Keynote Panel: Cuba’s Environmental Future – What Normalizing Diplomatic Relations with the U.S. Means for Cuba’s Sustainability | Thursday, 4:00pm, Palladium Theater |
Tickets $15 (click here)The past 50 years have seen extreme degradation to the environment, especially in the Caribbean, where tourism and associated coastal development has had a particularly severe impact. The Caribbean has lost 50 percent of its coral cover since 1970. However, many of Cuba's natural ecosystems, including coral reefs, remain remarkably healthy.
As relations normalize with the United States, Cuba faces unprecedented pressures from tourism, foreign investment, and development that threaten its ecosystems, architectural heritage, and culture. Normalized relations bring a new level of collaboration between the two countries, including important scientific and conservation efforts.
Is Cuba doomed to the same fate of the rest of the Caribbean? Or will the country emerge as a shining green jewel of the Caribbean with a sustainable future and enduring protection for its natural heritage?
This high-level panel explores these issues in depth and brings us up-to-date on environmental agreements between Cuba and the U.S., as well as new initiatives, such as the Cuba-U.S. Sustainability Partnership (CUSP), that offer hope for the environmental future of both countries.
