<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/" xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/" >

	<channel>
		<title>Conservation news</title>
		<atom:link href="https://news.mongabay.com/feed/?location=cuba&#038;type=post" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/cuba/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Mon, 31 Aug 2026 08:46:00 +0000</lastBuildDate>
		<language>en-US</language>
		<sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod>
		<sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency>
		<generator>https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.4</generator>

<image>
	<url>https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/05/16160320/cropped-mongabay_icon-32x32.png</url>
	<title>Cuba environmental news</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/cuba/</link>
	<width>32</width>
	<height>32</height>
</image> 
				<item>
					<title>Scientists use AI to produce first high-resolution map of global seagrass extent</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/scientists-use-ai-to-produce-first-high-resolution-map-of-global-seagrass-extent/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/scientists-use-ai-to-produce-first-high-resolution-map-of-global-seagrass-extent/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Jul 2026 12:51:59 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abhishyant Kidangoor]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhishyantkidangoor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/10103637/IMG_2026-07-10-031214-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=323038</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Australia, Bahamas, Caribbean, Cuba, Global, Indonesia, North America, Oceania, Southeast Asia, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Artificial Intelligence, Biodiversity, Carbon Sequestration, Climate Change, Coastal Ecosystems, Conservation, data, Ecosystems, Environment, Environmental Policy, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Mapping, Marine, Marine Conservation, Marine Protected Areas, Mitigation, Oceans, Plants, Politics, Protected Areas, Remote Sensing, Research, Satellite Imagery, Science, Seagrass, Software, Technology, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Almost 70% of the global extent of seagrass meadows is found off the coasts of just five countries. However, only 21% of this fall within marine protected areas. These are some of the key findings from the first high-resolution map of seagrasses around the world. Scientists at Arizona State University in the U.S. used satellite [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Almost 70% of the global extent of seagrass meadows is found off the coasts of just five countries. However, only 21% of this fall within marine protected areas. These are some of the key findings from the first high-resolution map of seagrasses around the world. Scientists at Arizona State University in the U.S. used satellite imagery and artificial intelligence to map seagrass cover over two periods, 2019-2020 and 2023-2024. According to a study, recently published in the journal Nature, the team identified “148,506 km2 of seagrass globally,” or about 57,340 square miles, a combined area larger than England, with the majority lying in subtidal areas. “We wanted to map seagrass in a very accurate manner,” Jiwei Li, an assistant professor at ASU’s School of Ocean Futures, who led the study, told Mongabay in a video interview. “And tell people where the seagrass is and where there is potential to protect it.” Scientists mapped seagrass ecosystems using satellite data and AI technology. Pictured above is a satellite image from a coast off of Richmond, Canada, along with the seagrass ecosystems highlighted in green to the right. Image courtesy of Jiwei Li, Arizona State University. Seagrasses are the only flowering plant species in the ocean, and form vast meadows in shallow waters. Apart from being habitats for many marine species, these meadows are also crucial carbon sinks that can absorb CO2 35 times faster than terrestrial forests. They also protect coastlines and filter pollutants in the water. However, seagrass ecosystems face threats from&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/scientists-use-ai-to-produce-first-high-resolution-map-of-global-seagrass-extent/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/scientists-use-ai-to-produce-first-high-resolution-map-of-global-seagrass-extent/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-323038</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>That Cuban rodent species you never knew about? Turns out it’s two species</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/that-cuban-rodent-species-you-never-knew-about-turns-out-its-two-species/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/that-cuban-rodent-species-you-never-knew-about-turns-out-its-two-species/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Dec 2024 16:26:13 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/12/06121218/Desmarests-hutia-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=291312</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Cuba and North America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Environment, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Mammals, New Discovery, Rodents, Species Discovery, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Hutias are a strange group of rodents living on various islands of the Caribbean. Although big, and sometimes looking a little plump, they’re