Incremental environmental peacebuilding between the US and Cuba
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The Malecon in Havana. Photo: Guillaume Baviere.
It's been a while since I wrote about Cuba's natural resources, and their importance in thawing US-Cuba tensions. Two posts last year highlighted the need for more cooperation between the US and Cuba with respect to offshore resources, particularly oil and gas development. I wrote this in May 2015:
An oil spill off the northwestern coast of Cuba would hit Florida within 6 to 8 days. And yet, Cuba and the United States don't have a bilateral agreement in place to deal with that scenario. The US and Mexico have a bilateral agreement that regulates oil and gas development in the Gulf of Mexico, establishing safety standards, emergency protocols, and inspection procedures. A similar agreement is needed to protect the Florida straits.
Late last year there was some noise about opening offshore exploration, and further calls for cooperation. That led to a "joint statement" between the US and Cuba in November, calling for more cooperation on environmental issues, including objectives such as:
- protection of coastal and marine ecosystems
- protection of biodiversity
- climate change mitigation and adaptation
- regulation of energy development and oil spill preparedness
- academic exchange and information sharing
There's been little evidence of breakthrough progress on these points, but slow and steady advancements are to be expected given the many issues (environmental and otherwise) to be worked out for the first time. In early July of this year US and Cuban officials met to discuss marine protection and biodiversity. The outcome of the talks was rather vague, and appeared not to focus on oil spill prevention and preparedness, a major area of need. Still, the talks signal an intent to move forward with bilateral agreements and initiatives, a positive sign that environmental challenges remain high on the peacebuilding agenda.
How those talks will move forward under a new Presidential administration remains to be seen, but at least one other objective from the joint statement - academic exchange - does appear to be moving forward. Universities are increasingly in contact with one another, and US federal agencies are sponsoring high-level meetings of scientific and policy experts on environmental issues. Some of these meetings may take place at or with the participation of my FIU colleagues, something that wasn't possible for us (or other Florida state university academics) until last year.
