Havana Cuba, After the Collapse:

Land Use change during the “Special Period”

By Jason Nielsen

Objectives

• Discuss the History of Cuba’s Agriculture before and after the collapse of the Soviet Union

• Discuss Hypothesis and Methods• Display and Describe Results• Conclusion and Recommendations

Agriculture in Cuba• Agricultural Reform Law 1959 and the

Green Revolutiono Export Focused Sugarcaneo Oil-centrico Synthetic Fertilizers and Pesticides

• 229% per Hectare more than US

• Soviet Collapse• Special Period

o Law 142o Permacultureo Organic Farming

• Urban Agriculture in Havanao Farmers Marketso By 2000, 26000 Urban Garden producing 25,000 tons of foodo Total Urban Agriculture Production, 113,525 tons of food

Hypothesis and Methods

• There must be change!• Landsat 5 Imagery

o Subset Region of Interest in ENVI 5.0o Ocean Mask by Extraction in ArcGISo Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI)o Supervised Classificationo Raster Calculator for Changeo Reclassify total Vegetation Gains

True Color Image

NDVI and Classification

1988

NDVI and Classification

1998

NDVI and Classification

2009

Change From 1988 to 1998

Water Pixel Numbers Urban Pixel Numbers Vegetation Pixel Numbers

1988 Classification 6657 226710 216579

1998 Classification 7595 178732 263624

25000

75000

125000

175000

225000

275000

Change of Pixel Numbers Between 1988 to 1998

Num

ber

of

30 x

30m

Pix

els

Change From 1998 to 2009

1 2 3

1998 Classification 7595 178732 263624

2009 Classification 7506 186946 255499

25000

75000

125000

175000

225000

275000

Change in Pixel Numbers 1998 to 2009

Num

ber

of

30 x

30m

pix

els

Vegetation Change, 1988 to 2009

1988 1998 2009 per. of change

Water Pixel Numbers 6657 7595 7506 849 0.127534925642181

Urban Pixel Numbers 226710 178732 186946 -39764 -0.17539588019

9374

Vegetation Pixel Numbers 216579 263624 255499 38920 0.152329363324318

-25000

25000

75000

125000

175000

225000

275000

Percentage of Change 1988 to 2009

Pix

el

Num

bers

8655.76 Acres Vegetation Increase

Discussion of Results and Errors

Google Ground Truth

Other Issues• Clouds• Reflectance• Time of Day• Angle of the Sun• Error in Analysis

Conclusions…

Questions…

Work CitedArcGIS Help. Internet publications Living Planet Report (2006). World Wildlife Fund in the USA and Canada. http//:www. living_planet_report.pdf (Accessed March of 2015)

Google Earth Journal article Febles-Gonzalez, J.M. et al (2010) Cuban Agricultural Policy in the last 25 years. From conventional to organic agriculture. Land Use Policy 28(2011) 723-735  Journal article Novo, Mario Gonzalez, and Catherine Murphy (2000). Urban agriculture in the city of Havana: A popular response to a crisis. Growing cities, growing food. Urban agriculture on the policy agenda. (ZEL) (2000): 329-346. Journal article Maal-Bared, Rasha (2005) Comparing environmental issues in Cuba before and after the Special Period: Balancing sustainable development and survival. Environment International 32: 349-358