active climbers and spend a considerable amount of their lives in trees. They look almost like a cross between a squirrel and a beaver, but are only distantly related to either. Instead, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Hutias are a strange group of rodents living on various islands of the Caribbean. Although big, and sometimes looking a little plump, they’re active climbers and spend a considerable amount of their lives in trees. They look almost like a cross between a squirrel and a beaver, but are only distantly related to either. Instead, these rodents are in the Cavimorpha group that includes many unusual rodents of the Americas, such as capybaras, guinea pigs and spiny rats. The largest of all the hutias is Desmarest&#8217;s hutia (Capromys pilorides), found only in Cuba. A new study now shows, based on museum specimens, that the Cuban species is actually two distinct species: Desmarest&#8217;s hutia on the eastern part of Cuba, and the western conga hutia (Capromys geayi) on the western side. “We used ancient DNA research methods to investigate the evolutionary relationships between historically old specimens of hutias that had been collected from Cuba in the 19th century, and were now in the collections of museums in Europe,” says study co-author Samuel Turvey, a professor at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and expert on Caribbean mammals, both alive and extinct. “These included specimens that had originally been named as distinct species by zoologists over a century ago, but had since been largely forgotten.” DNA evidence showed that these two animals split around 1.75 million years ago, long before humans arrived in what is today the Americas. For millions of years, a large, deep-water channel split Cuba into two distinct parts, likely keeping&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/that-cuban-rodent-species-you-never-knew-about-turns-out-its-two-species/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/that-cuban-rodent-species-you-never-knew-about-turns-out-its-two-species/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-291312</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Why are Florida manatees showing up in Cuba and Mexico?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/why-are-florida-manatees-showing-up-in-cuba-and-mexico/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/why-are-florida-manatees-showing-up-in-cuba-and-mexico/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Apr 2022 16:45:45 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Maxwell Radwin]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Maxradwin]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/04/29162035/FEATURE-1-768x450.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=255334</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Caribbean, Central America, Cuba, Florida, Latin America, Mexico, North America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Behavior, Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Environment, Mammals, Marine, Marine Animals, Oceans, Seagrass, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Throughout the winter and spring of 2007, there were several curious sightings of a manatee and her calf in a power plant intake canal in the Cuban town of Santa Cruz del Norte, approximately 33 miles (54 kilometers) east of Havana. Manatees in Cuba aren’t known to frequent power plant canals. That kind of behavior [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Throughout the winter and spring of 2007, there were several curious sightings of a manatee and her calf in a power plant intake canal in the Cuban town of Santa Cruz del Norte, approximately 33 miles (54 kilometers) east of Havana. Manatees in Cuba aren’t known to frequent power plant canals. That kind of behavior is more characteristic of those found in Florida, where colder temperatures force the animals to seek out warm industrial waterways. Researchers shared the information with the US Geological Survey’s (USGS) Manatee Individual Photo-identification System, which has spent over 50 years documenting and registering photos of manatees in the country, often through unique body scars caused by passing boats. The system currently has more than 5,000 manatees in its database. This particular manatee had several scars over its left flipper and across its tail, allowing researchers to confirm it was the same manatee spotted in December 1979 in Crystal River, Florida and again in other rivers in 2005 and 2006. At the time of the new sighting, it seemed like an anomaly. Although some Florida manatees have been known to travel hundreds of miles along the coast to places like Massachusetts and Texas, they had never been documented traveling to Cuba and aren’t known to cross large bodies of deep water. “It was not only the first report of a Florida manatee resident in Cuba but, to me, it was also a revelation that the waters of the Gulf of Mexico and Florida Strait might be&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/why-are-florida-manatees-showing-up-in-cuba-and-mexico/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/why-are-florida-manatees-showing-up-in-cuba-and-mexico/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-255334</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Cuba boosts marine protected coverage with new area spanning reefs to mangroves</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/01/cuba-boosts-marine-protected-coverage-with-new-area-spanning-reefs-to-mangroves/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/01/cuba-boosts-marine-protected-coverage-with-new-area-spanning-reefs-to-mangroves/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Jan 2022 16:25:05 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Elizabethalberts]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/01/27161523/Hawksbill-_-WCS-%C2%A9-Noel-Lopez-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=252069</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Cuba]]>
