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Announcing Project “Red Alerta” – Isle of Youth, Cuba

Project Red AlertaWe are pleased to announce Project “Red Alerta,” a unique partnership of Ocean Doctor’s Cuba Conservancy Program and the community of Cocodrilo, a small community on the southern shore of Cuba’s Isle of Youth. Through this project, a coral reef ecosystem monitoring network and education program will be established in the community. Participants will be taught about environmental issues and protection, coral reef ecosystems, their importance and threats, and trained in monitoring methodologies. They will be provided with and trained in the use of snorkeling gear, coral reef identification and health assessment, and how to collect and prepare data for sharing with the scientific community and the public.

Cocodrilo has high unemployment and few opportunities. The majority of the jobs in the community remain fishing-related. Project “Red Alerta” can help broaden the community’s opportunities for income. As the community gains familiarity with its coral reef ecosystems and identification of corals and fish, they will be gaining key skills that can be used to educate tourists, allowing the community to develop a strong, sustainable ecotourism operation. Cocodrilo residents are eager to benefit from tourism and the first bed and breakfast (casa particular) was just approved in the community in December 2015.

cocodrilo map

Location of the community of Cocodrilo on Cuba’s Isle of Youth

Over time, the program will help support economic independence for the community and provide strong incentives to protect the adjacent Punta Frances Marine Protected Area (PFMPA). In addition, the program will have important educational linkages to young students in school programs and help foster a growing environmental awareness throughout the community.

[pullquote]The project name, “Red Alerta,” takes advantage of two different meanings of the word “red” in Spanish and English. “Red Alerta” translates as “Alert Network” from Spanish (where “red” means “network”), while in English, “Red Alerta” is close to the term “red alert,” conveying great urgency, appropriate to the dire situation facing Caribbean coral reefs.[/pullquote]

Despite its designation as a protected area, fishing continues illegally within the PFMPA limits, both by commercial fishing cooperatives and by individuals. Unfortunately, the net impact of continued fishing may be threatening the health of the coral reef ecosystem. In August 2015, a scientific workshop led by Ocean Doctor, including Cuban and U.S. scientists, observed a striking lack of large fish (including grouper, snapper and sharks) and some coral reefs experience an overgrowth by macroalgae, a possible symptom of overfishing. Understanding and managing the problem is compounded by a lack of ongoing coral reef monitoring, due to a lack of resources. Project “Red Alerta” can benefit the marine park by providing ongoing monitoring and economic incentives to protect it.

Ultimately, Cocodrilo could serve as a model for other Cuban coastal communities seeking a future that is both environmentally and economically sustainable.

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VIDEO: A Cuban Conservation Leader Reflects on More than a Decade of Collaboration with Ocean Doctor

Cuban Embassy Opens in DC After 54 Years: Will Cuba Remain the ‘Green Jewel’ of the Caribbean?

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The Cuban flag flying in Washington, DC for the first time in 54 years, signaling the reopening of the Cuban Embassy and normalization of relations with the U.S. (Photo: David E. Guggenheim)

With each tug of the rope by Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez, the Cuban flag inched upward, finding a slight breeze and proudly showed off its brilliant colors of red, white and blue to the 500 or so onlookers. The Cubans and Cuban-Americans—never known for their silence at public events—beamed with national pride and shouted with joy as the flag inched up, “Fidel, Fidel!” Countless eyes filled with tears. Many embraced. The world was changing before us. The Cuban flag flew in Washington, DC for the first time in 54 years, signaling the reopening of the Cuban Embassy and normalization of relations with the U.S.

Inside at the embassy at the reception that followed, we hoisted mojitos and exchanged congratulations. But a number of us have long anticipated this moment with both joy and worry, realizing that the U.S. could become a greater threat to Cuba as its friend than it ever was as its enemy.

Read the full post at EcoWatch.com

EcoWatch 

 

Celebrating Cuba’s Scientists and Students Dedicated to the Ocean

Ocean Doctor's Ximena Escovar-Fadul (right) presents CIM Director, Patricia Gonzalez with a framed photo of CIM's research vessel, Felipe Poey to commemorate CIM's 45th anniversary

Ocean Doctor’s Ximena Escovar-Fadul (right) presents CIM Director, Patricia Gonzalez (left) with a framed photo of CIM’s research vessel, Felipe Poey to commemorate CIM’s 45th anniversary

For a Cuban who wants to become a marine biologist, there is only one choice: The University of Havana’s Center for Marine Research (Centro de Investigaciones Marinas, CIM) is the only Cuban institution where marine biologists are accredited. Ocean Doctor’s collaboration with CIM began nearly 15 years ago and continues with bold new projects today. Ocean Doctor’s Project Scientist, Ximena Escovar-Fadul, participated in CIM’s 45th anniversary celebration held in Havana on March 9, 2015. Read more

Listen: Ocean Doctor on Science Friday: Conserving Cuba’s Coral Reefs

Ira Flatow, host of PRI's "Science Friday" and Ocean Doctor president, Dr. David E. Guggenheim, at the CUNY studios in New York

Ira Flatow (left), host of PRI’s “Science Friday” and Ocean Doctor president, Dr. David E. Guggenheim (right), at the CUNY studios in New York (Photo: Courtesy of PRI’s Science Friday)

Ocean Doctor president, David E. Guggenheim joined Science Friday host, Ira Flatow, to discuss Cuba’s coral reefs, their future, and how they may serve as a “living laboratory” to help us restore coral reefs in the Caribbean, where half of the coral reefs have been lost since 1970 according to a 2014 study.

Listen to the recording and visit Science Friday for more information.

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