Havana August 25 (AIN-RHC)-- Wetlands in Cuba have an area of some 10,000,410 square kilometers, equivalent to 9.3 per cent of the country's surface, including marshes, reservoir and interior or coastal boggy areas.

These ecosystems are highly fragile and vulnerable, although their main benefits involve ecology and economy: habitat protection and coastal erosion mitigation.

Wetlands are involved in the refilling of underground water supplies and the collecting of rain in urban and rural zones. They also contribute to the quality of flood control and the stability of the coast line as they form barriers between sea and land.

Cuban wetlands are an inseparable part of the archipelago's rich and biological diversity, Environment Agency experts explained in their website in Spanish (http://www.medioambiente.cu/)

Experts added, wetlands preserve landscapes related to estuaries, open coastlines, flood plains, scrublands and forests, lakes, canals and rivers.

The most important wetlands in the country are Zapata, Birama (including the Cauto river's delta), Lanieraa and Cunagua swamps, the lakeside system of Pinar del Río and insular groups (archipelagos) of Colorados, Sabana Camagüey, Jardines de la Reina and Canarreos.

The Zapata Swamp, Matanzas, is the largest and most exceptional wetland in Cuba and the Caribbean and it is included in Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance as a habitat for aquatic birds.