						</locations>
					
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Hawksbill turtles, Antillean manatees, and groupers — these are just a few inhabitants of a newly designated marine protected area (MPA) in Cuba. This week, Cuba publicly announced that it had established the new MPA off its northwest coast in an area known as Este del Archipiélago de Los Colorados, which translates into English as [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Hawksbill turtles, Antillean manatees, and groupers — these are just a few inhabitants of a newly designated marine protected area (MPA) in Cuba. This week, Cuba publicly announced that it had established the new MPA off its northwest coast in an area known as Este del Archipiélago de Los Colorados, which translates into English as “East of Los Colorados Archipelago.” Spanning 728 square kilometers (281 square miles), the MPA will provide protection for mangrove forests, seagrass beds and coral reefs, and helps boost the nation’s overall marine protected coverage to 28.5% of its marine continental shelf. Natalia Rossi, the Cuba country director for the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), an organization that helped implement the MPA, said the new site is noteworthy since this part of the Cuban coastline previously lacked protection. Moreover, the region is an important spawning site for coral reefs and fish like groupers and snappers. “[Research] shows that a lot of fish that spawn there provide the larvae for other populations in the region, including the southern United States,” Rossi told Mongabay. “There is a lot of connectivity also for migratory species, including North American shorebirds.” The region hosts a range of other marine species, like critically endangered hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata), loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) and American crocodiles (Crocodylus acutus). Cuba&#8217;s newest MPA, Este del Archipiélago de Los Colorados, will help protect mangrove forests, seagrass beds and coral reefs. Image © Miguel Adrian Pino / WCS. A third of the MPA comprises the Corona San Carlos&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/01/cuba-boosts-marine-protected-coverage-with-new-area-spanning-reefs-to-mangroves/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/01/cuba-boosts-marine-protected-coverage-with-new-area-spanning-reefs-to-mangroves/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-252069</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Nail paint helps researchers estimate numbers of rare Cuban bat species</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2019/09/nail-paint-helps-researchers-estimate-numbers-of-rare-cuban-bat-species/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2019/09/nail-paint-helps-researchers-estimate-numbers-of-rare-cuban-bat-species/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Sep 2019 11:34:04 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2019/09/09083153/Cuban-greater-funnel-eared-bat-%C2%A9CarolinaSotoNavarro_ZSL-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=222241</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Caribbean and Cuba]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Bats, Biodiversity, Caves, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Mammals, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[One of the world’s rarest bats, the Cuban greater funnel-eared bat, is known from just a single remote cave in the island’s west. The bat was in fact thought to be extinct until researchers rediscovered several individuals in the cave, locally known as Cueva la Barca, in 1992. Nearly three decades later, very little remains [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[One of the world’s rarest bats, the Cuban greater funnel-eared bat, is known from just a single remote cave in the island’s west. The bat was in fact thought to be extinct until researchers rediscovered several individuals in the cave, locally known as Cueva la Barca, in 1992. Nearly three decades later, very little remains known about the species. But now, following a survey that involved nail paint to mark individual bats, researchers have estimated that there are fewer than 750 Cuban greater funnel-eared bats (Natalus primus) in the cave. This is the first ever scientific estimation of the species’ population size, researchers say. “It was previously believed, based on visual sightings, that there were less than a few thousand Cuban greater funnel-eared bats in the cave,” Jose Manuel De La Cruz Mora, a bat specialist at Cuba’s Natural History Museum of Pinar del Río and a Segré-EDGE Fellow at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), told Mongabay in an email. Overall, though, there is very little research on the species, De La Cruz Mora said, likely because there are very few researchers specialized in the ecology of bats in the region. There’s also the added challenge of counting and studying the last known population of a species. But there was an urgent need to figure out how many bats lived in the cave as a first step, De La Cruz Mora added. The