Cuba looks to mangroves to fend off rising seas
Cuba looks to mangroves to fend off rising seas
By ANDREA RODRIGUEZ, Associated Press | July 23, 2014 | Updated: July 23, 2014 11:05pm
HAVANA (AP) Many people in this tiny hamlet on the southern coast of Cuba remember when the shore lay about 100 meters (yards) farther out. That was four decades ago.
Since then, rising waters have gradually swallowed up rustic homes, a narrow highway that once paralleled the coast, even an old military tank that people now use to measure the sea's yearly advance.
"There was a road there," said Jose Manuel Herrera, 42, a fisherman and former charcoal harvester, pointing toward the gentle waves. "You could travel from here all the way to Mayabeque."
Worried by forecasts of rising seas from climate change, the effects of hurricanes and the salinization of farmlands, authorities say they are beginning a forced march to repair Cuba's first line of defense against the advancing waters its mangrove thickets, which have been damaged by decades of neglect and uncontrolled logging.
In the second half of 2013, a moratorium was declared on mangrove logging. Now, the final touches are being put on a sustainable management master plan that is expected to be in place before the end of the year. President Raul Castro has said the plan is a top priority.
More:
http://www.chron.com/news/science/article/Cuba-looks-to-mangroves-to-fend-off-rising-seas-5642827.php