Cuba and U.S. Agree to Work Together to Protect Marine Life

Cuba and U.S. Agree to Work Together to Protect Marine Life
By VICTORIA BURNETTOCT. 5, 2015

MEXICO CITY — The Cuban and American governments have agreed to work
hand in hand to protect marine life in the seas that join their
countries, a move that represents the first environmental dividend of a
thaw between the two Cold War foes.

Under an agreement announced Monday at an oceans conference in
Valparaíso, Chile, government agencies from Cuba and the United States
are to map marine life in protected areas in the Florida Straits and
Gulf of Mexico and compile an inventory of shared species.

Dan Whittle, senior attorney for the Environmental Defense Fund, an
American nonprofit organization that works closely with Cuba on marine
conservation, said United States government scientists were interested
in studying Cuba's pristine reefs for clues about how to recover
American reefs. Cuban and American scientists could now share
information on, say, the endangered oceanic whitetip shark, he said, or
on the behavior of invasive species.

The agreement could also clear the way for American philanthropists who
are eager to fund Cuban conservation efforts but have been wary of
political pitfalls, Mr. Whittle said.

Source: Cuba and U.S. Agree to Work Together to Protect Marine Life -
The New York Times -
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/06/world/americas/cuba-and-us-agree-to-work-together-to-protect-marine-life.html?_r=0