Wetlands cover nearly one tenth of Cuba

Wetlands, including inland and coastal swampland, occupied 10,410 square km of land area, or 9.3 percent of Cuba, the Cuban News Agency (ACN) reported Monday.

ACN quoted the Cuban Environmental Agency as saying these highly fragile and vulnerable ecosystems play a beneficial role, mainly by protecting habitats and preventing coastal erosion.

They also serve to absorb the carbon dioxide in the air, clean tributaries, minimize the impact and potential economic losses of severe weather events, such as hurricanes, and help maintain the underground water supply, the agency said.

Cuba's Zapata Swamp (Cienaga de Zapata), in southern part of the western province of Matanzas, is the Caribbean regions' largest wetland, and is included on the list of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance as Waterfowl Habitat.

The national park, which covers an area of some 4,500 square kilometers, is home to more than 165 migratory and native bird species.