When the world loses thousands hectares of wood each day, the province of Camagüey, the largest in Cuba, increased its forest heritage by 1 400 hectares over the last year.

A research recently published by the FAO reflects that each year 0,2 per cent of the worlds jungle surface disappears, which means 7,3 millions of hectares per year, or 20 thousand per day, twice the area of Paris.

However, Camaguey province -with an area of 15 900 square kilometers and some 792 700 inhabitants- has kept since last decade a permanent growth of its green areas, even when the drought limited the reforestation.

The progress in the reforestation labors, basically in the survival of the planted areas allowed that the forest coverage of the province corresponds to the 21,60 percent of its geography.

When the Revolution came to power in 1959, the woodlands in Camagüey only covered 13 percent of its area, as a result of an indiscriminate deforestation occurred during the early decades of the 20th century in favor of the cattle farming and the sugar cane plantations, worsened by the lack of a state-run program that could revert the situation.

From that year on, Cuba started to implement a program devoted to boost, recover and look after the forests; this was accelerated during the 80s with the active participation of the population.

The goal in the Island nation, which has a forest coverage of 24,50 percent of its geography, is to reforest wasted areas and to have in 2015 no less than 29 per cent of the national territory covered with natural and artificial woods, an action that will contribute to the improvement of the environment.

Fuente: Por Lucilo Tejera Díaz, Radio Cadena Agramonte