The political and economic benefits of U.S.-Cuba normalization are still a work in progress. But the environmental returns look evident. As part of that effort, officials from both countries gathered in the Florida Keys yesterday – and did a little coral reef snorkeling.
Last fall the U.S. and Cuba signed a landmark environmental cooperation pact. Its chief aim is to save the important coral reefs in the Florida Straits, which are threatened by climate change – especially warmer sea waters and toxic acidification – not to mention increased cruise and recreational boating.
That’s a big reason U.S. environmental officials invited their Cuban counterparts to snorkel the Keys for the Fourth of July – and to look at U.S. efforts to manage human traffic on days like that around precious coral reefs likeLooeKey east of Key West.
“Our colleagues in Cuba are just starting to experience the tourism and the divers coming into [their] areas," says BillyCausey, southeast regional director for the U.S. National Marine Sanctuary Program, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
"So they will see what we’re working with just as we're seeing what they're working with, and we will better understand what it means to our reefs.”
Cuba has undertaken an ambitious project to preserve a quarter of its coastal marine territory. Carlos AlbertoDíaz, whoheads Cuba’s Center for National Protected Areas, says neither country can realize those endeavors without learning more about each side of the Straits.
"After a half century of separation," says Díaz. "this is a historic and crucial moment of environmental exchange. It opens the door to the future conservation of these reefs."
The Cubans will also visit Biscayne Bay later this week.
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