Specific initiatives and measures were defined in the fields of protection and sustainable management of marine biodiversity and the reduction of coastal vulnerability.
The third working meeting between Cuban and U.S. officials was held in Havana, with the aim of increasing cooperation, to contribute to the implementation of the Joint Declaration between the Republic of Cuba and the United States on Environmental Protection, signed in Washington D.C., on November 24, 2015.
The U.S. delegation was headed by Ambassador David Balton, deputy assistant secretary for Oceans and Fisheries of the Department of State, and included representatives of the State Department, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Department of Commerce.
The Cuban delegation was headed by Dr. José Fidel Santana Núñez, deputy minister of Science, Technology and the Environment, and included further representatives of this Ministry, the Environment Agency and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Specific initiatives and measures were defined in the fields of protection and sustainable management of marine biodiversity and the reduction of coastal vulnerability, through the exchange of scientific information and the undertaking of joint activities.
The U.S. delegation also visited areas of the Ciénaga de Zapata National Park, an important part of the Cuban Protected Areas System, and learnt of the conservation and sustainable management efforts in this important wetland and related marine areas.
Both sides expressed their willingness to continue advancing in the development of mutually beneficial cooperation.
(CubaMinrex)