From Radio Cadena Agramonte:

Those who have discovered Camaguey through tourist guides, maps or Internet, could think that the wide territory of this province is made only by large meadows, thousands of hectares sown with different crops, beautiful beaches bathed by the Atlantic Ocean, or simply an old inland city seasoned with tinajones and palm trees. But this Cuba’s eastern region shows other nuances.

Here, the visitor who wishes to see each detail of this “smooth land of herdsmen and hats”, as wrote Cuba’s National Poet Nicolas Guillén, can find the Ecological Reservation Limones-Tuabaquey (See video) in the Sierra de Cubitas, a spot listed in the National System of Protected Areas.

By the side of a kartst range of hills there is base from where a group of specialists and qualified personnel living nearby are creating conditions for the conservation and enjoyment of such a peculiar environment.

Jorge R. Aguilar Pérez, Director of the Reservation Limones-Tuabaquey. Camaguey, Cuba. Photo: Leandro Pérez.According to Jorge R. Aguilar Pérez, director of the reservation, the first handling actions began in 1998, chiefly focused to the ecological tourism, for which six paths were fitted out to teach visitors about the flora and fauna of that ecosystem.

For a long time before, Jorge says, this was the main road used between Camagüey and Sola, but in 1974 it disappeared when El Paso del Lesca highway was built, so the rock layer was removed and the vegetation grew again.

WORKING FOR THE BENEFIT OF NATURE

After some years of hard work and appropriate management, Limones-Tuabaquey has been able to recover 90 per cent of its damaged areas and nowadays the reservation counts with 600 species of plants, including 232 timber trees and 22 precious woods.

The conservation and protection projects have made possible to recover the parrot and the catey, two species that have almost disappeared from the ecological reservation and today slightly increase their populations.

In the same group are included species that had started to migrate to areas of better environmental conditions and others like the purple-tailed pigeon, which decided to settle down definitively in the site after finding a proper setting in Limones-Tuabaquey.

The Cuban trogon, the Cuban hutia, the Cuban tody, the Cuban boa and even the mancaperro (Giant Cuban millipede) are some of the vertebrates and invertebrates that dwell in the surroundings of the El Hoyo de Bonet and El Paso de los Paredones protected by some 20 park rangers.

While walking the path we perceive that under an apparent calm life emerges strongest within Limones-Tuabaquey, an astonishing site now rescued for the heritage of Camaguey and of the nation.

THE MAN’S HAND

Photo: Leandro PérezCuban State, through the Forest Development Fund, began to take part directly in the project in 2002 and since then a base has been built there for making better use of the reservation.

This also includes the construction of lodging cabins (a total of 15) to accommodate around 60 visitors, as part of the idea to bring people close to nature and teach them how to preserve the natural resources and protect the environment.

Investments foresee a restaurant, a convention centre, and an exhibition area or arboretum, so that sightseers can contemplate certain vegetable species instead of going to the restricted areas.

Limones-Tuabaquey already has a kind of hospital where an injured or ill animal find specialized attention.

According to Jorge R. Aguilar Pérez, once these plans are done, Limones-Tuabaquey will become the first protected area in Cuba to implement a self-management system.

What has been done so far pursues a fundamental aim: to preserve the biotic and abiotic elements present there, as well as the cultural and historical elements since four caves located in the reservation are candidates to be declared UNESCO World Heritage.

Likewise, another important issue is to attract and hire neighbours, because most of the aggressions come from the individuals who live nearby. So, two community projects are underway: AMANECER, dedicated to grown up people and ALAS LIBRES, with the participation of children. The ultimate aim of these two projects is to influence in the traditions of the dwellers so that they can coexist with the requirements for the conservation of Limones-Tuabaquey as a treasure of Camaguey and of Cuba.