Fri May 28, 2010 7:01pm EDT
By Jeff Franks
HAVANA, May 28 (Reuters) - Red flags went up on beaches in western Cuban
this week, closing them briefly to swimmers amid rumors that the BP oil
spill in the U.S. part of the Gulf of Mexico was forcing sharks into
Cuban waters.
The government, through state-run press, quickly denounced the rumors as
false and the beaches were reopened, but the incident reflected fears
that the massive spill will reach Cuba and wreak havoc on an island
still relatively untouched by modernity's environmental ills.
"Cuba, like all the countries in this area, is worried about the
situation in the Gulf," said Osmani Borrego Fernandez, a director at the
Guanahacabibes National Park at Cuba's western tip.
So far, he said, there has been no evidence of the oil, but "we are alert."
A trip along Cuba's coastline is like a trip back in time where vast
stretches of palm-fringed beaches sit undeveloped and sea life abounds
in the crystalline waters.
While rampant development and overfishing have damaged coastlines and
depleted seas around the world, communist-led Cuba has been largely
preserved by its slow economic pace.
As a result, scientists and environmentalists view Cuban waters as a
place where they can see how the world's oceans were decades ago.
"Many areas along the coast, and thousands of small keys, are in rural
areas or are remote and have simply been left alone," said Dan Whittle,
senior attorney at the Environmental Defense Fund.
"Ernest Hemingway set up a fish camp on Cayo Paraiso (about 90 miles
(145 km) west of Havana) in the 1940s and the area has not really
changed since then. If he were still alive, he'd still recognize it
today," he said of the U.S. writer who lived in Cuba for two decades.
COAST IN DANGER
Cuba's northwest coast is considered most in danger from the oil. It is
there that coral reefs, seagrass beds and mangroves provide major
breeding grounds for many fish and sea creatures, including endangered
migratory species like sea turtles, sharks and manatees, Whittle said.
All that is at stake if the BP oil finds its way to Cuba. It could also
damage Cuba's tourism industry, which is centered on beaches and to a
lesser degree eco-tourism.
Tourism brought in more than $2 billion to Cuba last year, or about 20
percent of Cuban's foreign exchange income.
The good news for Cuba is that the spill is still centered about 300
miles (483 km) northwest of the island and BP may finally be gaining
control over the massive leak.
Officials for the oil giant said on Friday their so-called "top kill"
solution of plugging the gusher by pumping in "drilling mud" was showing
signs of success.
But even if that happens soon, Cuban officials are concerned that the
oil already in the water could be swept south by gulf currents.
Cuba is separated from the Florida Keys by just 90 miles (145 km) of
water and despite their disparate political histories, the United States
and Cuba are inextricably linked ecologically.
Another rumor that supposedly contributed to the Cuban beach closures
this week was that lionfish, which have venomous spikes and have invaded
Cuban waters in recent years from Florida, were poisoning swimmers. The
government said that rumor also was false.
The United States and Cuba have been at odds since Fidel Castro took
power in a 1959 revolution, but they held talks last week about the oil
slick, officials said.
Cuba expert Wayne Smith at the Center for International Policy think
tank in Washington said he met with Cuban authorities this week in
Havana and that they are "fully open" to cooperation with the Americans
to stop the oil.
Standing in the way is the longstanding U.S. trade embargo against Cuba,
which prevents the use of much U.S. technology in Cuba.
At a conference this week in Washington, oil experts and
environmentalists said it was time to allow cooperation with Cuba in oil
safety practices.
"We are not talking about a transfer of technology. All we are asking is
that, if there is an accident, the Cubans can pick up the phone and call
American experts who can bring resources within 24 hours," said oil
expert Jorge Pinon.
The issue is becoming a bigger one as Spanish oil giant Repsol (REP.MC)
(REP.N) prepares to drill for oil off Cuba's ecologically rich northwest
coast perhaps later this year. It has contracted for use of an
Italian-owned drilling rig now being completed in China.
While the spill is a disaster, it might have one positive result, Smith
said.
"It actually could help improve (U.S.-Cuba) relations if we cooperate in
the right way and we have the right attitude," he said.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN2813022020100528?type=marketsNews
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