Environmental talks under way (Updated)

Following up on a visit to Washington last month by Cuban environmental officials, the Environmental Defense Fund has a team in Cuba this week discussing marine conservation.

The EDF press release sees these talks as a sign that greater cooperation in environmental protection may be in store, and I hope that’s the case. Marine issues are the place to start, since our proximity and the prevailing currents make it so that our two countries effectively live in the same marine environment.

According to EDF, the talks will cover “ways to eliminate overfishing, protect coral reefs, conserve coastal areas, and tap potential ocean energy.” Not to be alarmist, but there’s another issue that could be added to the agenda: emergency preparedness. If you look at a map and examine the currents, the effects of an oil spill in the waters off Cuba’s northwest coast would become a Florida problem in a matter of days. That issue should be discussed if, as they should, the two governments someday initiate talks on environmental protection.

[Update: Reuters reports from Havana that the meeting of U.S., Cuban, and Mexican marine scientists are planning joint Gulf of Mexico research projects.]