The care and protection of the environment constitutes a vital problem for survival, which is why it has been a concern of our Government.
This process must be continuous, a task with a high degree of consistency and responsibility of all to achieve the goals. This experience to be applied in constituency 70, Popular Council 14, of the municipality of Puerto Padre, arose from the need for an adequate orientation of all factors and members of the community on the importance of care and conservation of the environment, the beautification of the environment and treatment of the residuals, that allows to achieve the preparation and awareness regarding the environmental problems that affect the district, to achieve its transformation. The essential aspect in which it focuses was the characterization of the demarcation, from the active role of the factors and members of the community.The proposed action plan is determined based on the coherent and systematic work of the research group, the factors and members of the community, among the external influences that can support the solution of the detected insufficiencies, other relevant experiences and the use of participatory techniques.
It contributes the acquisition of habits and values, to develop feelings, interests and convictions. Links with the community play an important role, transmitting their knowledge and experiences to minimize the presence and impact of environmental polluting factors in constituency 70, Popular Council 14, of the municipality of Puerto Padre.
Introduction
Characterization of the area:
The municipality of Puerto Padre, with an extension of 1180.23 km2, is located on the north coast of the province of Las Tunas, Cuba, with a population of 93,614 inhabitants, distributed among 15 popular councils and 149 constituencies.
Constituency 70, of the Popular Council 14 covers a total of 11 buildings in the Rafael Izquierdo micro-district; it has a delegate from the People's Power, a community working group, 9 CDRs and a population concentration of 726 inhabitants, of whom 217 are professionals, 113 militants (94 from the PCC and 19 from the UJC); 13 neighbors, 9 beauty services, 3 transporters and 1 small farmer work in the non-state sector. It comprises from building 3 to 13 between Bartolomé Masó and Máximo Gómez streets; There are 260 apartments and 2 families reside in the office.
In this area there is a semi-boarding school, a family doctor's office (centers that apply and do science), a supermarket, a children's circle, two gastronomic centers, a video room, a pharmacy and a post office. All these facilities dump their waste and sewage into the bay of Puerto Padre, with the consequent impact on the marine ecosystem.
In the area, there is a lack of timber and fruit trees; there are only 64 trees, exacerbating the problem of deforestation in CDR 2 and 5.
The salinity level of the water used for consumption is high, the neighbors must carry what they ingest from a place close to the district. When surveying 150 residents of the district we were able to verify that there is a lack of awareness of the need to maintain and preserve the environment in which we live, since they only identify the accumulation of waste as a problem, without taking into account other practices that threaten the environment.
We did not find a receptive attitude in the neighbors, directed to face these problems; they know that it is necessary to improve the living conditions but the reparative action that contributes to solving the problems posed is lacking; they assume a contemplative position before the surrounding world "but what it is all about - as Marx expressed it - is to transform it".
"Ideas live in the activity of the men who produce them, assume them, cultivate them, enrich them, spread them, defend them, fight to root them in social relations, live and die around them."
The Marxist-Leninist conception of consciousness recognizes that conscious reflection is a specific form of social production: the production of ideas, the production of consciousness, spiritual production, ideas are revealed as a human productive force.
We recognize the need to generate, spread and promote an environmental awareness aimed at expanding culture, because as Engels said "each step taken on the path of culture (is) a step taken on the path of freedom", that is, a step towards acting with knowledge of cause.
Each CDR and block of the FMC (9 from each organization) have the name of a martyr of the Revolution, a mural from Martí and another dedicated to the Five Heroes; Its members are active entities in the Cuban political system, with an outstanding participation in the discussion of the Draft Guidelines for the Party and the Revolution for economic and social development, reflected in 86.2% of attendance at assemblies and the holding of 37 approaches. (Look at annex 1)
It aims to minimize the presence and impact of environmental pollution factors in the area, based on the correct design and application of an action plan and an adequate environmental policy.
Issue:
What are the polluting factors of the environment that affect constituency 70, of the Popular Council 14, of the municipality of Puerto Padre?
Overall objective:
The preparation of an action plan to minimize the presence and impact of environmental polluting factors in constituency 70 of the
Popular Council 14, of the municipality of Puerto Padre.
Specific objectives:
1 Carry out an in-depth bibliographic review on concepts and notions in the analysis of the topic.
2 Prepare a characterization of the unit of analysis.
3 Assess the influence of the macro environment and the micro environment.
4 Design an action plan to minimize the presence and impact of environmental pollutants in Council 70
Popular 14, from the municipality of Puerto Padre.
Object: Environment
Field: Management process for the correct application of environmental policy in the treatment of environmental polluting factors in constituency 70 of Popular Council 14, of the municipality of Puerto Padre.
Idea to defend:
The application of the action plan contributes to minimizing the presence and negative impact of environmental polluting factors in constituency 70 of Popular Council 14, in the municipality of Puerto Padre.
For the development of the investigative process Methods were applied, which are presented below:
From the theoretical level:
• Historical and logical: To analyze the historical evolution of the problem, to give a more complete vision to the investigation.
• Analysis and synthesis: To analyze the theoretical conceptions of the processes being studied and their manifestations, to determine their limitations and the ways to overcome them through the identification of the elements that make them up.
• Functional structural systemic: To logically structure the proposed actions as well, for structuring the theoretical foundations.
