In recent years, Cuba has begun to open up its borders to tourism through cruises and some plane travel. As an ecological and relatively technologically-untarnished paradise, Cuba is doing much to preserve its beauty and prevent environmental damage from tourism, as well as from industry and lifestyle. As the home to 263 protected areas and six UNESCO biospheres, Cuba has quite the responsibility to maintain its ecosystems and environment. Because of its isolation from most of the western world and status as an island, it is in a unique position to simply maintain what it has, rather than try to revert past bad environmental decisions. Years of limited development have meant that Cuba’s cities pollute less, Cuba’s citizens live more sustainably, and it is less of a ditch than most other countries. It will be imperative for Cuba to keep its ecological serenity in high regard as it begins to open up and allow 100s of times more visitors than ever before, which it may achieve by limiting the fossil fuel usage of tourists by regulating its hospitality and transportation sectors, establishing clearly defined ecological sanctuaries which have very limited tourism or none at all, and limiting the number of flights into the country, as well as positioning airports and other waste magnets far from any bodies of water or easily contaminable areas.
Many countries are facing environmental issues brought on by tourists, and are having to weigh the importance of tourism for their country’s economy to its effects on the country’s environment. A prime example of a country highly affected by tourism is the Philippines which had to close a few of its islands to all visitors to safely resuscitate them after years of extreme environmental destruction. Many countries are strict about how many visas they give out, but tourism is so popular with the global population that billions of trips are taken every year and natural habitats are prime destinations. Possibly the best example of a country taking charge of protecting its environment from the devastating effects of tourism in Costa Rica which has devoted an estimated 26% of its land to national parks, wildlife reserves and protected lands, and its international and national NGOs, local businesses, natives and government organizations also have played a major part in the success of the ecotourism programs. Combination efforts by public and private sectors are likely the most appealing solution, but Cuba has a mostly nationalized economy, which means its government has the brunt of the responsibility to keep tourism in check. Currently, Cuba seemingly prioritizes its economy over its environment, but recently its government has been shifting its narratives towards sustainability. Foreign businesses such as hotel chains are under strict scrutiny from the government and have to go through many checks to be able to operate within the country, which is unlikely to change and goes well with the idea of Cuba imposing more environmental regulations. The action of opening up to the west shows that Cuba is putting its environment on the back burner, but it’s confident that tourism will not contribute to the degradation of its environment and has said it will be prioritizing its natural assets over the long term. Climate change means Cuba is at risk of losing landmass to water levels rising and having its habitats destroyed from ecosystem change and pollution. As stated before some possible realistic solutions are allocating limited fossil fuel usage to tourists by regulating its hospitality and transportation sectors, establishing clearly defined ecological sanctuaries which have very limited tourism or none at all, and limiting the number of flights into the country, as well as positioning airports and other waste magnets far from any bodies of water or easily contaminable areas. All of these solutions could easily garner international support and will likely make Cuba even more attractive to tourists which are environmentally focused, which is a rapidly rising demographic. Hopefully, Cuba will continue to prosper after COVID with its opening up to the world and can learn to mitigate the devastating effects of tourism by protecting its natural havens.
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May 2022
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