Revitalization and Conservation of Cultural and Environmental Values in Jibacoa Beach Cuba

Transcription

1 12 Revitalization and Conservation of Cultural and Environmental Values in Jibacoa Beach Cuba IOI Operational Centre Involved: IOI-Cuba, located at the Center for Marine Research, University of Havana, Havana, Cuba Project Coordinator: Silvia Patricia González Díaz S U M M A R Y Jibacoa Beach is located on the north coast of Havana province, 60 km east of the city of Havana. There are two types of communities in the area: the local inhabitants, who reside there full time, and a transient community, comprising the national and international tourists visiting the area every summer to enjoy the beach. The project will seek to solve some of the community problems. The main objective is the conservation and recovery of nature and human values for the benefit of future generations. Combined efforts based on community participatory techniques are aimed at reviving the cultural, patrimonial and environmental values of the area. The main goal is to sensitize children and younger people to aspects relating to plastic arts since this area was the home of Amelia Peláez, the most noted Cuban painter of the twentieth century. Activities are based mainly on continuous contact with natural ecosystems (marine and land) at this location, which will help people to understand the importance of conservation. 119

2 120 VOLUME 16: EXAMPLES OF SUCCESSFUL EXPERIENCES IN COASTAL COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT The partners in the project are the Center for Marine Research, University of Havana; the Institute of Oceanography; the Institute of Tropical Medicine; Pro Naturaleza, an NGO; and the Work Group of Havana Harbour. The project started in December 2006 and is ongoing. The total budget is over $10,000. B A C K G R O U N D A N D J U S T I F I C AT I O N The main occupations of the community in Jibacoa Beach are fishing and agriculture. This is a small community with important natural and cultural elements that are endangered owing to deterioration. Some of these elements are: the presence of attractive species (corals, molluscs, turtles, manatees, birds, many trees, etc.); the high diversity of ecosystems (river, coast, mountain, lagoon); shipwrecks from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries; and the house of Amelia Peláez, the famous Cuban artist. The community had been facing several environmental, social and economic problems: environmental: loss of biological diversity and natural vegetation (impact from fisheries and hunting, bad management of resources), loss of sand, general ecosystem deterioration and pollution; The Loss of Nesting Sites of Sea Turtles Jibacoa Beach used to be a common place for sea turtles to come out of the sea to lay their eggs, said an old fisherman, who grew up on this piece of land. The visits by sea turtles were once common, then became casual, and now are just a memory in the life of those who have lived there for more than half a century. The local people used to wait for the darker nights of warm summer to go down the beach and wait for a sea turtle to show up and catch it. It was more like a ritual in which children went with their grandfathers and spent almost the whole night learning this old custom and other things about fisheries. The problem arose when more and more people became interested in this old custom. When not just locals but also people from afar started catching sea turtles, the problem became acute. Fishermen arrived in large numbers from nearby areas and from inland to catch the turtles. Over a period of 15 years, the population growth of sea turtles could not match the capture rates. The number of turtles that recognized Jibacoa as a nesting site decreased drastically. One can still see fresh killing of turtles. The people are worried about the future of this species and wonder whether this problem will extend to other natural resources.

3 Revitalization and Conservation of Cultural and Environmental Values in Jibacoa Beach Cuba 121 Forest Fires in Hills The coastline of Jibacoa Beach is marked by small mountains and hills that run along the coast. According to some photographic records, these hills housed different kinds of forests that sheltered a variety of animal life, but this huge diversity has been reduced severely by natural and man-made fires. The ancient forest has given place to a secondary vegetation formation and the vertebrate and invertebrate communities have been forced to change with it. Deforestation in the area has reduced the humidity and the forest is now more prone to fires during the long dry seasons. Some of these hills have been burned out completely more than twice in a year. These fires are affecting other ecosystems such as rivers and estuaries, beaches and reefs. social: problems of health and hygiene, lack of adequate public transportation, absence of recreational and cultural options, low levels of environmental and cultural awareness; and economic: lack of employment opportunities in the area. The project aims to solve some of the community s problems. This includes recovering cultural and environmental values based on knowledge and with the involvement of local residents. The initiative seeks to promote in the people an environmental conscience and a feeling of care for these important values. Young people will form a community group of environmental promoters that will help to spread environmental knowledge and awareness in the whole community. The main motivation for the project is based on information exchanged with the community members and the concern about the actual state of both cultural and environmental values in this community. There is a need for preventive action with regard to environmental problems such as the loss of species diversity, forests and coral reefs. C H A L L E N G E S A D D R E S S E D The main challenges faced are: lack of enthusiasm among the local inhabitants; and inadequate involvement of local institutions in the proposed activities. O B J E C T I V E S The overall objective is to recover and preserve the cultural and environmental

