EFE - 10/14/2001. TheNewsMexico.com
HAVANA - Cuba and Belgium signed an accord here Friday to clean up the
waters of Havana Bay, furthering work done by the Cuban government funded by the
United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
Belgium pledged nearly $900,000 to help decontaminate, conserve and develop
the bay, considered one of the most polluted bodies of water in the Caribbean.
Official estimates indicate that in order to clean up the bay's waters, an
investment of at least $100 million will be required over the next decade.
With an area of 5.2 square kilometers (2 square miles) and an average depth
of 9 meters (29.5 feet), Havana Bay has an entry channel 1,574 meters (5,160
feet) long and 104 meters (341 feet) wide.
An ongoing decontamination program initiated several years ago has restored
a certain amount of oxygen to the bay's waters, which have already exhibited new
marine life, previously scarce due to high levels of contamination.
According to data collected by the Cuban government, more than 1,000 cubic
meters (35,800 cubic feet) of fuel and nearly 4,000 cubic meters (141,000 cubic
feet) of floating solid waste were extracted from the waters of the bay last
year.
More than 150 cubic meters (5,300 cubic feet) of fuel and nearly another
1,335 cubic meters (47,000 cubic feet) of solid waste were extracted from the
bay in the first four months of this year, officials added.
The Belgian-Cuban project includes retrieving and disposing of contaminated
residues in the Agua Dulce drainage system, which filters the solid residues and
raw materials in the vicinity of Havana Bay.
The project will also help the creation of an environmental information and
education center in Cuba, as well as the acquisition and installation of
equipment to monitor air quality.
The efforts to clean up Havana Bay are carried out with support from Italy,
Japan, the Global Environmental Fund and a German non-governmental organization.
| 
