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Summary
With long term funding from CIDA’s Canadian Partnership Branch, the CUI worked with the City of Havana (through its authority the Parque Metropolitano de La Habana and the regional planning authority known as the Group for the Integrated Development of the Capital) to facilitate the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of one of the capital city’s largest environmental restoration projects. This long term project, which ran from 1995-2002, has aimed to revitalize the watershed of the Rio Almendares, a large and highly polluted urban river. Using community-based strategic planning approaches, the project engaged civil society in planning and built local government-community partnerships for implementation. It also undertook institutional strengthening of the park authority itself to move toward economic self-sustainability.
Funding Agency:
The Canadian International Development Agency (Canadian Partnership Branch)
Timeframe:
1995-2002
Geographic Focus:
The geographic focus of this project is the City of Havana, Cuba. The Parque Metropolitano de La Habana (PMH) is a local authority with jurisdiction over a 700-hectare expanse of land in the heart of the city, which roughly corresponds to the lower watershed of the Rio Almendares. PMH is one of four major parks along the river’s basin. As such, it is an intrinsic part of the capital city’s greenbelt system. Beginning at the river’s mouth at the coast, the park follows the river for nine kilometres as it winds its way through urban neighbourhoods, industrial complexes, public green spaces and agricultural lands that reflect the city’s diversity and history.
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Want more information?
For more information, contact the CUI’s International Programs Office at cui@canurb.com
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| Cuba-Canada cooperation and friendship: Launching a new phase of collaboration for the revitalization of the Parque Metropolitano de La Habana (Havana, Cuba, May 1998) |
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Project Partners
The project was undertaken in partnership with the City of Havana and its local authority the Parque Metropolitano de La Habana. Other individuals and organizations that contributed were the late Honourable Jesus Montané, Deputy of the National Assembly and advisor to Cuban President Fidel Castro, the Ministry of Foreign Investment and International Cooperation (MINVEC), the Group for the Integral Development of the Capital (GDIC), Havana’s polytechnic university IPSJAE and the municipalities and popular councils within the boundaries of the park and its zone of influence. Many other Cuban, Canadian and international organizations contributed to the success of this initiative.
Harnessing the energy of youth: engaging school children in environmental education and action programs in the disadvantaged Havana neighbourhood of Pogolotti (1999) |
Background
The Rio Almendares is the largest urban river in the capital city of Havana. The river is highly polluted and runs through some of Havana’s poorest communities. Issues such as deforestation, unrestrained domestic and industrial dumping and an overall lack of environmental management are contributing to the degradation of the river and the destruction of flora and fauna. Communities are faced with problems related to sanitation, solid waste management and accessible and safe recreational space. The Canada-Cuba Partnership Program for the Revitalization of the Parque Metropolitano de La Habana was a pioneering initiative that undertook a community-based strategic planning process. It is serving as a model for other local authorities across Cuba on approaches to sustainable development, environmental protection, community involvement in the local governance process and the self-sustainability of local government authorities.
Project Description
The aim of the project was the revitalization of the largest urban park in the Cuban capital and the restoration of the polluted river that runs through it by strengthening capacities of the Parque Metropolitano de La Habana team and other local authorities in participatory strategic planning, inter-agency cooperation and economic self-sufficiency. The PMH project became one of the four priority urban restoration projects in the capital city. Strategic urban management and popular participation approaches were adopted in all aspects of implementation of this multi-faceted initiative. The strategic plan and sectoral action plans formulated in the partnership continue to guide project implementation. Multiple partnership arrangements (both international and between the local authority and community groups and NGOs) were established for project implementation. The project is now being replicated in other local authorities within the Havana urban region. Economic sustainability of this environmental restoration project has been substantially strengthened with the approval by senior government of the establishment of the PMH as a public enterprise. This grants the PMH revenue-raising authority that will grant it the mechanism to fund the longer-term revitalization initiative.
Approach
Project implementation began with the formulation of a participatory strategic plan for the PMH. The plan resulted from environmental diagnosis by community working groups, a mechanism through which those involved got to define the specific problems, understand the interconnectedness and brainstorm potential solutions. A major emphasis was also placed on promoting good governance practices at the local level such as through the creation of community-based and inter-agency partnerships for implementation, as well as through capacity building of the PMH organization. The latter included building the capacity of the PMH staff in project management, financial control, participatory planning, implementation, monitoring, evaluation, environmental education and various technical areas related to environmental remediation. Capacity development was also directed towards civil society, to build an overall enabling environment for participation in local governance and development processes.
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