Cuban greater funnel-eared bat is currently listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, and the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2019/09/nail-paint-helps-researchers-estimate-numbers-of-rare-cuban-bat-species/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2019/09/nail-paint-helps-researchers-estimate-numbers-of-rare-cuban-bat-species/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-222241</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Field Notes: Expedition to Cuba seeks out new and endemic species</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2016/08/field-notes-expedition-to-cuba-seeks-out-new-and-endemic-species/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2016/08/field-notes-expedition-to-cuba-seeks-out-new-and-endemic-species/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Aug 2016 15:46:05 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elizabeth Devitt]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2016/08/01192148/FEAT-2-2-510x330.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=188970</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Caribbean, Cuba, and Latin America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Conservation, Ecology, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Environment, Habitat, Rainforests, Species Discovery, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A map of Cuba doesn’t give you any feel for what it’s like to traverse the Latin American country. On paper, it’s 1,250 kilometers (780 miles) long, but never more than 190 kilometers (119 miles) wide. In reality, the landscape is full of surprises as it changes from sandy beaches to impenetrable wetlands, and rolling [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Ana Porzecanski (director of AMNH’s Center for Biodiversity and Conservation) and Spencer Galen (AMNH Richard Gilder Graduate School Ph.D.-degree candidate) prepare field collections. The scientists worked around the clock in Cuba. The ornithology team opened their nets by dawn, while the bat people set up nets at night, and the herpetologist was always coming and going, says Porzecanski. Photo courtesy of ©AMNH A map of Cuba doesn’t give you any feel for what it’s like to traverse the Latin American country. On paper, it’s 1,250 kilometers (780 miles) long, but never more than 190 kilometers (119 miles) wide. In reality, the landscape is full of surprises as it changes from sandy beaches to impenetrable wetlands, and rolling plains to heavily forested mountains. Traveling can be tough. “People don’t realize how big the main island is,” says Ana Luz Porzecanski, director of the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation at the American Museum of Natural History based in New York City. “Rain and rough roads can make locations much more inaccessible than they appear on a map.” Those challenges confronted the expedition of scientific discovery that Porzecanski co-led in 2015 to Alejandro de Humboldt National Park, the largest protected area in the Caribbean. Cuba boasts many endemic species, only found on that Caribbean island, says Porzecanski: “One of every two plants in Cuba are found only there. For amphibians, it’s off the charts, something like 95 percent are endemic to Cuba. So that tells you there’s a high percentage of species that are&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2016/08/field-notes-expedition-to-cuba-seeks-out-new-and-endemic-species/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2016/08/field-notes-expedition-to-cuba-seeks-out-new-and-endemic-species/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-188970</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Cuba moves to protect sharks</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2015/10/cuba-moves-to-protect-sharks/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2015/10/cuba-moves-to-protect-sharks/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Oct 2015 22:32:01 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2015/10/03142331/marine_0390-495x330.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Caribbean, Cuba, and Latin America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Oceans, Overfishing, and Sharks]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Cuba, home to about one-fifth of the world&#8217;s roughly 500 shark species, moved to protect the fishes last week. The Cuban government released a &#8220;National Plan of Action&#8221; to conserve and sustainably manage sharks, which have been declining rapidly around the globe in recent years. The plan, released last Wednesday, was crafted by Cuban scientists [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Cuba, home to about one-fifth of the world&#8217;s roughly 500 shark species, moved to protect the fishes last week. The Cuban government released a &#8220;National Plan of Action&#8221; to conserve and sustainably manage sharks, which have been declining rapidly around the globe in recent years. The plan, released last Wednesday, was crafted by Cuban scientists working with international institutions, according to a press release from the U.S.