Directors of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (Citma) offered statements on the work of Cuba in the framework of the present 27 Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government, whose motto is Innovation for Sustainable Development. Objective 2030. Ibero-America facing the challenge of the coronavirus.
The conference was held at the International Press Center, where the first deputy minister of the organization, José Fidel Santana Núñez, recalled that next April 25 is the fourth anniversary of the approval of the State Plan for Confronting Climate Change, which reaffirms the country's political will to move forward in the face of risks in this regard.
Santana Núñez added that there are still limitations to achieve greater implementation of mitigation and adaptation measures as a result of the economic blockade imposed by the United States (USA) government.
Panelist Ruberdanis Tamayo Portales, Director of Technology and Innovation at Citma clarified: "The Cuban government has based its management system, in the last stage, on the use of science, technology and innovation for the sustainable development of the Island."
In this sense, he stressed that quality, equitable and inclusive education has been prioritized, as well as science work and economic growth, and health and well-being for all ages, which are included within the 17 objectives of the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development.
Ruberdanis Tamayo stated: “The Covid-19 scenario has been an experience that has demonstrated the strength of the national system, by revealing a set of palpable product innovations. Examples: the five vaccine candidates, equipment, procedures and protocols with the suspects of contracting the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the patients ”.
For his part, Jesús Guerra Bell, acting director of the International Relations department, recalled that Citma has participated in the appointments prior to the 27th Summit, where it has presented the main plans to confront Covid-19 in science , implemented by the government of the Greater Antilles.
Regarding the meeting of ministers of Science, Technology and Innovation, held in October 2020, he emphasized that in it two documents were prepared to unite the Ibero-American community in certain approaches, related to innovation, science and technology based on development and Most importantly, these issues are high on the central agenda of the participating governments.
“The declaration of the Summit also has to do with respect for the development of the countries and their international cooperation. It is a very explicit way of referring to how the blockade prevents us from having the right to development in the sphere of environmental management. We have a very recent example. At the Board of the Green Climate Fund, the US government made the unjustified decision not to accept the project presented by Cuba in that space ”, clarified the director of International Relations.
The island's project seeks the adaptation of ecosystems, the protection of coastal communities, issues that have to do with the survival of the country, said Jesús Guerra, who added:
"When we talk about science, the blockade hurts us by preventing our scientific community from accessing certain pages of Internet sites, by limiting ourselves to buying cutting-edge technologies for certain activities because they are North American or have components created in that nation."
Orlando Rey Santos, Senior Advisor for Climate Change at Citma, also spoke at the conference and noted that environmental policy in Cuba has suffered the effects of the pandemic from the economic implications that have arisen.
“A basic relationship lies in the need to invest in this area to solve pollution problems, and of course, the current situation has depressed the budget capacity for this. The context of the pandemic also entails knowledge and opportunities to do things better and differently ”, said the expert in Environmental Policy.
Orlando Rey assured that the pandemic has demonstrated the fragility of the social fabric. Hence “the importance of investing in nature. Studies of this and other diseases have shown that allocating monetary funds to nature and conserving it improves the quality of human life ”, he pointed out.
For the confrontation of climate change, the main advisor of Citma said on the subject that Cuba has given a great boost in this regard in recent years, when international resources were obtained. The result of the management is the Mi costa project, supported by the Green Fund.
But he added that we are approaching more complex situations, where "we need credit and we cannot access the multilateral development banks as a result of the North American blockade."