Representatives of the United States and Cuba signed a joint statement on environmental cooperation today at the Department of State in Washington, D.C.  The statement is a framework document that will facilitate and guide U.S.-Cuba cooperation – both governmental and non-governmental – on a range of environmental issues including coastal and marine protection, the protection of biodiversity including endangered and threatened species, climate change, disaster risk reduction, and marine pollution. 

The United States and Cuba have already begun cooperating on several environmental issues, including by establishing sister marine protected areas and sharing hydrographic information. Cuban Ambassador to the United States José Ramón Cabañas Rodríguez and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and Fisheries David Balton signed the statement pledging further collaboration. 

The full text of the statement can be found at http://www.state.gov/e/oes/rls/pr/249946.htm.  For further information, please contact Sara Ferchichi (FerchichiSM@state.gov).