The more protected spaces, the better

MANATÍ, Las Tunas — A childhood habit of dissecting lizards to see what was inside them built up in Mayumi Vega Polanco until it exploded in an overwhelming passion for biology. Today, she is one of the main specialists at the Nuevas Grandes Bay-The Islet Ecological Preserve on the northern coast of Las Tunas province.

“In high school, I took up every single subject but particularly liked biology,” she says. “There, I learned that it could become a career.” The year she entered Oriente University, only one slot in biology was available.

The road to her present job was not easy, Mayumi says, because after graduating from Oriente University, a delay in her application for the Preserve resulted in her being assigned for two years to the campaign to curb mosquito infestation in her native Manatí.

Later, she worked for a while at a research center run by the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment (CITMA) in Camagüey province. Finally, in 2010, she was able to practice the profession that she enjoys more than the remuneration she earns.

She tells me that in the 7,280 hectares of Nuevas Grandes Bay-The Islet one can see five types of green formations: the coastline mangroves; the semi-deciduous forest; spiny bushes on sandy coast, and the coastline zero-morph bushes on limestone and on serpentine rock.

“We have also identified 350 different species of fauna and flora, 14 of which are endemic and exposed to some sort of threat,” she explains.

All these are natural values that would impress people fond of trekking or nature tourism in Cuba or abroad. However, this is not a territory that has the media glamor boasted by other regions of the island, such as the Zapata Swamp, the Guanacabibes peninsula, the Rosario mountain chain, or the Landing of the Granma National Park.

Mayumi is the kind of professional who is rare in Cuba.

“These are restricted careers, even though there’s a lot of work content all around. If we had more people with this knowledge, we could expand the research that could be done. Many people say that we don’t generate revenue. But we engage in science and environmental education is also important for the economy. The presence of more biologists is important,” she opines.

Her earnings consist of 325 Cuban pesos a month (13 dollars), paid by the Flora and Fauna Enterprises, plus 37 cents, paid by the National Fund for Forestry Development (FONADEF), a national institution that every year disburses about 20 million Cuban pesos (754,717 dollars) for the projects in Cuba’s protected regions.

In 2007, about the year that Mayumi graduated, the entire Cuban archipelago contained 35 protected areas. By 2011, their number had risen to 80; by 2012, it was 103, according to the National Office of Statistics and Information.

The spaces approved by the Council of Ministers as deserving some sort of protection encompass almost 20 percent of the national territory and include zones of the marine platform reaching a depth of 200 meters.

The conservationist drive was expressed in Cuba’s public spending for the preservation of the environment, which rose from 278 million dollars to 488 million dollars in a five-year period.

But the lack of funds to hire more personnel continues to be a problem. For example, Mayumi directs four of the several projects conducted by the almost 50 workers in the Preserve: the monitoring of alligators in the wild, of the grass fields and coral reefs, the study of land-based mollusks and the protection of the Antillean manatee.

Without the support of those workers, little can be done, she says. They “are fully trained, thanks to the preparation we have given them. They’re very knowledgeable,” she stresses.

In addition to her daily chores, Mayumi has to be on the lookout for poachers of species that are highly sought, such as tortoise shell, and fellers of trees that qualify as precious woods. In addition, she has participated in conventions dealing with the environment and development, as well as symposia organized by the Flora and Fauna Enterprise.

“We also handle wildfire control and, when it comes to forestry, we create nurseries,” she says. Mayumi believes that she still has much to learn because she cannot possible deal with every subject.

“Biology requires specialization,” she says. “We need to broaden the knowledge of other groups specializing in the flora and fauna of our ecosystems. Some come to us to study spiders, bats and insects. And we have a lot of butterflies.”

“We are grateful to anyone who wishes to support us; to universities, to research centers. It would be useful to make a list of all the species we have because on the basis of their presence, their endemism and exposure to threat we can develop their care.”

Is it possible to succeed in this line of work in places like Las Tunas?

“It is true that much is said on television about other sites,” Mayumi answers. “But the work in protected areas must be kept up; there’s still much to be done before people see us and understand what we’re doing.”

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