Cuba has a variety of natural habitats and is home to a large number of species, many of them endangered. Since the arrival of European settlers Cuba has experienced deforestation, as more and more forest area has been taken over by humans for agricultural production, resulting in the extinction of some species. Environmental awareness has since increased in Cuba, and in the late 1990s and in the 2000s, the Cuban government started new programs to protect the environment and to increase forest coverage.