• Submitted by: manso
• International
• 08 / 06 / 2011

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By: Ileana Ferrer Fonte.12:02Havana, Aug 5 (Prensa Latina) A program financed by the World Environment Fund and the UN Development Program will seek to extend Cuba's southern mangrove swamps and provide more protection for coral reefs and fish.

About 5.7 million USD will be earmarked for a five-year period to strengthen environmental education in the country, Martha Rosa Acosta Blanco, a protected areas expert in Pinar del Rio province, told Juventud Rebelde newspaper.

Pinar del Rio has four protected marine areas that will benefit from the project, Acosta said.

One of those areas is the Los Pretiles environmental reserve on the northern coast of Mantua, home to the manatee, an endangered mammal, she noted.

Other areas include Cayos de San Felipe National Park, Guanahacabibes National Park, and the Guanahacabibes Biosphere Reserve, as well as the San Ubaldo Sabanalamar floral reserve.