PARQUE NACIONAL PICO CRISTAL

Description. A national park in northeast Cuba, Cuba's first national park, in mountainous terrain rising to 1243 m above sea level, the highest point in northeast Cuba. Extent 26180 ha. Established in 1930. Administered by the Empresa Nacional para la Protección de la Flora y la Fauna, Cuba.

Biodiversity. Numbers of species recorded in the management plan: Animalia, 491 (128 species endemic to Cuba); Bacteria, 0; Chromista, 0; Fungi, 0; Plantae, 527 (325 endemic to Cuba); Protozoa, 0. Numbers of endangered species: Animalia, 11; Bacteria, not known; Chromista, not known; Fungi, not known; Plantae, not known; Protozoa, not known. Lists of animals and plants of the national park are included in the management plan.

Problems. Forest fires. Illegal logging and hunting. Erosion. Dangers from adjacent mines and commercial forestry. Inadequate signposting of the park. Degraded forest leading to poor hydrology. Self-sufficiency for national park staff. Insufficient staff for development projects. Need to construct and maintain field stations. Roads within the park in need of reconstruction. Insufficient public awareness of the value of the national park. Need for more environmental education within the national park. Need to develop ecotourism. Populations of key organisms (particularly parrots, jutías and Cuban solenodons) in need of management. Control on introduced harmful fauna necessary. Natural forest and scrub on serpentine soil in need of restoration.

Project work. A 205 page management plan was produced with support from the Darwin Initiative project Biodiversity Conservation in Cuba.