A Blueprint of Collaboration — and Friendship — with Cuba

Nearly 60 representatives from Cuba, Mexico and the U.S. convened in Havana in October 2009 to finalize a "Plan of Action" for future collaboration in marine research and conservation focused in the Gulf of Mexico and Western Caribbean Sea

HAVANA, Cuba — On October 25-26, 2009 the third meeting of a growing partnership of U.S, Cuban and Mexican institutions dedicated to strengthening collaboration in marine research and conservation convened in Havana, Cuba and has resulted in the near-finalization of a new five-year “Plan of Action,” a blueprint for future collaboration. The ongoing effort, led by The Ocean Foundation, the Center for International Policy, the Cuban Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment, and the Mexican Secretariat of the Navy has set the stage for an unprecedented level of collaboration among the three nations, including the creation of new projects and partnerships along with additional funding to support them. Read more

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Event: A New Era for U.S.-Cuba Relations on Marine and Coastal Resources Conservation

Event Summary
Cuba sits at the convergence of the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico. Its coastal waters are dense with islets, keys and reefs that provide critical habitats and spawning grounds for a rich array of fish, endangered sea turtles, manatees and other marine life. Preserving Cuba’s biodiversity is critically important to the natural resources and economies of coastal communities in the United States and other neighboring countries.

Active scientific and management cooperation is needed to address the growing threats to Cuba’s biodiversity including coral reefs, migratory bird habitats, marine mammals and turtles, and biodiversity shared throughout the region. Greater communication and collaboration among scientists, conservation professionals and government agencies could benefit both the United States and Cuba, as well as the shared ecosystems that link both nations.

On April 28, the Brookings Institution and the Environmental Defense Fund will host a discussion on U.S.-Cuba relations on marine and coastal resources conservation. Steve Hamburg, chief scientist for the Environmental Defense Fund, will offer introductory remarks. Brookings Visiting Fellow Vicki Huddleston, former head of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, will give the keynote address. Scott Edwards of the Environmental Defense Fund will moderate a discussion featuring a panel of experts. After the program, the panelists will take audience questions.

Additional information and online registration Read more

Google Earth 5.0 – Now With Genuine Ocean!

The ExpeditionCasts podcast is back! The series returns with the video version of the Ocean Doctor’s popular blog post, "Attacked by the Giant Squid’s Cousins." (You can access the video version below.) That’s big news. But the GINORMOUS news is that ExpeditionCasts returns along with a new version of Google Earth. Version 5.0 of Google Earth allows you to explore the other 70 percent of the planet — the world’s oceans — and access

stunning underwater video content from around the world. 1planet1ocean has been privileged to be a contributor to this enormous, er, GINORMOUS project, and you’ll find five ExpeditionCasts videos among the others Google Earth 5.0. Look for them in Alaska’s Bering Sea and off the northwestern coast of Cuba.

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Expedition to Cuba’s Gulf of Mexico: Preparations Underway

HAVANA, CUBA – Final preparations are now underway for an August expedition to explore and map one of the least known areas of the Gulf of Mexico — Cuba’s northwestern coastal waters, including Cuba’s spectacular Los Colorados barrier reef. A joint effort of the University of Havana’s Centro de Investigaciones Marinas (Center for Marine Research) and the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, this, the fourth expedition in a multiyear project entitled, Proyecto Costa Noroccidental (Project of the Northwest Coast). (See Exploring, Studying Cuba’s Gulf of Mexico for details on this important effort.) The fourth expedition will concentrate study on Los Colorados, an area with remarkably healthy  coral reefs, despite the alarming decline in the health of coral reefs elsewhere in the Caribbean. This research is providing the most comprehensive biological picture yet of this little-explored region, and Cuba’s healthy corals may offer important clues for protecting and restoring corals elsewhere. (See Can Cuba’s Mysteries Help Save the World’s Coral Reefs? in OceanDoctor’s Blog.) Read more

The State of Cuba’s Coral Reefs

Initial results of joint Cuba-U.S. study to be presented at the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium (ICRS) in Ft. Lauderdale, July 7-11, 2008

The world’s major coral reef science meeting, the International Coral Reef Symposium (ICRS), returns to the United States July 7-11, 2008, to be held in Ft. Lauderdale. Dr. Gaspar González Sansón, Titular Professor at the University of Havana’s Center for Marine Research (Centro de Investigaciones Marinas [CIM]) is scheduled to be the lead presenter of a paper entitled, Present Condition of Coral Reefs and Associated Ecosystems in the Northwest Region of Cuba. Read more

Historic Meeting Unites Cuba and the U.S., Taking Collaboration on Ocean Research & Conservation to a New Level

Cubans and Americans display the flags of both nations following a historic 2-day meeting in Cancún, México on collaboration in marine science & conservation

CANCÚN, México — In a historic meeting co-organized and led by the Washington, DC-based Center for International Policy and the Harte Research Institute (HRI) for Gulf of Mexico Studies at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi,a group of 15 Cubans and 15 Americans met in Cancún, Mexico to develop a plan for taking joint marine research and conservation activities between the U.S. and Cuba to a new level. Collaboration between U.S. and Cuban scientists has been exceedingly difficult because of the decades-old U.S. embargo, even though research is a permitted activity and U.S. scientists are allowed to travel to Cuba. Complicated logistics and ever-changing politics have prevented all but a few U.S. institutions from successful collaborative projects in Cuba. Read more

Exploring, Studying Cuba’s Gulf of Mexico

Proyecto Costa Noroccidental research team aboard Cuban research vessel Boca del Toro, second expedition

The Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies (HRI) at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and the University of Havana’s Center for Marine Research (CIM) [Centro de Investigaciones Marinas] are leading a collaborative effort, Proyecto Costa Noroccidental [Project of the Northwest Coast], a comprehensive multi-year research and conservation program for Cuba’s Gulf of Mexico coast. Dr. David E. Guggenheim, president of 1planet1ocean, is a member of HRI’s Advisory Council and also serves as HRI’s Cuba Programs Manager and is co-principal investigator of the project with Dr. Gaspar González Sansón of CIM. Read more