Protected Natural Areas in Holguín, an income generating project
- Written by Germán Veloz Placencia / Granma
- Published in Holguin
- Hits: 739
If last year the State's commitment to the environmental sphere included the allocation of more than nine million pesos for the management of Protected Natural Areas, these areas must fully exploit their revenue-generating potential.
In this regard, Geovanis Zaldívar Martínez, deputy delegate of the Environment in the province, said that work is underway to design and propose tourism products such as hiking and birdwatching.
In this regard, those responsible for the Caletones ecological reserve in the municipality of Gibara, with the approval of the provincial boards of Protected Natural Areas and Nature Tourism, have established the trail to the Tanques Azules cave, where tourists, with proper training and the supervisión of specialists, can practice cave diving.
Likewise, on Cerro de Yaguajay, part of the Karst Hills of Maniabón, in the municipality of Rafael Freyre, La Grieta trail was opened, which is gaining popularity among national and international nature lovers, thanks to the opportunity to enjoy the area's flora.
One avenue of emphasis, he commented, is increasing income from maintenance activities, including the control of invasive plant species and sanitation measures, which generate usable wood for charcoal production for subsequent sale. This can also be done with the dry firewood accumulated in the forest and wild fruits.
Since they have specialized personnel in biodiversity, he noted, another avenue is increasing technical services between the areas themselves and with any entity seeking management plans, research, and environmental assessments.
The municipal governments of Gibara and Moa have launched local or territorial development projects for the creation of geoparks, thereby continuing the policy of taking advantage of all the economic opportunities offered by the rational exploitation of natural resources.
