Mr. President,
Ministers,
Distinguished delegates,
We appreciate the invitation to participate in this important dialogue, which is held in a complex international context marked by the impact of the worst economic and health crisis in the last 90 years, according to Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations.
In this context, the food and environmental crises that have affected mankind for several years have exacerbated.
For that reason, Mr. President, the main theme of this debate is crucial for the life of the planet´s inhabitants and requires universal treatment and attention.
Desertification has global consequences and regional for the environment. It causes the loss of animal and plant species, fertile productive soils and ecosystems, a decrease in agricultural production and, consequently, food insecurity along with the alteration of natural resources and intensification of the effects of climate change.
At the national level, since 2017, Cuba has been implementing a State Plan to combat climate change, known as Tarea Vida (Task Life), which includes actions to mitigate its impacts on the natural resource: Soil. We are making progress in improving the institutional, legal and regulatory framework as well as human resource training.
As a result, up to last year, the principles of sustainable land management were implemented on 2,525 hectares.
They have favored 1,013,045 hectares of farmlands, which translates into an increase in 76,045 hectares, compared to 2017.
Sixty land, water and forest polygons have been created, with 117 associated farms, thus benefiting 5,380 hectares from the National Program for Soil Conservation and Improvement.
In 2020, we presented to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and Drought, the National Land Degradation Neutrality Targets, which include to continue:
- increasing the agricultural area and the yield of benefited areas; and
- extending the areas of Sustainable Land Management.
Similarly, during 2020, the National Plan for Food Security and Nutrition Education was approved, under a territorial and participatory approach, rooted in science and innovation, with the main purpose of increasing food production, based on the creation of sustainable agricultural and food systems that are resilient to the effects of drought and climate change.
A National Plan to Combat Drought is also being implemented to improve risk management and mitigate its effects at the national and local level; as well as to achieve better prepared institutions, capable of dealing with this hazard.
Regarding the gender dimension, the recently approved National Program for the Advancement of Women (PAM, by its Spanish initials) has favored an increase in the participation of women involved in agricultural activities, governance and sustainable land use and is a benchmark for the adoption of actions to empower women and reduce gender gaps in all areas of sociocultural, economic and environmental life.
All of the above has been achieved despite the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States of America for over 60 years, which has been the main obstacle to accessing technologies and laboratory reagents for soil analysis and characterization and the strengthening of national and institutional capacities; among other impacts.
Mr. President,
The current scenario caused by the COVID-19 pandemic requires us to take urgent actions to face the major challenge that is the sustainable and resilient recovery of our economies, and especially of the production system and the fight against poverty and inequality.
To this end, international partnerships, including those with entities of the United Nations System, are essential to meet the needs of countries as they move towards Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) and the fulfillment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Paris Agreement and other crucial environmental agreements.
My country joins these challenges, shares its results with the rest of member countries and ratifies its political will to meet the targets of the 2030 Agenda.
Thank you.