• Documentary study of sources: To find out how the problem has been worked on in previous stages.
From the empirical level:
• Observation: To verify the presence and negative impact of environmental polluting factors in constituency 70 of Popular Council 14, in the municipality of Puerto Padre.
• Interview with factors of the constituency and neighbors: To know the criteria on the negative impact of polluting factors on the environment.
• Percentage analysis: allowed the quantification and processing of the data obtained for subsequent interpretation.
Participatory techniques were applied that allowed community members to be involved in solving problems.
Scientific questions:
What are the polluting factors of the environment in the constituency 70 of the Popular Council 14, of the municipality of Puerto Padre?
Do the inhabitants of the community have the necessary information to act on the polluting factors of the environment in the constituency 70 of the Popular Council 14, of the municipality of Puerto Padre?
How do administrative entities and community factors act in solving these problems?
Contribution and practical significance:
The present investigation contributes to the knowledge of the polluting factors of the environment in the constituency 70 of the Popular Council 14, of the municipality of Puerto Padre, the causes that determine this problem and how to achieve a responsible attitude of the inhabitants of the area towards the environment; In practical terms, it provides an action plan to minimize the presence and effects of these factors on environmental pollution.
Bibliographic review:
The care and protection of the environment has become a vital problem for the survival of humanity. The indiscriminate and irrational use of the resources that nature makes available to man has led to environmental pollution, global warming, deforestation and salinization of soils, with the deterioration of all conditions that favor the development of life. in the planet. Man, motivated by his eagerness and selfish interests, has become a predator that reaches new "victories" over the natural environment.
About the effects that this generates, Federico Engels warned in his work The role of work in the transformation of the monkey into man: "Let us not be carried away by enthusiasm in the face of our victories over nature, after each of these victories, nature takes his revenge ”
Storms, earthquakes, torrential rains, tropical cyclones, typhoons, earthquakes and intense droughts are getting stronger.
Science, considered as human activity of a social nature, has an increasing impact on the lives of men. Studies in science, technology and society recognize new images about it, considering them as an eminently social process or product where non-technical elements (values, feelings, religious convictions, economic pressures) play a decisive role.
Science responds to the interests of the economically dominant class. The men who carry out the scientific activity belong to a certain class or social group; on them weigh the points of view, opinions and interests of their class, in correspondence with the society to which they belong; they respond to this and as such they act.
Technology is often identified with expensive, expensive artifacts. Technology must be seen as a social process, a practice that integrates psychological, social, economic, political, cultural factors, always influenced by values and interests.
The scientific problem arises from the contradictions that social historical practice imposes on man, from society's understanding of knowledge to provide solutions to these contradictions. Federico Engels stresses that a technical need drives knowledge.
José Marti recognizes, in his conceptions of science, its social character when considering that scientific development must be in function of satisfying the needs of man, and he asks himself: "For what, if not to put peace between men, Must they be the advances of science? ”
Fidel Castro has reiterated the role of ideas to preserve the environment; In this regard, he stated: "Ideas are today the essential instrument in the fight of our species for their own salvation."
Concepts:
Environment: Set of everything that surrounds us at any given time, the relationships established between all its components, including physical, chemical, biological, cultural and social aspects, with a direct or indirect effect on living beings and activities human.
The concept of the environment has expanded in our time, exceeding the limits of virgin nature. According to I. Guerásimov et al., "Man lives and works in an environment already touched, to one degree or another, by his hand which includes, instead of forests, cultivated fields, gardens and parks, gigantic cities with a special thermal regime, its microclimate, water supply, etc.
Bernard J. Nebel and Richard T. Wright consider the environment as "a combination of all beings and factors external to the individual or population that is considered."
All these concepts coincide, on the philosophical level, with the essential feature of the Leninist definition of matter "objective reality"; Due to its breadth, content and scope, I assume what the Cuban author has expressed.
Pollution: Incorporation into the air, water or soil of products or elements that affect human health and other living organisms, the quality of life or the natural functioning of ecosystems. There is chemical contamination (inorganic organic substances, heavy materials, hydrocarbons, toxins) biological (microorganisms, toxins of biological origin) and physical (radioactive sources, sound, light, extreme temperatures.
Environmental education: “continuous and permanent process that constitutes a dimension of comprehensive education for all citizens, aimed at developing habits, skills, attitudes and formation of values in the process of acquiring knowledge, harmonizing relations between men and between these with the rest of society and nature, to promote the reorientation of economic, social and cultural processes towards sustained development ”.
Spiritual production: The conscious reflection constitutes a specific form of social production: production of ideas, of consciousness. Ideas are revealed as human productive forces.
Values: Certain ideas, hypotheses, theories, norms or ideals with positive social significance.
Human essence: Set of social relations and, therefore, the history of men is the history of their own activity in interaction with the natural-social world.
Conservation: Process that consists of preserving something from an alteration; It is based on the intelligent and responsible use of natural resources to achieve more benefits from them for as long as possible.
Deforestation: Forest destruction process that brings negative consequences for all living organisms. Its most common causes are indiscriminate felling, fires, pests, acid rains, the damaging effects of ultraviolet light.
