New proposal calls for Guantánamo Bay Naval Base to be turned into peace park

As part of a new proposal, Guantánamo Bay Naval Base, which includes the prominent detention center, may get transformed into a marine conservation area and an international peace park. The transformation would be undertaken once the inmates vacate the place.

The proposal has appeared in the journal Science on Thursday. It is considering the fate of the base keeping in mind the recent thaw in Cuba and the United States relations and the impending historic visit of President Obama.

In a telephone interview with The Christian Science Monitor, co-author Joe Roman, a conservation biologist at the University of Vermont said that the US embassy in Cuba is now open, and thus more business and tourists will come, placing more pressure on coastal systems.

It isn’t final so far what step will be taken by Cuba? Whether it will step ahead with development, or remain stick to its conservation laws?

The extensive environmental laws in Cuba are termed as ‘Law 81’, which date back to the visit of Fidel Castro at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. During that time at the summit, Castro spoke against ‘consumer societies’ for the horrible environment destruction caused by them.

Dr. Roman told the Monitor that Law 81 and the isolation of Cuba from tourism have jointly proved effective in preserving Cuba's ecosystem.

Furthermore, Dr. Roman sees an opportunity in the Guantánamo land to help turn the development of Cuba in the direction of sustainability, to bring change in a way that is beneficial both for the people and the wildlife.

Dr. Roman mentioned, “Cuba has great scientists, but with very limited resources. This is one place we could provide that equipment, working together until the eventual handover back to Cuba; by then, hopefully the benefits of working together would be apparent, and the endeavor could continue”.