases such as amebiasis, hepatitis A, and dysentery, along with many others. A solution to the increasing water pollution needs to be solved with the help of the government coming up with ways to stop it because the problem can not be fixed with only volunteer work.  

Sources Cited

Cuba - Environment. (2016). Retrieved November 09, 2016, from http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Americas/Cuba-ENVIRONMENT.html

Goode, Erica. "Cuba’s Environmental Concerns Grow With Prospect of U.S. Presence." The New  York Times. The New York Times, 02 July 2015. Web. 14 Nov. 2016. <http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/02/science/earth/cubas-environmental-concerns-grow-with-prospect-of-us-presence.html>.

Pollution in more than 250 rivers in Cuba. Retrieved November 10, 2016, from http://www.martinews.com/a/pollution-in-more-than-two-hundred-fifty-rives-and-tributaries-in-cuba/26619.html

Sustainability. (n.d.). Retrieved November 09, 2016, from http://pages.vassar.edu/sustainability/video/history-of-sustainability-in-cuba/

Sustainable Agriculture. (n.d.). Retrieved November 09, 2016, from http://www.worldwildlife.org/industries/sustainable-agriculture

Torres, I. D. (2016, January 19). Environmental Awareness and Protection in Cuba. Retrieved November 09, 2016, from http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=116195