The loss of 5,000 live species of animals each year affects areas of great diversity. In 1997 in the southeast of Brazil, in the Amazon, about 37 thousand km2 of jungle were lost. To counteract deforestation, in addition to taking measures to minimize its causes, we must adequately reforest.
State Sector of the Economy: Sector of the economy (companies, industrial, agricultural, commercial, transportation, banks, which constitute state property.
Practical activity: Material activity suitable for ends. Its material, transforming and conscious moments, objectively determined by material reality.
Development
Measures aimed at protecting the environment must be equivalent to the reproduction of natural conditions and resources. Man must heal with his creative action the wounds caused to the environment in which he lives. The survival of the species is at risk from the damage caused to the world in which we live.
In this regard, the Constitution of the Republic of Cuba states in its article number 27: "It is the duty of citizens to contribute to the protection of water, the atmosphere, soil conservation, flora, fauna and all the rich potential of nature".
There is an urgent need to eliminate or mitigate as much as possible the effects of those elements that attack the environment in our district; For this, four working commissions were organized: Reforestation and Gardening, Urban Waste Treatment, Constructions and Hydrosanitary Networks, and Education, which were in charge of searching for information and preparing proposals to shape the action plan that we It allows minimizing the presence and impact of environmental polluting factors in constituency 70 of Popular Council 14, in the municipality of Puerto Padre.
Among the activities carried out, the following stand out:
Reforestation and Gardening Commission:
• Determined the forest population.
• Carried out a study of the trees that best adapt to the soil of the district.
• Determined the areas to be reforested.
• Mobilized the population for reforestation.
• He ruled on the current state of gardening.
• She promoted the movement “A flower in my garden”.
• Evaluated the behavior of the residents regarding the reforestation and conservation of the gardening.
Urban Waste Treatment Commission:
• Evaluated the current status of the treatment given to urban waste, both by the inhabitants and by the institutions responsible for the task.
• He ruled on the conditions of the solid waste deposits.
• Checked the state of the aqueduct and sewerage networks and the dumping of liquid residuals.
• Made proposals for the action plan.
Hydrosanitary Construction and Networks Commission:
• Evaluated the constructive state of the buildings.
• Prepared a summary with the main constructive effects.
• Analyzed the situations that hydrosanitary networks present.
• Suggested actions to undertake the transformation of the current situation.
• Worked with the support of the inhabitants of each building in lighting the exterior areas.
Education Commission:
• Diagnosed the situation presented by the environmental education of the residents of the district.
• Determined the plan of topics to develop in the training.
• Evaluated the behavior of the residents of the district regarding the environment.
• Coordinated the insertion in the environmental education campaign with the mass media in the territory.
• Designed the proposal of actions aimed at strengthening an environmental awareness in the residents of the district.
The results of the surveys applied to 150 residents allow verifying that not all the problems that affect the environment are identified: 90 recognize the solid waste deposit as a polluting element, for 60%; 30 drinking water leaks, for 20%; and 42 identify the burning of waste, for 28%; 24 in the absence of trees, for 16%; and 15 to the vertimientos to the sea; for 10%, while 93 do not use the water from the cisterns to drink, for 62%.
When evaluating the conditions of the hydraulic network, 146 evaluate it badly, for 97.33%; 4 rate it as regular, for 2.66%. The behavior of the inhabitants of the district regarding the environment is valued by 123 respondents of bad, for 82%; 21 regular, for 14%; and 6 of good, for 4%.
They wrongly evaluate the attention received by the constituency from the entities of municipality 122, for 81.33%; 18 of regular, for 12%; 10 well, for 6.66%. The question about the existence of leaks in the buildings answered affirmatively 95 buildings, for 63.33%; and 143 leaks, for 95.3%; 5 answered no, for 3.3% and 2 reported not knowing, for 1.3%. 138 residents consider the impact level of the applied instrument as good, for 92%; 12 estimate it as regular, for 8%.
The workers and managers of the establishments located in the study area do not appreciate in their magnitude the damages they cause when dumping their wastes into the coastal ecosystem; Drinking water spills follow by filling the tanks and cisterns, all of which contribute to depleting the reserves and increasing the contamination of the water and the soil. To mitigate these negative effects, an action plan has been developed.
The environmental impact assessment (EIA) refers to studies of the actions that a given project performs on the environment requires the identification, assessment and prevention measures.
A consistent policy will allow to achieve objectives such as:
1. Conservation and sustainable use of natural resources.
2. Protection and improvement of the quality of life.
3. Promotion of public awareness on environmental issues.
4. Strengthening capacities to develop the EIA.
5. Integration of environmental considerations in the development planning process.
6. Generation, distribution and storage of environmental information, applying the environmental policy approved in the national development plans and applying current legislation.
Environmental impact assessment techniques.
Soil contamination:
The city of Puerto Padre, located on the north coast of the province of Las Tunas, 34 meters above sea level, is located on a hill that serves as a dividing line for the rainwater that drains into the bay. In a deforested area it drags everything it finds in its path: soil material, rocks and other sediments, causing, due to the effects of erosion, severe damage to the thin vegetation layer.
In such conditions, “the white soil with abundant limestone rocks” becomes arid, and compact, causing the inhabitants of the district to look for humus-rich soil that allows them to plant a few tree species.
