Cuba has 11,000 sources of pollution that affect water

Havana/On World Environment Day, this coming 5 June, Cuba will have 11,000 sources of pollution that affect ground water and coastal areas. This information was updated by Odalis Goicochea, Director of the Environment at that Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (CITMA), in a press conference Monday.

The figure is very alarming, especially when we take into account our dwindling water reserves. 2014 was the driest year reported since the beginning of this century, and 2015 looks like it wants to compete for this negative record. With a long and narrow island and with no major surface or underground water resources, the country needs to do a better job of managing its waste stream to protect the water.

The town of Guanabo, east of Havana, is a clear example of the drama that is damaging our most precious natural resource. Part of the sewage from the urban area ends up in the sea and is mixed with the water where people swim. In some areas, the air stinks from the waste exposed in ditches and ponds, becoming an epidemiological danger and contributing to environmental degradation in areas crossed by the filth.

2014 was the driest year reported since the beginning of this century, and 2015 looks like it wants to compete for this negative record

The residents have appealed to every agency, even writing complaints to the “Letters to the Editor” section of the newspaper Granma. However, the town continues down the slippery slope of apathy and ecological damage. “Before this was a nice beach, when families came with their children, but now the number of people coming is greatly diminished,” says Agustin, a resident of the area who has a home where he hosts tourists near to the famous Horses of Guanbo.

According to the latest report from CITMA, Cuba needs large investments in the environment, although the text also stressed that the provinces of Villa Clara, Holguin and Artemisa have improved environmental management in recent years, such that the latter has been selected to host the activities for World Environment Day. But there is a long road ahead, especially in the proper recycling of waste, the creation of a social conscience of respect for nature and the application of legal penalties to entities and individuals who contribute to the deterioration of the environment.

The country urgently needs to begin implementing solutions, because every day that passes water is slipping through the fingers of indolence.