-based NGO Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), one of the contributors to the plan. After years of economic isolation, Cuba contains some of the region&#8217;s most pristine marine habitats. The plan enacts new protections for the country&#8217;s most vulnerable shark species and measures to prevent overfishing of all sharks in Cuban waters. It also anticipates a series of protected zones for critical shark habitats. Since sharks migrate thousands of miles, the plan should have a positive effect on shark populations in the U.S., Mexico, and Caribbean, according to the press release. “This plan is a huge step forward for Cuba and the rest of the region,” said Elisa Garcia, director of Cuba&#8217;s Office of Fishing Regulations and Science, in the press release. “It lays the foundation for coordinated data collection to understand the threats sharks face and to take conservation actions by setting limits on fishing, establishing closures, and protecting juveniles and critical habitat.” The plan comes on the heels of other measures Cuba has taken to study and protect sharks. Since 2010, scientists at the University of Havana have been working with fishermen to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2015/10/cuba-moves-to-protect-sharks/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2015/10/cuba-moves-to-protect-sharks/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-154616</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Parrots of the Caribbean: extinction looms in the Bahamas</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2012/10/parrots-of-the-caribbean-extinction-looms-in-the-bahamas/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2012/10/parrots-of-the-caribbean-extinction-looms-in-the-bahamas/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Oct 2012 18:04:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Zach Fitzner]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2012/10/parrots-of-the-caribbean-extinction-looms-in-the-bahamas/</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Caribbean and Cuba]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Birds, Commentary, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Extinction, Green, In-situ Conservation, Islands, Parks, Parrots, Pet Trade, Pets, Protected Areas, Saving Species From Extinction, Solutions, Wildlife, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Cuban Amazon in the Grand Cayman islands, a different subspecies than the Bahamas&#8217; Cuban Amazon. Photo by: Lhb1239. I think about extinction a lot. It’s only natural for someone in my line of work. On my way to work I drive past the Colorado National Monument. Even from a distance it’s impressive: piles of dark [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Cuban Amazon in the Grand Cayman islands, a different subspecies than the Bahamas&#8217; Cuban Amazon. Photo by: Lhb1239. I think about extinction a lot. It’s only natural for someone in my line of work. On my way to work I drive past the Colorado National Monument. Even from a distance it’s impressive: piles of dark schist 1,500 million years old; Wingate sandstone from the age of dinosaurs, all of it formed into cliffs, carved into spires. I can see Independence monument from the highway; a tall tower of tan sandstone that John Otto climbed near the beginning of the 20th century without rope. The monument is a display of the massive changes in the world. I often think about the rainforests and the oceans that once covered the land. Ecosystems have come and gone, the planet destroyed and rebuilt over and over. I get to work in the morning and the reminders of the past don’t stop. Piles of fossil casts line shelves, sit on tables, and often clutter the floor. The walls are covered by old skulls and artifacts; dugout canoes hang from the ceiling, more reminders of a world long lost and of one we seem to be losing. On any given day I might work on creating a replica of a skeleton of an extinct tyrannosaur, an armored fish or a giant sloth. So it’s natural for me to think of the possibility of modern extinction when I work with living animals. I recently spent three months&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2012/10/parrots-of-the-caribbean-extinction-looms-in-the-bahamas/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2012/10/parrots-of-the-caribbean-extinction-looms-in-the-bahamas/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-30197</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Dry forests disappearing faster than rainforests in Latin America</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2012/08/dry-forests-disappearing-faster-than-rainforests-in-latin-america/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2012/08/dry-forests-disappearing-faster-than-rainforests-in-latin-america/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Aug 2012 13:26:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2012/08/dry-forests-disappearing-faster-than-rainforests-in-latin-america/</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Central America, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Latin America, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, South America, and Venezuela]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Deforestation, Dry Forests, Environment, Green, Remote Sensing, and Satellite Imagery]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Latin American countries lose 4% of dry forests in 9 years Click image to enlarge Countries across Latin America lost 78,000 square kilometers of subtropical and tropical dry broadleaf forests between 2001 and 2010, according to a new satellite-based assessment [PDF] published in the journal Biotropica. The research &#8212; based on analysis of data from [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Latin American countries lose 4% of dry forests in 9 years Click image to enlarge Countries across Latin America lost 78,000 square kilometers of subtropical and tropical dry broadleaf