4 122 VOLUME 16: EXAMPLES OF SUCCESSFUL EXPERIENCES IN COASTAL COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT values of Jibacoa Beach. The specific objectives are to build human capacities for this purpose and to carry out cleaning operations on Jibacoa Beach. P R O J E C T P L A N N I N G The planning process included the following: discussion among the project team members on the main ideas; meeting and interviews with community members to discuss the main problems; and presentation of the activities and work plan at a meeting with the leaders of the community. Community leaders and people in general agreed with the activities proposed and those that have already been developed. They have approved and supported project implementation by helping project staff as much as possible. P R O J E C T A C T I V I T I E S The main activities are the following: thematic conferences (biodiversity, conservation, art) and meetings with the local people; design and production of promotional and educational materials; promotion of cleaning campaigns in the community for beach recovery; creation of a garden with the main native plants of the locality; Undertaking an ecological study. creation of an art workshop, Amelia Peláez, for children and young people; periodic meetings with the community and with Work Group members; evaluation of the status of the marine and terrestrial ecosystems in the area through ecological studies; and coordination with tourism entities from the locality for their incorporation into and participation in the project. A C H I E V E M E N T S A N D O U T C O M E S The intended outcomes are: revitalization of the community s values;

5 Revitalization and Conservation of Cultural and Environmental Values in Jibacoa Beach Cuba 123 environmental conservation; and an increase in and diversification of local and traditional knowledge. The project achievements at the time of writing of this case study were modest since the initiatives had just begun. Nonetheless, some improvements had already been achieved. For example, the project team had become aware of the problems affecting the local community. It had also built trust among the project partners and community members, which had enabled the establishment of direct communication links among the stakeholders. All of these factors will contribute to the success of the project since they have created a strong basis for collaboration and teamwork with local inhabitants. The project had already led to an increase in people s motivation in aspects relating to environmental conservation. Children had come up with new queries and new subjects to learn and they had improved their painting skills. M O N I T O R I N G A N D E V A L U AT I O N The activities are monitored through meetings, conversations and interviews. S T R E N G T H S A N D W E A K N E S S E S The following are strengths of the project: good working relations with community members and local government; appropriate project design; and excellent staff involved in the project. Project weaknesses are as follows: inadequate infrastructure; and lack of funding. P A R T N E R S H I P S The project partners play the following roles: The Center for Marine Research at the University of Havana is the lead institution of this project. Its mission is to contribute to environmental conservation and sustainable development through the integration of scientific investigation and the building of human capacities. The government is the facilitator of project development. The NGO, Pro-Naturaleza, coordinates and develops the project. I N N O V AT I O N S The innovations attempted under the project are as follows: the joint work of two NGOs (Pro-Naturaleza and IOI);

6 124 VOLUME 16: EXAMPLES OF SUCCESSFUL EXPERIENCES IN COASTAL COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT promotion of nature and cultural conservation through hands-on activities, such as plastic arts; and the involvement of all the community members and even casual visitors in conservation activities. The principal lesson learned is that the main allies in the protection of nature are the people who have direct use of its resources. Another lesson is that the knowledge base of the community is important for the improvement of the quality of life. S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y F U T U R E P L A N S For the time being, no linkage has been established with other projects. The main reason for this is that this is the only project of its kind operating in the community. Project members are seeking to establish links with other initiatives in other localities and an outreach programme will be launched soon. R E P L I C A B I L I T Y The project is being implemented only in Jibacoa Beach. The objective is to develop and implement the ideas at this specific location. The next step would be to develop a more ambitious project for implementation in a bigger city. Similar work is being carried out in Guanahacabibes but it covers only environmental education activities mainly for children. The plans are to continue developing the proposed activities in the community and to extend the work to other communities in the country. Contacts Silvia Patricia González Díaz Yamilé Comabella Soto IOI-Cuba Grupo de Conservacion y Manejo de Recursos Costeros Centro de Investigaciones Marinas Calle 16, No. 114 e/ Ira y 3ra Miramar, Playa Ciudad de La Habana Cuba Tel.: jorge@cim.uh.cu, patricia@cim.uh.cu, ycomabella@cim.uh.cu D I F F I C U LT I E S A N D L E S S O N S The main difficulty faced was obtaining required financial support.