For the extensive areas without vegetation, since there are only 64 trees in the district, we propose planting the soursop, almond, coconut, avocado, ateje and the bijagua; species that can form a grove that contributes to stopping the erosion suffered by the soil of the constituency 70.
The dumping of water used for human consumption, laden with salt, as well as microorganisms and chemical products to combat the latter, attempt against the environment in the district. The sewage waters that run along the ground, in search of the bay, contribute polluting organic matter, and load the air with their stench.
Due to the elements described, the soil and groundwater are contaminated, with the consequent effect on the quality of life of the population, in which diseases such as: hypertension (38%), parasitism and kidney damage predominate, and acute respiratory syndrome.
Soil: cover of much of the continental surface of the earth consisting of aggregates of minerals and organic components.
Ecosystem. Communities of organisms that interact, the environment in which they live. All the interactions that take place at different levels and species between organic and inorganic matter and the natural forces that participate, causing changes and transformations.
Water ecosystem: Diseases are increasing due to poor water quality throughout the world. Amount of water in the world. Almost half of the river water is retained, it is estimated that from 1990 to 1995, the withdrawal rate increased six times. It is estimated that 40% of the world population lacks water.
Coastal Ecosystem:
70% are exploited to the limit or in excess. The quality of the water decreases, as well as the extension and the health of the mangroves and seagrass meadows, with which the natural filters of organisms and polluting substances are lost.
Natural habitat decreases, diseases, invasive species, sedimentation and pollution increase.
The Puerto Padre Bay, with an area of 47.4 square km, an average depth of 4 meters, stores 183 million cubic meters of water. Its main activity is in the transport of bulk sugar for export; endangered species such as the manatee inhabit its waters. The bay has been badly damaged by the polluting load that has affected it since 1902, the year in which the Chaparra central sugar exploitation threw tons of harmful material into its waters.
The main contaminating sources are those identified in the sugar industry, pig production, meat processing, urban sewerage and the Guillermo Domínguez General Hospital. The most affected species are: mollusks, crustaceans and mammals such as the manatee and the tonina, in addition to the fish that suffer the effects of human activity.
Lack of comprehensive knowledge, insufficient awareness and environmental education, deficient comprehensive vision in the application of environmental legal norms (Law 81 of the Environment, and Decree Law 200) that establish contraventions for environmental damage, lack of efficiency in environmental and administrative management, they make actions on the coastal zone affect its conservation.
Water contamination:
Water is contaminated when foreign matter, microorganisms, chemical products, industrial, agricultural, urban and waste water are incorporated into it, which deteriorates its quality and renders it useless.
At the end of the current century, both hemispheres will suffer problems from lack of water (said the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) and, if governments do not take measures, the increase in temperatures could increase the risks of mortality, pollution, natural disasters and infectious diseases.
Sweet water
According to information collected in the work "The Ecosystems as Resources" it is defined that fresh water is one whose salt content is less than 0.05% (500 parts per million).
Access to fresh water is one of the most sensitive issues in the world today; It has been discussed at summits for Sustainable Development, and a control issue in the UNDP report on human development (R. Pich, 2006, p 46).
The availability of fresh water is an essential element for life, the development of human activity; In the economic order, it is widely used worldwide in livestock and agriculture, which uses 70% of the available water, industry 22% and domestic consumption 8%; 40% of the 25,000 known species of fish live in it.
If we start from the fact that 45% of the planet is covered in water, that 25% is sweet and that we only have access to 0.26%, according to UNESCO data, it is evident the urgent need to make rational use of this important natural resource.
Trying to avoid its waste and salinization are challenges that man must face. Today Cuba suffers a deep drought, sources of water supply to important segments of the city of Havana collapse in the West.
In Las Tunas, the water table has dropped, the wells provide less and less water; in livestock, deaths exceed two thousand three hundred animals, and another 5,000 heads suffer deterioration of their living conditions, while another 30 thousand receive water in pipes. Agriculture suffers similar effects, which has affected its productions and planting cycles.
In the constituency under study, water for human consumption is supplied by motor pumps, through conductors from the wells located in the Hermanos Ameijeiras stadium, affected by saline intrusion, the use of which has been abandoned by most of the population., originating a phenomenon that brings with it the search for blue gold in the neighboring district.
The water that comes from the stadium is collected in 3 cisterns whose sanitary conditions are far from the norms established for human consumption: 2 of them are uncovered, with leaks that cause liquid spills and originate possible sources of infection by the Aedes Aegipty mosquito.; none has a cleaning system and in all we find various objects.
On April 4 and October 15, 2010, the UEB North Hydraulic Resources Development Company, located in San Ramón No. 88, Puerto Padre, Las Tunas, carried out physical-chemical and bacteriological sampling of the groundwater of the Puerto Padre basin, in the wells of the pumping stations of the Guillermo Domínguez Hospital, the micro-aqueducts Cordoví, Estadio, Romárico Oro, Salvador Cisneros, La Escobera and the well 65 La Bomba, which were chosen so that due to their location they were representative of the chemical and bacteriological characteristics of the entire groundwater basin.
