Chapter 10
Developing and Strategy for an ICZM in Cuba:
Bases and Principles
T.B. Hermindez
10.1
Introduction
\
The territory of the Republic of Cuba, is considered an archipelago of 67 831 km 2 that
lies within the limits of the Cuban island shelf, which has more than 70 000 km 2 • This
archipelago is made up by the island of Cuba, which is the largest, the Island of Youth
(formerly Isle of Pines) and more than 1600 keys and that islands mostly are grouped
mainly in 5 sub archipelagos that surround the Island.
Our territory is in the tropical zone of the Northern Hemisphere, close to the Tropic
of Cancer; it occupies a central position in what is deemed the American Mediterranean, at the entrance to the Gulf of Mexico and separating it from the Caribbean Sea.
Cuba occupies a very important strategic position which controls access to three
important maritime routes: The Strait of Florida (180 km), the Windward Pass (77 km)
and the Strait of Yucatan (210 km). Also, the Strait of Colon (140 km) is between the
island of Cuba and the island of Jamaica. The territorial sea is 12 nautical miles wide,
measured from a base line that connects the outermost points of the Cuban territory
and all the territory between this line and the shore is regarded as inner waters. The
economic or maritime zone next to the territorial sea extends 200 nautical miles
(Borges 1996).
Cuba has 5746 km of coasts, mostly of coral origin, which have open type and sheltered baglike bays. There are excellent sandy beaches at the north coast while the south
coast is generally low and partly muddy. Swamps and wetlands cover 8.26% of the total surface of the country.
Cuba, as most islands is highly biodiverse (Table 1O.1). Local endemism in the marine environment is very rare due to the continuity and interrelationships existing in
the aquatic media. It seems that the Cuban shelf has a bigger species richness than other
Caribbean islands. This high diversity in marine species seems favoured by several
factors. First, Cuba is the largest island of all the Antilles, with a relatively wide marine
shelf in some places, with numerous bays, coves, river mouths and other coastal geographical accidents which allow the existence of a wide diversity of tropical marine
biotopes, which include from open rocky shores, mangroves, seaweed fields, muddy or
sandy bottoms, up to the coral reefs (which can be found as deep as 80 m) (Estudio
Nacional sobre la Diversidad Biol6gica de la Republica de Cuba 1995).
As we will see along this paper, the protection and sustainable use of these valuable
resources constitutes a real challenge on account of the threats caused by marine pollution, the unregulated development of the coastal zone for touristic and industrial aims,
dumping of solid waste and toxic liquids, the inadequate use of fishing arts and the
unexistence oflegal regulations or frames that foster conservation in the widest sense
Developing and Strategy for an ICZM in Cuba:
Bases and Principles
T.B. Hermindez
10.1
Introduction
\
The territory of the Republic of Cuba, is considered an archipelago of 67 831 km 2 that
lies within the limits of the Cuban island shelf, which has more than 70 000 km 2 • This
archipelago is made up by the island of Cuba, which is the largest, the Island of Youth
(formerly Isle of Pines) and more than 1600 keys and that islands mostly are grouped
mainly in 5 sub archipelagos that surround the Island.
Our territory is in the tropical zone of the Northern Hemisphere, close to the Tropic
of Cancer; it occupies a central position in what is deemed the American Mediterranean, at the entrance to the Gulf of Mexico and separating it from the Caribbean Sea.
Cuba occupies a very important strategic position which controls access to three
important maritime routes: The Strait of Florida (180 km), the Windward Pass (77 km)
and the Strait of Yucatan (210 km). Also, the Strait of Colon (140 km) is between the
island of Cuba and the island of Jamaica. The territorial sea is 12 nautical miles wide,
measured from a base line that connects the outermost points of the Cuban territory
and all the territory between this line and the shore is regarded as inner waters. The
economic or maritime zone next to the territorial sea extends 200 nautical miles
(Borges 1996).
Cuba has 5746 km of coasts, mostly of coral origin, which have open type and sheltered baglike bays. There are excellent sandy beaches at the north coast while the south
coast is generally low and partly muddy. Swamps and wetlands cover 8.26% of the total surface of the country.
Cuba, as most islands is highly biodiverse (Table 1O.1). Local endemism in the marine environment is very rare due to the continuity and interrelationships existing in
the aquatic media. It seems that the Cuban shelf has a bigger species richness than other
Caribbean islands. This high diversity in marine species seems favoured by several
factors. First, Cuba is the largest island of all the Antilles, with a relatively wide marine
shelf in some places, with numerous bays, coves, river mouths and other coastal geographical accidents which allow the existence of a wide diversity of tropical marine
biotopes, which include from open rocky shores, mangroves, seaweed fields, muddy or
sandy bottoms, up to the coral reefs (which can be found as deep as 80 m) (Estudio
Nacional sobre la Diversidad Biol6gica de la Republica de Cuba 1995).
As we will see along this paper, the protection and sustainable use of these valuable
resources constitutes a real challenge on account of the threats caused by marine pollution, the unregulated development of the coastal zone for touristic and industrial aims,
dumping of solid waste and toxic liquids, the inadequate use of fishing arts and the
unexistence oflegal regulations or frames that foster conservation in the widest sense