Who is Defending Cuba’s Threatened Species?

• Cuba faces a significant biodiversity crisis, with 157 vertebrate species threatened and severe risks to mollusks, despite its status as a top global hotspot for biodiversity.
• State-led conservation efforts often struggle with a lack of autonomy, institutional instability, and a mass exodus of scientific professionals.
• Civil society and international initiatives play a critical role in filling gaps, performing monitoring, reforestation, and environmental education.
• Experts emphasize that effective conservation requires active citizen participation and transparency, rather than just official decrees.

Biodiversity Under Threat

• A 2019 report by the UNDP and Cuba’s Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment identified 157 threatened vertebrate species: 52 critically endangered, 42 endangered, and 63 vulnerable.
• Terrestrial invertebrates, particularly mollusks, are severely impacted, with 65 species across vulnerable and critically endangered categories.
• Climate change models project severe biodiversity loss by 2050 in low-lying, flat regions including the Cauto Valley, southern Camagüey, and the Jardines de la Reina archipelago.

Conservation and Community Initiatives

• Mangrove Restoration: Projects like UNESCO’s MangRes (Guanahacabibes Peninsula) and Manglar Vive (Gulf of Batabanó) focus on restoring red mangroves and documenting local knowledge.
• Species-Specific Efforts:
  • The manjuarí fish benefits from dedicated hatchery and feeding programs in the Ciénaga de Zapata.
  • The West Indian manatee faces extinction due to human interference, requiring comprehensive habitat protection and community education.
  • Polymitas (e.g., Polymita sulphurosa) remain highly vulnerable, with past projects by The Rufford Foundation mapping their distribution to propose new protected spaces.
• Grassroots Activism:
  • Nativa (Red de Microviveros) promotes native flora and engages youth in ecological relationships.
  • Guardabosques (active 2007–2019) focused on community-led reforestation, monitoring, and denouncing environmental irregularities.

Challenges to Success

• Scientific Independence: Environmental researcher Isbel Díaz Torres notes that Cuban science lacks autonomy, hindered by economic crisis and corruption.
• Top-Down Limitations: Conservation policies are often perceived as "paper-only" protection; experts argue that without local community involvement, agricultural incentives, and rigorous scientific monitoring, state-mandated strategies are unlikely to succeed.