From the analysis of the chemical characteristics of the results obtained, they concluded that nitrates (240), ammonia (0.2), total dissolved solids (2300), total coliforms (7.3) and sodium (Na) are above the value maximum admissible for human consumption at the source supplied by constituency 70, of the Popular Council 14, of the municipality of Puerto Padre. (See Annex 4)
Hard water, due to the high content of salts in solution, requires for domestic use the acquisition of larger volumes of detergents, soaps and shampoo, as well as disinfectants such as chlorine, creoline bleach, salphan and acids to remove the scab that is It deposits in sanitary furniture, these goods that at market price without subsidy, have a negative impact on the real wages of the workers in the area.
Chloride values (634) are above the maximum admissible value for human consumption in the stadium micro-aqueduct, which is explained by the presence of a free, shallow-water aquifer that has the population nucleus located above it from Puerto Padre, with a considerable amount of latrines and filter pits that produce an appreciable faecal contamination of said waters, in addition to saline intrusion from the sea.
The hydraulic networks of the buildings, with an operation between 20 and 30 years, present 153 leaks that lead to the waste of fresh water; This, which is supplied with a dose of chlorine and high levels of salinity, when entering the soil becomes a factor of contamination, so it requires diligent action by all residents of the district to reduce or eliminate this affectation. (See annex 5)
Forest damage:
The definition of forests varies from one hemisphere, region, or country to others. In Bolivia it is understood as such the surface covered with natural species, vegetables, cultivated and destined for different uses. For its part, the FAO defines it by the percentage of tree cover, height of woody species and their surface; the threshold considered in the coverage can be varied (in Iran 10%, in Costa Rica 70%, and even 75% for South Africa)
In Cuba, Law 85 "Forest Law" identifies the forest as a natural or artificial formation, a plantation made up of trees, shrubs and other species of superior and inferior plants and animals, resulting in an ecosystem of economic and social relevance due to the functions that plays. We assume this concept in our research because we consider it to be more comprehensive and comprehensive since it adheres to new conceptions of science and technology when considering the dialectical interrelation between the components of a natural ecosystem and society.
There is growing global recognition of the role of forests in the face of climate change: they protect biodiversity and the livelihoods of millions of people who depend on them; in the world, according to FAO data, they cover 4 billion hectares, almost 30% of the world area fiercely besieged by man. From 1990 to 2005 the world lost 3% of the forested area, 0.2% annual average; 7 countries host 60% of the total world surface: Russia, Brazil, Canada, USA, China, Indonesia and Congo; 78% of the primary forests are already destroyed and the rest are threatened by the extraction of wood.
In Cuba, before the conquest and colonization, the forested area was 90%: the indigenous population was a gatherer, with incipient agriculture. In 1520, the clearing of our forests began, and in 1900 a decrease of 54% was observed due to the development of livestock and the cultivation of sugar cane, a situation that worsened around 1959, when the forest area reached only 14%.
The triumphant Revolution of January 1, 1959 initiated a reforestation program that has allowed the forest area to increase: in 1998 to 21.5%; in 2003 at 23.4% and in 2007 at 24.7%; Currently Cuba has 26.69% of its reforested area, Las Tunas 14.54% and the municipality of Puerto Padre 18.72%. (See Annex 6)
Forests and trees in urban settings.
The quality of life in an urban area depends largely on the quantity and quality of green species that exist within or in their surroundings; The criterion, which I share, prevails that these green species not only add aesthetic value to the environment but are also protective of the environment.
In urban areas, environmental problems are generated to the detriment of human health, including: damage to the ecosystem, pollution of water, air and the accumulation of waste; That is why the trees and wooded areas of cities, gardens, orchards, street and park trees, micro forests and isolated trees in vacant lots make science not only see the advantages of trees from their economic impact, from the aesthetic point of view; Today more attention is given to its use value for the environment and to quantifiable ecological benefits.
In correspondence with the criteria set forth in the Urban Forestry (discipline in formation), I maintain that the cultivation and management of trees goes beyond the current use to take into account the potential that these can contribute to the well-being of the urban population, from the physiological, sociological, economic and environmental point of view.
In constituency 70 of Popular Council 14, in the municipality of Puerto Padre, deforestation prevails, there are wide spaces between buildings that are depopulated with trees. According to a count made to the forest population, we were able to verify that there are 64 trees, for a ratio of 0.016 trees per square meter, a figure that demonstrates the lack of actions aimed at promoting the cultivation of timber and fruit species. (See annex 3)
The affectation, as a consequence of this reality, is felt in the lack of shade that makes the stay more pleasant in the hours of maximum temperature (11:00 AM - 5:00 PM). In the district, due to the type of soil (white), the species have greater survival: soursop, almond, coconut, avocado, ateje, tamarind and bijagua, suggested for the reforestation of the area.
The minimal presence of some elements of green areas makes the situation worse; In the execution of the construction project, no actions of this type were carried out, including those of gardening, the activity is totally depressed and very affected by the predatory action of cattle, horses, sheep and goats that use the area of the constituency as a grazing area..
The animal adapts to nature, acts on instinct, is unable to differentiate the object from its relationship with it. The prehuman psyche has an instinctive biological character, the reflection is always produced in relation to those stimuli that have a direct biological significance.
