Wildlife has been thriving around detention center and two professors say logical next step is a peace park and conservation zone benefiting US and Cuba

Two professors have put forward a proposal to turn Guantánamo Bay into a science lab and peace park as part of the easing of relations between cold war enemies Cuba and the US.

The proposal was put forth on Thursday in the journal Science, days before Barack Obama is set to become the first sitting US president to visit Cuba since 1928.

“As a result of this accident of history, wildlife has been thriving there, and that is sort of what prompted me also to put forward this idea – we don’t want to lose that,” said Joe Roman, the proposal’s lead author and fellow at the University of Vermont’s Gund Institute.

Obama's address to Cuban people will be highlight of historic visit Read more

Roman, who has traveled to Cuba several times in the last few years for work, said that opening a marine research institution, peace park and conservation zone could benefit both countries and their citizens.

“This model, designed to attract both sides, could unite Cuba and the United States in joint management, rather than serve as a wedge between them, while helping meet the challenges of climate change, mass extinction, and declining coral reefs,” the proposal, which Roman co-wrote with James Kraska, a professor of ocean law and policy at the US Naval War College, stated.

Cuba’s government has considered the US presence at Guantánamo illegal since the 1960s. And while Obama has wanted to close the detention center at the naval base since he took office, he has failed to do so. The continued US presence at the base has been a sticking point between the two countries’ efforts to improve diplomatic relations.

The authors of the proposal emphasized that they think the base should be returned to Cuba, but until then, they see returning the science facilities to the island nation as a positive middle ground. “I strongly believe that the labs should be returned to Cuba and that it is Cuban territory but we wouldn’t want to lose what has been preserved there,” Roman said.

The area around the naval base has seen less human impact than other parts of the Caribbean and is dominated by wildlife, because of the discord between the two countries. This is similar to the Demilitarized Zone, an ecological hotbed home to thousands of species that are extinct or endangered in other parts of Korea.

'No one but himself to blame': how Obama's Guantánamo plans fell through Read more

The Caribbean area is also an important habitat for species of iguana, manatee and turtles.

“Almost all the scientists I’ve spoken with, whether they are in the United States or are in Cuba, are excited about the idea that there could be a place in the future where we could work together,” Roman said.

This could also be a boon for scientists in Cuba, who have more limited resources than in the US.

If the proposal is a success, the detention facility would join the ranks of other military properties transformed into academic institutions. Like Ciudad del Saber, or City of Knowledge, located at a former US army headquarters in Panama.

“A first step in returning the land to Cuba, the Guantánamo peace park and research center would encourage nations to convert military bases and conflict zones into areas of creativity, cooperation, and biodiversity conservation,” the proposal said.

“For the next generation, the name Guantánamo could become associated with redemption and efforts to preserve and repair international relations and the planet”