Our Region

Characteristics of the territory:

The municipality is located to the south of Holguín province, it limits to the North with Banes and Mayarí, to the South with Santiago de Cuba; to the East with Mayarí and to the West with Urbano Noris and Báguano. It is conformed by 7 Popular Councils: Cueto Este, Cueto Oeste, Guamuta, Birán, Alto Cedro, Barajagua and Marcané. It has a territorial extension of 324.2 Km², this represents 3.5% of Holguin's surface, urban 5.4 Km², rural 318.8 Km², the mountainous surface is 57 Km², with a road network of 297 Km.

It has a population of 33 537 and an extension of 325.806 square kilometers. The territory of the current municipality is the product of the union of numerous neighborhoods that originated in the mid and late nineteenth century, there are places that still retain primitive names, such as Barajagua, Jagüeyes, which occupied the land of the towns of Marcané, Alto Cedro and Cueto. The main activities of the inhabitants of the municipality before the triumph of the revolution consisted of cattle raising, agriculture and timber extraction.

Most of its territory is flat. From the descriptions of this region it can be understood that it was almost entirely covered by large forests before the arrival of the Spaniards. Even in the 19th and early 20th centuries a considerable part of these had survived indiscriminate logging. But the big U.S. companies cut them down to plant sugar cane. This brought profound changes in the area, both in flora and fauna. The territory has slight undulations in its western part. Rivers and streams abound; the largest is the Nipe, a tributary of the bay of the same name. In Cueto is one of the most beautiful natural monuments of Holguin province, the Natural Bridge Bitiri. Also the heights of Sierra Cristal that correspond to this municipality treasure a valuable fauna and flora. The topography of the territory is semi-mountainous, mountainous and flat in the center.

General Characteristics

Grounds
Vertisoil of the dark plastic gleyzoso type, of the genus transported materials and with Bayazo - Alto Cedro series.

Characteristics of this type of ground

Relief: plains and low areas.
Coloration: dark brown to grayish black.
Horizons: delimited by the change of coloration and increase of plasticity.
Depth: good (from 150 to 200 cm).
Plasticity: these are the most plastic and sticky soils in our country, which limits their workability and when they dry out they are very hard.
Permeability: practically impermeable due to their physical properties. Soils of limestone origin and calcareous materials.
Fertility: soils of high natural fertility.
Productivity: not very productive due to their unfavorable physical conditions.
Limitations: high plasticity, poor drainage, extremely hard and difficulties with salinity.

Roads and highways
The municipality has a privileged position in terms of communication routes with the exterior because national roads converge such as Holguín - Moa and Caballería Santiago de Cuba, in addition to the Antilla - Alto Cedro railroad that links it with the rest of the country. The national agricultural network provides cargo and passenger transportation services. There are also a series of highways and embankments that unites all the points of the municipality with the capital.

Hydrography
The municipality is divided by rainfall into two basins, Nipe and Sabanilla. It is bathed by the Nipe, Biran, Canapu and Bitiri rivers, which are used for agriculture and livestock; in addition, the Sabanilla dam with a capacity of 30.6 million m3 used for irrigation of various crops on small scales and for the consumption of inhabitants of Cueto and Marcané as well as fish farming.

Life task:

What is it and what does the life task consist of?

The Life Task is a State Plan for confronting climate change, approved by the Council of Ministers on April 25, 2017, it is inspired by the thought of the historical leader of the Cuban Revolution Fidel Castro Ruz, when at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, on June 12, 1992 he expressed: "...An important biological species is at risk of disappearing due to the rapid and progressive liquidation of its natural living conditions: man...".

This State Plan is made up of 5 strategic actions and 11 tasks. It is an integral proposal, which presents an initial identification of priority zones and places, their effects and the actions to be undertaken, which can be enriched during its development and implementation.

It has as background the research on climate change initiated by the Cuban Academy of Sciences in 1991 and intensified in November 2004, after an exhaustive analysis and debate on the negative impacts caused by hurricanes Charley and Ivan in the western part of the country. Since then, territorial hazard, vulnerability and risk studies for disaster reduction were initiated, using the country's scientific-technological potential.

The life task includes 5 strategic actions:

• Do not allow new housing construction in threatened coastal settlements that are predicted to disappear due to permanent flooding and the most vulnerable.Reduce the demographic density in low coastal areas.
• Develop construction designs in infrastructure adapted to coastal flooding for low-lying areas.
• Adapt agricultural activities, particularly those with the greatest impact on the country's food security, to changes in land use as a result of sea level rise and drought.
• Reduce the areas of crops near the coasts or affected by saline intrusion.Diversify crops, improve ground conditions, introduce and develop varieties resistant to the new temperature scenario.
• Plan the urban reorganization of threatened settlements and infrastructures in accordance with the country's economic conditions. Start with lower-cost measures, such as induced natural solutions (beach recovery, reforestation).

From these strategic actions are derived the 11 fundamental tasks for the Confrontation of Climate Change:

Task 1: Identify and undertake actions and projects for adaptation to climate change, of an integral and progressive nature, necessary to reduce existing vulnerability in the 15 areas identified as prioritized; considering in the order of action the threatened population, their physical and food security and the development of tourism.

Task 2: To implement the necessary legal norms to support the execution of the State Plan; as well as to ensure their strict compliance, with particular attention to measures aimed at reducing the vulnerability of the built heritage, prioritizing threatened coastal settlements.

Task 3: To conserve, maintain and recover integrally the sandy beaches of the Cuban archipelago, prioritizing the urbanized ones for tourist use and reducing the structural vulnerability of the built heritage.

Task 4: Ensure the availability and efficient use of water as part of the fight against drought, based on the application of technologies for saving water and meeting local demands. To increase the hydraulic infrastructure and its maintenance, as well as the introduction of actions to measure water efficiency and productivity.

Task 5: Direct reforestation towards the maximum protection of the ground and water in quantity and quality; as well as the recovery of the most affected mangroves. Prioritize reservoirs, canals and hydro-regulating strips in the tributary basins of the main bays and the coasts of the insular platform.

Task 6: Stop deterioration, rehabilitate and conserve coral reefs throughout the archipelago, with priority to the ridges that border the insular platform and protect urbanized beaches for tourist use. Avoid overfishing of fish that favor corals.

Task 7: Maintain and introduce the scientific results of the Macroproject on Hazards and Vulnerability of the Coastal Zone (2050-2100) and the Hazard, Vulnerability and Risk Studies in the disaster reduction cycle into territorial and urban planning. Use this information as early warning for decision making by OACE, OSDE, EN, CAP and CAM.

Task 8: Implement and monitor climate change adaptation and mitigation measures derived from sectoral policies in programs, plans and projects related to food security, renewable energy, energy efficiency, territorial and urban planning, fisheries, agriculture, health, tourism, construction, transportation, industry and integrated forest management.

Task 9: Strengthen monitoring, surveillance and early warning systems to systematically evaluate the state and quality of the coastal zone, water, drought, forest, human, animal and plant health.

Task 10: Prioritize measures and actions to raise the perception of risk and increase the level of knowledge and the degree of participation of the entire population in addressing climate change and a culture that promotes water conservation.

Task 11: Manage and use available international financial resources, both from global and regional climate funds, as well as bilateral sources, to implement the investments, projects and actions derived from each of the Tasks of this State Plan.

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