The unauthorized opening of a ditch almost five kilometers long in the coastal strip of the Ancón peninsula has caused significant damage environmental to one of the most important ecosystems in the central Cuban province of Sancti Spíritus, official media refer.
In accordance with a local newspaper report Escambraythe aforementioned ecosystem, which functions as a protective shield against erosion and salinization processes, is home to a large number of species and is distinguished by its natural beauty, for which it constitutes a “strategic resource” for the area and its tourism development.
In this regard, Dalgis Dueña Boggiano, representative of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (Citma) in the Sancti Spiritus municipality of Trinidad, told the media that the illegally opened ditch “is located on the coastal strip, so it does cause environmental damage and even harms the views of that bathing area frequented by national and foreign vacationers.” .
requires the publication of Escambray that the open furrow extends from the well-known Curva de Alfredo to the entrance of Playa María Aguilar, and that several days and mechanized equipment were used for its execution.
The attack on the fragile coastal ecosystem shows the lack of sensitivity of some officials regarding the protection of the environment and compliance with the #TaskLife #SanctiSpíritus #Trinity #Cuba @citmacuba @CitmaSancti @DeivyPrezMartn1 https://t.co/ShLKiCnmnb pic.twitter.com/a5QllRzYYy
— Escambray (@escambraycu) April 25, 2022
Jorge Jesús Chaviano, a representative of the Environmental Regulation and Safety Office (ORSA) in that town, explained that the event “was aimed at discovering an old water conductor to extract the steel structure (wire rod) used in the construction” and that Once discovered, the authorities of the territory and the Ministry of the Interior (Minint).
The report refers to the fact that at the time of its publication the authors of the damage and the origin of the equipment used were already known, which are part of the crew that participates in the construction of the Melía Península hotel, in one of the plots of that ecosystem. .
In statements to EscambrayDavid Calzada Jiménez, at the head of the Office of Environmental Regulation and Safety in the province of Sancti Spiritusassured that those responsible will be required to “immediately restore” the damage caused to the section of the coastal strip within a period not exceeding 72 hours and the payment of a fine, based on what is established by Decree-Law No. 200 Contraventions in environmental matters.
As for the amount of this fine, according to what was investigated by the media, the amount could vary from 400 CUP in the event that those responsible are natural persons, to 10,000 CUP if the participation of a legal entity is demonstrated. But, beyond these possible measures, the report questions the fact itself and the “permissive attitudes” that made it possible.
“How was it possible to mobilize equipment, make the trench and deactivate the steel structure without calling attention to it in a timely manner?” asks the journalistic work, which points out that the attack on the fragile coastal ecosystem shows the lack of sensitivity of some officials in regarding the protection of the environment and compliance with what is established for its safeguard.
International rehabilitation project against climate change extended to southern coast of Cuba
Remember Escambray that the Ancón peninsula constitutes one of the areas protected in Sancti Spíritus by the Life Task – the Cuban state plan to face the climate change–, and that the area welcomes Cuban and international swimmers, even outside the summer season.
Faced with this reality, he stresses that the act “must not go unpunished” and that beyond the inability to avoid it, the identification of those responsible “becomes an act of justice to heal this kind of stab at nature, but also to question such practices”, which he considers incompatible with the postulates of government strategies and human sensitivity.