Unlike animals, man has the highest form of reflection, consciousness, defined by Karl Marx as being aware and the being of men is the real process of their lives, and consciousness a reflection of the life of men.. In this regard, Federico Engels emphasizes: “The only thing that animals can do is to use external nature and modify it by the mere fact of their presence in it. Man, on the other hand, modifies nature, and thus forces it to serve him, dominates it. ”
In these reflections we find the philosophical foundation for the work of the community in the development of the consciousness of its inhabitants; It is not direct action against the animal (confiscation, as many neighbors ask), the solution to the problem: it is ideological work with man, the formation of an environmentalist consciousness that will end the predatory action of animals in the district; the work of the elements that make up the political system in the area should be directed towards this.
Effects on the environment by buildings:
The impact of the deterioration of the environment is reflected in society in various ways. If you want to maintain adequate conditions of health, quality of life and sustainable development, it is necessary to adopt measures that favor the improvement of environmental integrity.
When developing a certain project, work, construction or modification of what already exists, an environmental impact is caused; it is necessary to assess to what extent and to what extent the natural environment is affected and to foresee future consequences.
Many times, to reduce the cost of a work, objects necessary to mitigate or minimize the effects that can be caused to the environment are not executed. Such a procedure leads to situations that in the medium and long term increase the cost of the investment or make it inefficient.
The environmental impact is variable over time, and erosive processes can grow, be maintained, as in the case of construction; or decrease, as in deforestation, or restitution of the landscape. According to this author, the environmental impact indicates facets, modification of the characteristics of the environment, modification of environmental values, in the field of human health and well-being.
The constructions originate a great impact in the environment; they lead to earthworks, quarrying, road works, urbanization, urban solid waste RSU, urban liquid waste RLU, hydraulic constructions. These impacts originate within buildings and others as a consequence of the exploitation of urban systems.
In the areas where it is built, quarries are exploited, substantial changes occur in the landscape structure, soils are compacted, flora and fauna are destroyed, urbanization (a necessary process) generates damages to the environment.
The creation of settlements, neighborhoods and districts generates a large amount of waste that is not always properly treated; It also stimulates the exodus of the rural population, who build their homes without order or control of the required urban regulations; When green areas, tree spaces and gardening are not conceived in the urbanization, the thermal balance and the quality of the air we breathe are affected.
The periphery of the city of Puerto Padre has suffered the consequences of this procedure, with the appearance of the neighborhoods baptized by the people as New
Dawn, La Chusmita, in which the buildings modify, affect the environment, which creates the need to promote green areas, reforestation of the environment to heal the damage caused.
Urban solid waste
The treatment of urban solid waste originates a high percent in public spending in countries, municipalities and cities; in Spain, in 1989 it amounted to 30% of public spending and in large cities in developed countries, it is calculated from 30 to 50%. Adequate treatment of MSW is vital for the population; Its indiscriminate management causes, among other effects, water and soil contamination, fire hazards, irrational use of recyclable material and deterioration of the landscape.
There are different ways to collect the RSU; in our case six subways are used, of which four are destroyed; These consist of a square of blocks or bricks with a wide entrance, without cover, where the emptying in the open air originates, not recommended; This widespread practice is highly polluting, as it is a refuge for insects, rodents, domestic animals, and potential disease-transmitting agents. The force of the wind removes and disperses the waste through different areas of the constituency.
To this situation is added the disorderly deposit, at any time and without control, of the waste generated by the community, ascending, according to calculations of the
Hygiene Department of the Directorate of Communal Services of Puerto Padre, at 363 kilograms daily. (See annex 12)
The RSU in the area, remain for days in the places of deposit, which causes discomfort in the population and overexploitation of the subway. Callous people have created three micro dumps where they deposit all kinds of waste, including animal remains, plastics, glass, substances that nature takes a long time to degrade.
The treatment of urban liquid residuals (RLU) constitutes a problem of great importance for all population settlements. The construction of sewerage systems with the required conditions is highly expensive and once established, maintenance is required to extend its useful life.
In the world, the European Union, especially Germany, have designed systems that require millionaire investments, unimaginable for Third World countries.
In Cuba, an underdeveloped country, blocked, subjected to an unjust and illegal economic war, it becomes more difficult to establish highly efficient sewerage networks. The existing connections accumulate a large number of years, they were designed for a certain number of people and today they collect liquid waste twice as much as its capacity.
Puerto Padre, a city founded in 1860, does not escape this reality; its sewage pours into the bay of the same name. The constituency 70 of the Popular Council 14 built its networks from the 70s of the last century, pouring its RLUs into an oxidation lagoon, which over time has lost its use value and the sewage runoff originates from ground flower towards the mangrove swamp of the coastal ecosystem. The sewer pipes have 43 registers, of which 10 are uncovered and 6 contaminate their waters, which freely sprout into the air we breathe. (See Annex 10)
Gardening:
Gardening has a fairly ancient origin, in the tombs of the Egyptian kings, there are paintings that reflect gardening work. Among the Seven Wonders of the World we find the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
For its beauty the gardens of Italy stand out in the world, very marked in Renaissance times; in Paris, the gardens of the Palace of Versailles.
In Cuba the orchids of Soroa, the National Botanical Garden and the Japanese have great relevance. In Santiago de Cuba there is a fern garden recognized throughout the country, and worldwide for its variety of species, its more than two hundred native plants and fifteen endemic species.
