At least on the surface, relations between the U.S. and Cuba appear to be warming. Fidel Castro was even seen wearing a lapel pin with the U.S. and Cuban flag on it, so timing couldn’t have been better for a meeting hosted by EDF and the Brookings Institution where a new path was outlined for the U.S. and Cuba to work together on protecting the diverse marine resources in the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean (read more about EDF’s Ocean program initiatives in Cuba).

The experts at the meeting agreed that the environment could be the easiest issue for the two countries to collaborate on since so much is shared, and so much is at stake. Whatever Cuba does in its waters directly affects, for example, the U.S. fishing industry and vice-versa. Other shared resources include coral reefs, ocean fish populations, habitats for migratory birds, marine mammals and turtles, and the list goes on.

Among the many bright spots on this issue is that President Obama already has the authority to authorize government-to-government initiatives or American NGO projects in Cuba.