Can Cuba Preserve its Ecosystems While Profiting From Tourism?
PBS NewsHour‘s weekly “Leading Edge” segment on tourism in Cuba, features Ocean Doctor’s work to protect coral reefs and coastal ecosystems in Cuba’s Isle of Youth. Visit the PBS NewsHour site for additional information and a transcript of the video presentation.
PBS NewsHour Science Correspondent Miles O’Brien examines the growth of tourism in Cuba, its impacts on the environment and the role of ecotourism. The segment includes an interview with Ocean Doctor president, Dr. David E. Guggenheim and features Ocean Doctor’s collaborative work to apply the principles of environmental economics to help develop solutions to ensure that Cuba’s coastal communities are both environmentally and economically sustainable. The work is focused primarily on Cuba’s Isle of Youth, the seventh largest island in the Caribbean but virtually unknown outside of Cuba. The project, in collaboration with Cuba’s National Center for Protected Areas, is slated to become the first-ever formal project between Cuba’s Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment and a U.S. organization.