Since the middle of the 20th century, Puerto Padre had important gardens, such as those of Bolaños, on the outskirts and that of Sotillo, in the town of Chaparra, then belonging to this municipal term, which were eliminated as the areas where they were; Currently we can appreciate the existence of these crops in the towns of Delicias, Maniabón, Vázquez and La Morena, all from the state sector; Now there is an incipient movement of non-state flower growers, who are dedicated to marketing their flowers in different parts of the city. The gardening of Libertad Avenue with flower beds on the promenade, in the center of the two arteries, is notorious for its beauty.
In constituency 70 of Popular Council 14 of the municipality of Puerto Padre this activity is meager; The Community Services Department never created the green areas and gardening corresponding to the construction project carried out in the seventies of the last century.
In arid soil, where limestone rocks predominate, promoting gardening requires a greater effort; To plant trees, the residents are forced to use topsoil or humus extracted from the vicinity of the La Morena River.
The destructive action of domestic animals and large livestock that makes incipient gardens of the community pasture areas, whose effects generate a negative attitude in the population for the promotion of gardening, attempts against the planting of trees and ornamental plants. reflected in the deterioration of the existing plantations.
This situation requires an energetic confrontation in the community, of the entities of the municipality that are in charge of the task, among them the following stand out: Municipal Directorate of Communal Services, MINAGRI, ANAP, CDR, FMC, Neighborhood Councils and the Working Group Community.
Noise pollution:
Noise pollution is due to noise, when they become annoying sound it can produce harmful physiological and psychological effects for man and other animals.
Noise is measured in decibels (dB), the desirable upper limit is 50 dB, discomfort in the population occurs from 85 dB. Between 0-20 dB the environment is quiet, up to 60 dB there is little noise, between 80-100 dB the environment is very noisy and beyond that the noise becomes unbearable.
In constituency 70 of Popular Council 14, noises originate in buildings 3, 5, 6, 7 and the Doña Yuya gastronomy establishment; Although not permanently in the residences, the stridency of music persists in the service area.
This aspect was discussed in the VI Congress of the PCC, which ruled on the application of legislation regarding its reduction and the need for citizenship education that rejects coexistence with this polluting factor.
Action plan to minimize the presence and impact of environmental polluting factors in Circumscription 70 of the Popular Council 14 of the municipality of Puerto Padre
The Guidelines approved by the VI Congress of the PCC include in the V chapter the Policy on Science, Technology, Innovation and the Environment, proposing “to design a comprehensive policy of science, technology, innovation and the environment to satisfy the needs of the population and encourage their participation in socialist construction protecting the national environment, heritage and culture ”
To solve the problems posed, an action plan is required, understood as such “A type of plan that prioritizes the most important initiatives to meet certain objectives and goals. In this way, an action plan constitutes a kind of guide that provides a framework or structure when carrying out a project ”. definition.d.
The action plan proposes a way to achieve the strategic objectives that were previously established. It is the previous step to the effective execution of an idea or proposal.
These plans should not only include what actions they want to take and how; They should also consider possible restrictions, the consequences of such actions, and future revisions that may be necessary.
For its elaboration, design and implementation, we assume the methodology proposed by the authors Cecilia Linares. PE Mora and S. Correa, which recognizes the need to go through three phases in which objectives are contemplated: general and specific, knowledge and awareness, and definition of an action project, as well as evaluation.
As a general objective, we propose proposing an action plan to promote the levels of participation of the residents of the district that reach decision-making and co-management between the community and its government institutions to minimize the presence and impact of environmental pollution factors. ambient.
Specific objectives:
1. Generate community participation processes in decision-making on matters of interest.
2. Creation and strengthening of spaces and structures that enable the realization of participatory processes.
3. Promote the conditions for the proposed experience to take place.
4. That the population become aware of its potential to transform its reality through organized and self-directed collective actions.
The work has gone through the following phases:
I. Knowledge and awareness.
Goals:
1. Achieve detailed knowledge of the characteristics of the community and its main needs and expectations.
2. Contact the community and government institutions to sensitize and motivate them and achieve their incorporation into the experience.
3. Training of the team that promotes the experience of community researchers.
4. Training of the leaders and officials involved in the process.
This phase requires two moments or stages:
a) Knowledge stage. It covers the initial investigation by the interdisciplinary team on the community, to make a preliminary recognition of the study area. We propose the following actions:
1. Study and analyze existing documents and research.
2. Detect and contact grassroots organizations, formal and informal leaders, promoters, local institutions and relevant people in community knowledge.
3. Contact the government organizations, social and political institutions of the district.
4. Study the characteristics of the community in its various geographical, historical, economic, social and cultural fields.
5. Collect information on the creative potential of the inhabitants.
b) Awareness and training stage.
Activities:
1. Seek institutional support that supports the community and the experience to be addressed.
2. Recruitment of leaders, promoters and residents to form the team of researchers in the community.
3. Self-training of the intersectoral team that promotes the experience and training to the investigators of the district, as well as to the leaders and officials of the institutions involved.
II. Self-definition, hierarchy and problematization.
Goals:
1. Analysis and joint reflection with residents about their main problems, according to their concern.
Activities:
1. Identify the general issues and specific problems that occupy the community.
2. Analysis of its context, that is, the causes and consequences of the stated problems.
3. Prioritize the problems according to the importance they attach to it and decide on which one to act on.
III. Action project definition.
The elaborated plan has taken into account the level of participation (degree to which the social actors have access to decision-making) in a specific action project, the level of consultation, discussion and / or conciliation with the actors, from which asked for opinion, opinion and contribution. It was reconciled and agreements were reached, decisions about alternatives to apply.