forests between 2001 and 2010, according to a new satellite-based assessment [PDF] published in the journal Biotropica. The research &#8212; based on analysis of data from the MODIS sensor on NASA satellites &#8212; looked at vegetation change in ten biomes across 16,000 municipalities in Latin America and the Caribbean. It found that dry forest cover fell from 2.03 million sq km in 2001 to 1.95 million in 2010, or 3.8 percent during the period. By comparison, moist forests &#8212; popularly lumped together as &#8220;rainforests&#8221; &#8212; declined 1.9 percent from 9.52 million sq km to 9.34 million sq km. Dry forest loss was concentrated in Argentina (loss of 67,140 sq km), Paraguay (16,876 sq km), Bolivia (9,041 sq km), and Brazil (2,985 sq km) where industrial soybean agriculture and cattle ranching were fast-expanding. The Chaco ecosystem suffered the brunt of forest clearing as well as forest fragmentation. The authors note that conversion of the dry forest for agriculture and pasture &#8220;represents a major loss&#8221; in carbon stocks. Dry forest in Mato Grosso du Sul, Brazil But not all countries experienced forest loss. Mexico gained 12,810 sq km of dry forest, while Cuba saw recovery of 2,095 sq km of the biome. The authors observed forest recovery in areas that are often too dry to farm, suggesting agricultural abandonment of those lands. Mexico&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2012/08/dry-forests-disappearing-faster-than-rainforests-in-latin-america/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2012/08/dry-forests-disappearing-faster-than-rainforests-in-latin-america/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-30399</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Wikileaks Cuba: More U.S. Cynicism on Climate Change</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2010/12/wikileaks-cuba-more-u-s-cynicism-on-climate-change/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2010/12/wikileaks-cuba-more-u-s-cynicism-on-climate-change/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Dec 2010 01:48:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Nikolas Kozloff]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2010/12/wikileaks-cuba-more-u-s-cynicism-on-climate-change/</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Cuba]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Environment, Green, and Politics]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[As more and more Wikileaks cables become available, a portrait of the U.S. attitude toward climate change is emerging and it is not flattering. In a previous article, I discussed American diplomats’ dismissive views toward Bolivia, a country which has done much to advance a progressive agenda on climate change. In another recently released cable, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[As more and more Wikileaks cables become available, a portrait of the U.S. attitude toward climate change is emerging and it is not flattering. In a previous article, I discussed American diplomats’ dismissive views toward Bolivia, a country which has done much to advance a progressive agenda on climate change. In another recently released cable, however, U.S. officials take a cynical view of Cuba. Over the past year or so, the island nation has criticized the U.S. for strong arming other countries when it comes to international climate change negotiations. Joining forces with leftist countries like Bolivia, as well as fellow island countries such as Tuvalu, Cuba has been an irritating thorn in the side of the Obama administration. Speaking to his superiors, Jonathan Farrar of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana admitted that Cuba was vulnerable to rising temperatures and sea levels, “most notably the potential flooding of an area with great biodiversity on the southwest coast (Zapata Swamp).” Farrar, however, doesn’t dwell on the Zapata matter, choosing instead to quickly change gears and paint a cynical portrait. While Cuba will be on the front line of climate change, the diplomat concedes, the small island nation is simply opportunistic and bent on scoring cheap shot propaganda victories against the U.S. If Farrar had spent more time at Zapata, an extraordinarily bio-diverse area which the earth can ill afford to lose, then maybe he would have adopted a more sympathetic view toward Cuba’s environmental struggle. The swamp is the largest&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2010/12/wikileaks-cuba-more-u-s-cynicism-on-climate-change/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2010/12/wikileaks-cuba-more-u-s-cynicism-on-climate-change/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-33193</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Long-ignored freshwater molluscs in Cuba under threat</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2010/06/long-ignored-freshwater-molluscs-in-cuba-under-threat/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2010/06/long-ignored-freshwater-molluscs-in-cuba-under-threat/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Jun 2010 16:21:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2010/06/long-ignored-freshwater-molluscs-in-cuba-under-threat</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Caribbean and Cuba]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Environment and Green]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Among biologists, Cuba is famous for its diversity of molluscs with some 3,000 species, including the fact that over 90 percent of its land snails live no-were