Freedivers, leftover cables and bits of clay: Cuba gets inventive to save its pristine reefs amid US blockade

With limited resources and sanctions tightening, conservationists are forced to find new ways to protect the coral reefs of Ciénaga de Zapata national park At 8am, scuba divers gather to collect plastic and drinks cans from the sea at Cuba’s Ciénaga de Zapata national park. Amid a power crisis that has virtually paralysed the country’s economy, they use an electric trailer to move to a designated spot. In only a few hours, they have collected five sacks of cans and waste. Lack of environmenta...

By Natalia Torres Garzón in Zapata, Cuba. Photographs by Antonio Cascio