Can ocean science bring Cuba and the United States together?

June 6, 2017 by Jorge Alberto Angulo-Valdes, The Conversation



U.S. Navy diver off the coast of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Credit: MC2 Kori Melvin, U.S. Navy/Wikipedia


Cuba is the ecological crown jewel of the Caribbean. It harbors thousands of the region's endemic species and about half of its coastal ecosystems. It is rare to find comparable ecosystems or such rich biodiversity anywhere in the Caribbean, and perhaps in the Western Hemisphere.

Cuba also is inextricably linked to its neighbor countries, especially the United States. These two nations have been adversaries for over 60 years, but their common backyard is an ocean filled with limited shared resources.

Since December 2014, when then-President Barack Obama ordered the restoration of diplomatic relations with Cuba, both governments have taken steps to improve cooperation. They include agreements to work together to protect some of the Caribbean's most important coral reefs and marine sanctuaries. Now, however, the Trump administration reportedly is planning to slow or halt at least some U.S. engagement with Cuba.

I am a Cuban marine biologist and have had the opportunity to be part of U.S. academia and facilitate scientific partnerships between the two countries. Scientists on both sides are very interested in working together, and I believe that we owe it to nature and people on both sides to keep this door open.


Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2017-06-ocean-science-cuba-states.html#jCp