A total of 82 research projects were implemented during 2024 in the programmes managed by the Environment Agency, part of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment.
A total of 82 research projects were implemented during 2024 in the programmes managed by the Environment Agency (AMA), which belongs to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment.
As reported in the annual balance sheet of this body, 31 of these projects belong to the National Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Programme, while the rest are linked to the Sectoral Programmes Sustainable Use of Biological Diversity in Cuba (18), Meteorology and Sustainable Development of the Country (13), Integrated Disaster Risk Reduction in Cuba (15) and Environmental Management with a Circular Economy Approach (5).
According to Dr. Maritza García García, president of the AMA, among the outstanding results of the year just ended contributed by these projects are the elaboration of the National Plan for the Conservation of Cuban Wildlife 2024-2030, the first of its kind conceived in the country for these purposes, and the creation of an electronic database containing systematic and biogeographic information on 14 Cuban biological groups.
It also highlights the evaluation, for the first time in Cuba, of the threat status of marine megabiota, which included the taxonomic update of 4,398 species.
This constitutes an extremely valuable tool in the elaboration of norms, regulations, management plans, sectoral strategies and other instruments of control and surveillance, focused on reducing the loss of biological diversity in the country.
In addition, 136 natural, technological and sanitary Hazard, Vulnerability and Risk Studies were completed at the national level, while the recovery of numerous beaches damaged by erosion was achieved through the implementation of conservation, improvement and rehabilitation actions, such as the natural and anthropogenic reforestation of dunes.
Also, 2,376 hectares of land in ten demonstration sites have benefited from the adoption of sustainable agro-ecological practices and low environmental impact technologies, which improve soil quality and contribute to increased yields and the resilience of production systems to the impacts of climate change.
The rate of scientific publications per researcher was 1.6, up from 1.3 in 2023. The WADA institutions with the highest number of published articles are the Institute of Meteorology, with 81, and the Institute of Ecology and Systematics, with 56.
Created on 6 March 1995, the Environment Agency currently has 22 entities, of which 14 are research centres, seven are scientific and technological services and one is a Development and Innovation Unit.
It has a highly qualified scientific potential and in 2024 led 17 of the 20 international projects implemented in the country in the environmental field.