This plan has two years as a vision of the future, and as lines of action: organizational and educational.
Objective: To promote a set of actions that allow, in an organized and collective way, to try alternative solutions to problems, and to execute them in practice.
The control and evaluation of the action plan must be carried out during and after its application. When carrying out a control in the middle of the plan, the person in charge has the opportunity to correct the issues that are not going according to expectations. Regarding the evaluation of the execution of this plan, it is carried out with the objective of establishing a balance and confirming if the stated objectives have been met.
Goals:
• Reforest the area of the district to 19%, in correspondence with the municipal average.
• Eliminate 100% of the external leaks.
• Delete 45% of the internal leaks, according to the availability of resources.
• Restore gardening in 90% of buildings.
• Build four subways for the solid waste deposit.
• Achieve the participation of 90% of the population in the development of activities for the care and conservation of the environment.
• Eliminate 100% of liquid waste dumping towards the constituency areas.
• Achieve 100% participation of the institutions in the fulfillment of the tasks inherent to their mission.
• Reduce by 90% the focus of noise in the constituency.
Evaluation:
Goals:
1. Reflection together on the fulfillment of the proposed objectives and the effectiveness of the relationships tested
2. Detect mistakes and find ways to deal with them
3. Highlight achievements and generalize experiences
The evaluation should not become a critical judgment of external agents, it is a process of exchange between those involved on the action it exercises and the results achieved.
It is a process of participatory self-evaluation and evaluation that must be present at all times of the participation process, and that seeks more than verifying reality and accumulating information, reflecting on reality and building a space for the generation of shared knowledge among technicians. and experts with community members.
For the evaluation of the impact caused by the implementation of this action plan, the following indicators are taken into account:
The following will be used as spaces for evaluating the action plan:
- CDR meetings.
- Meetings of the FMC delegations.
- Assemblies of workers of the labor centers located in the constituency.
- Meetings of the Community Work Group.
- Assemblies of accountability of the Delegate to her voters.
Results achieved:
Due to the time in which the research has been carried out and the short period of implementation of the action plan, it is not possible to speak of results that have a great impact.
It aims to:
1. Minimize the presence and impact of environmental polluting factors in Circumscription 70 of the Popular Council 14 of the municipality of Puerto Padre.
2. To develop, in the inhabitants of the district, an interest in the care and conservation of the environment, which translates into a positive attitude in its relationship with the environment.
3. Increase the forested area in the constituency, gardening, improve urban waste treatment, eliminate unnecessary noise.
4. Raise the levels of attention to the district by the entities of the municipality that have to do with reforestation, urban waste treatment, aqueduct and sewerage, green areas, physical planning.
It has been achieved:
1. An incipient awakening of the interest of the residents to minimize the presence and impact of the polluting factors of the environment in Circumscription 70 of the Popular Council 14 of the municipality of Puerto Padre.
2. The Five for Five and One flower in my garden movements are underway, respectively aimed at increasing the wooded area and improving gardening in the constituency.
3. Four external drinking water leaks have been removed.
4. The Directorate of Communal Services has adopted the measures in walks to the daily collection of urban solid waste.
5. All the organizations involved appointed their permanent representatives to follow up on the action plan in the district.
Conclusions
1. With the implementation of the action plan, the presence and impact of environmental pollution factors is minimized in constituency 70 of Popular Council 14 of the municipality of Puerto Padre.
2. The increase of interest in the inhabitants of the district to improve and preserve the environment is appreciated.
3. The participation of the residents has been vital to minimize the presence and impact of the polluting factors of the environment in the district.
4. The presence and attention of the municipal organizations to the district has improved, by appointing workers and officials who live in it to monitor the activities inherent to them.
recommendations
Put into action an action plan based on the theoretical methodological precepts present in the conception of Marxism, Leninism, Marti's ideology and the thought of Fidel Castro and Ernesto Che Guevara, as well as the Economic and Social Guidelines of the Party and the Cuban Revolution, approved by the VI Congress of the PCC.
This proposal is based on the laws and categories of dialectical and historical materialism, on the considerations on the man-nature relationship, the main ideas of José Martí related to the man-nature balance and on his determination of action “with everyone and for the good of all ”.
The arguments put forward by Fidel Castro and Ernesto Che Guevara around the role of the masses and of personality in history, in their relations about the role of ideas, in moral conceptions, about politics and their active and creative role, of the determining role for the development of the so-called public policies.
In the contributions of the Cuban Revolution to the theory and practice of the construction of socialism from a third world country, in the creation of a political system whose breadth and exercise of democracy ensures the management of government for each citizen.
In participatory action research used in community social work, to find the best variants in mass action.
In the participatory tradition of the Cuban people for the solution of each problem that it has had to face throughout its history, addressed by Che in Socialism and man in Cuba in the following terms:
“The mass participated in the Agrarian Reform and in the difficult effort of the administration of the state companies; went through the heroic experience of Playa Girón; it was forged in the struggles against the different gangs of bandits armed by the CIA; he lived one of the most important definitions of modern times in the October crisis and continues working today to build socialism. ”
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