As part of a new proposal, Guantánamo Bay Naval Base, which includes the well known detention center, could be changed into a marine conservation area and an international peace park, once the inmates vacant it.

Appeared in the journal Science on Thursday, the proposal indicates that the fate of the base could depend on the decision taken by authorities. The relations between Cuba and the United States have improved recently. President Obama’s will soon make a historic visit to Cuba.

In a telephone interview with The Christian Science Monitor, co-author Joe Roman, a conservation biologist at the University of Vermont, said, the US embassy in Cuba is open, with which more business will knock, and tourists will step in, putting more pressure on coastal systems in the coming time.

It isn’t clear so far that what direction will be taken by Cuba. Whether it will press ahead with development, or stick to its conservation laws?

The extensive environmental laws of Cuba, called ‘Law 81’, belong to Fidel Castro's attendance at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, where he had criticized the consumer societies for their terrible environment devastation.

Dr. Roman said that the Law 81 and Cuba's sidelining of tourism have worked jointly in the preservation of Cuba's ecosystem.

Furthermore, according to Roman, the Guantánamo land is a chance to push the development of Cuba toward sustainability, to boost it in a way that is beneficial both for the people and the wildlife.

Roman added, “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”.