else. Given this, it&#8217;s not surprising that Cuba is known as the &#8216;paradise of malacologists&#8217; (scientists who study molluscs). However, one type of mollusc has been largely ignored [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Among biologists, Cuba is famous for its diversity of molluscs with some 3,000 species, including the fact that over 90 percent of its land snails live no-were else. Given this, it&#8217;s not surprising that Cuba is known as the &#8216;paradise of malacologists&#8217; (scientists who study molluscs). However, one type of mollusc has been largely ignored in Cuba: freshwater. A new study in Tropical Conservation Science hopes to remedy that. According to the study there are 42 known species of freshwater molluscs. Although the percentage of endemic freshwater molluscs (occurring only in Cuba) is not nearly as high as its land snails, it is still considerable. Ten species are only found in Cuba, or nearly a quarter. Yet the study found that a number of these molluscs are in need of protection. &#8220;With the exception of some highly charismatic species of land snails, such as those of the genus Polymita and Liguus, no other species of molluscs are taken into consideration when selecting a protected area or delimiting its borders,&#8221; the authors write. Currently, 24 of Cuba&#8217;s freshwater molluscs are found in the nation&#8217;s over 200 protected areas, leaving 18 unprotected. Three of these are only found in Cuba: Nanivitrea alcaldei, Nanivitrea helicoides, and Pachychilus nigratus. In addition, there are already concerns that the Nanivitrea species may have gone extinct. &#8220;Biodiversity conservation and managing are key activities for the health and existence of many ecosystems. However, mammals, birds or reptiles receive most of the attention, leaving molluscs and other taxa in&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2010/06/long-ignored-freshwater-molluscs-in-cuba-under-threat/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2010/06/long-ignored-freshwater-molluscs-in-cuba-under-threat/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-33987</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Left Must Fine Tune Its Position on Cuba Embargo in Light of Oil Spill</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2010/05/left-must-fine-tune-its-position-on-cuba-embargo-in-light-of-oil-spill/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2010/05/left-must-fine-tune-its-position-on-cuba-embargo-in-light-of-oil-spill/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 May 2010 18:47:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Nikolas Kozloff]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2010/05/left-must-fine-tune-its-position-on-cuba-embargo-in-light-of-oil-spill</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Caribbean, China, Cuba, United States, and Venezuela]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Disasters, Economics, Energy, Environment, Environmental Policy, Fossil Fuels, Green, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Oil, Oil Spills, Politics, Renewable Energy, and Wind Power]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[With no end in sight to the environmental catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico, some may wonder whether BP’s spill could become truly international in scope. That, at least, is the fear in Cuba where people are worried that strong currents could carry the slick to pristine white beaches along the island’s northern coast. In [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[With no end in sight to the environmental catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico, some may wonder whether BP’s spill could become truly international in scope. That, at least, is the fear in Cuba where people are worried that strong currents could carry the slick to pristine white beaches along the island’s northern coast. In a rare moment of cooperation underscoring the grave seriousness posed by the BP spill, the U.S. and Cuban governments have been holding talks on the matter. In the event of landfall, the spill could bring not only ecological devastation but also economic havoc: Cuba’s cash-strapped economy relies on tourists flocking to Varadero beach and any financial loss would add to the damage already unleashed by three 2008 hurricanes as well as the global economic slowdown. Ailing Fidel Castro has used the crisis in the Gulf to score some political points. In an opinion piece, the former Cuban leader decried the environmental catastrophe, claiming the spill underscored how capitalist governments were in league with big corporations. Castro is right on the money in his criticisms. However, the fact is that Cuba, just like Venezuela, is also in thrall to unsustainable oil which places the Gulf of Mexico in environmental peril. Heavily energy dependent on other countries, Cuba has unfortunately sought to lure foreign investment to develop offshore oil deposits. Such investment could add to the region’s already worrying ecological profile. At this point, the last thing the region needs is more offshore oil operations going up&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2010/05/left-must-fine-tune-its-position-on-cuba-embargo-in-light-of-oil-spill/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2010/05/left-must-fine-tune-its-position-on-cuba-embargo-in-light-of-oil-spill/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-34203</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Savior of endangered crocodiles dies of malaria</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2010/02/savior-of-endangered-crocodiles-dies-of-malaria/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2010/02/savior-of-endangered-crocodiles-dies-of-malaria/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>25 Feb 2010 21:41:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2010/02/savior-of-endangered-crocodiles-dies-of-malaria/</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, China, Cuba, Latin America, South America, and Venezuela]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Animals, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Heroes, Ex-situ Conservation, Green, Herps, Hunting, In-situ Conservation, Rainforests, Reptiles, Rivers, Saving Species From Extinction, Solutions, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Crocodile-expert and conservationist, Dr. John Thorbjarnarson, died of falciparum malaria in India on February 14th at the age of fifty-two. While many conservationists work with publicly popular animals like tigers and whales, Thorbjarnarson’s passion was for crocodiles. A Senior Conservation Scientist with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Thorbjarnarson proved instrumental in saving both the Orinoco [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Crocodile-expert and conservationist, Dr. John Thorbjarnarson, died of falciparum malaria in India on February 14th at the age of fifty-two. While many conservationists work with publicly popular animals like tigers and whales, Thorbjarnarson’s passion was for crocodiles. A Senior Conservation Scientist with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Thorbjarnarson proved instrumental in saving both the Orinoco crocodile and the Chinese alligator from extinction. Working with the late conservationist Thomas Blohm, Thorbjarnarson established a captive breeding population of the Critically Endangered Orinoco crocodile in Venezuela. Two decades later: the project has released more than 1,500 individual crocodiles into the wild. Thorbjarnarson also initiated surveys of the Chinese alligator in the Yangtze River to find the species decimated: only 120 alligators survived on a measly 11 hectares. Habitat restoration projects and reintroduction programs for captive bred individuals are now progressing for the Critically Endangered species. Thorbjarnarson also worked for over a decade with the Cuban crocodile, also considered Critically Endangered because of unsustainable hunting, habitat loss, and breeding with the American crocodile. WCS has established a memorial fund in John Thorbjarnarson’s name to help continue his work in saving the world’s most endangered crocodilians: Memorial Fund. Related articles DNA uncovers nearly extinct Siamese crocodiles in captivity (11/15/2009) The Critically Endangered Siamese crocodile, once believed to be extinct in the wild, received some uplifting news this week. DNA testing of 69 rescued crocodiles at Phnom Tama Wildlife Rescue Center (PTWRC) in Cambodia found 35 purebred Siamese crocodiles. Reptiles underrepresented on the IUCN Red List&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2010/02/savior-of-endangered-crocodiles-dies-of-malaria/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2010/02/savior-of-endangered-crocodiles-dies-of-malaria/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-35587</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Two-headed turtle found in Havana, Cuba</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2005/10/two-headed-turtle-found-in-havana-cuba/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2005/10/two-headed-turtle-found-in-havana-cuba/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Oct 2005 15:19:39 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2005/10/two-headed-turtle-found-in-havana-cuba/</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Cuba]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Green and Strange]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Two-headed turtle found in Havana, Cuba Two-headed turtle found in Havana, Cuba Rhett A. Butler, mongabay.com October 1, 2005 Photo copyright REUTERS/Claudia Daut. A baby two-headed turtle was found in Havana, Cuba on a river bank in the city forest. According to scientists of the local aquarium who inspected the animal, the turtle appears to [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Two-headed turtle found in Havana, Cuba Two-headed turtle found in Havana, Cuba Rhett A. Butler, mongabay.com October 1, 2005 Photo copyright REUTERS/Claudia Daut. A baby two-headed turtle was found in Havana, Cuba on a river bank in the city forest. According to scientists of the local aquarium who inspected the animal, the turtle appears to be in good health. In the wild, two-headed animals are not likely to live long. Having two heads impairs decision-making and reduces mobility, making it difficult to escape predators. Further, two heads may make it difficult to attact a mate. Related article: Tsunami-orphaned hippo adopted by 100-year old tortoise A baby hippopotamus that survived the tsunami waves on the Kenyan coast has formed a strong bond with a giant male century-old tortoise, in an animal facility in the port city of Mombassa. This article is based on information from Reuters.This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2005/10/two-headed-turtle-found-in-havana-cuba/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2005/10/two-headed-turtle-found-in-havana-cuba/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-61901</doi>				</item>
			</channel>
</rss>