A geographic perspective of the coastal resources of Puerto Rico in the aftermath of hurricane Maria
Co-PIs: Antonio González Toro1,2 and Tania del Mar López Marrero1,3
1Interdisciplinary Center for Coastal Studies, University of Puerto Rico – UPRM, 2GeoInformatica, Inc., 3Department of Social Sciences and – UPRM
Introduction
HurricaneMariahasbeenthemostdestructivenaturaleventinthehistoryofPuertoRico. The hurricaneimpacteddifferentsectorsandsystemsandcurrentestimatesofthephysicaldamages rangefrom$94to$120billiondollars.Impactswerealsonoticeableinthecoastalresourcesof theisland;includingforexample,coastalerosion,impactsofecosystemssuchascoralreefsand mangroves,andcoastalinfrastructure.Documentingsuchimpactsandwhatwaslearnedfrom thatexperience,constituteasourceofknowledgeandmemorythatcouldbeusedtomanagethe occurrenceoffuturehurricanesandtopromotesystemsresiliency.
Project objective
KeepingwithNOAA/SeaGrantobjectiveofpromotingresilientcoastalcommunitiesand ecosystems,weproposetopublishapublicationthatwill (1) highlightsomeofthecoastal resourcesofPuertoRicoand (2) describetheirrelationshiptohurricaneoccurrenceandimpacts usingHurricaneMariaexperienceasabase. Thispublicationwilldirectlyaddressthequestion: WhatwerethegeneralimpactsofhurricaneMariaacrossseveralimportantcoastalresourcesin PuertoRico?Thepublicationwillalsoincludelessonslearnedorrecommendationforpromoting managementandincreasingresiliencyinthefaceoffuturehurricanes.
Thefollowingtopicswillbeincludedaspartofthepublication:
• Coral Reefs
Coralreefsareimportantecosystemsthatprovidemultipleecosystemservicesbothto humansaswellasotherspecies.Hurricaneshavesignificantimpactsoncoralreefsand theirsurroundings.Thistopicwouldfocusonthevarietyofimpactsthatcoralreefssuffers duetothepassageofhurricaneMaria.Potentialcasestudiesinclude:Reservadel Condado,ReservaNaturaldelaBahíadeJobos, ReservaNaturalLosArrecifesde Guayama.
• Coastal estuaries
Similartocoralreefs,coastalestuariesservebothnaturalandhumanpopulationsin variousway. Mangroves,whichareatypeofestuarinesystem,forexampleserveas sanctuariesforbothendemicandmigratorybirds;theyalsoserveasbuffersfromstorms
tocoastalcommunities.HurricaneMariahadamajorimpactonpracticallyallmangrove forestareasofPuertoRico;thepublicationwillhighlighttheseimpactsonsomeofthe islandscoastalestuaries. Potentialcasestudiesinclude:BosqueEstataldePinones, ReservaNaturallasCabezasdeSanJuan,ReservaNaturaldelaBahíadeJobos,Area NaturalProtegidaMedioMundoyDaguao
• Sandy beaches
Sandybeachesareimportantasthattheyservehumanpopulationsasrecreationalareas andprovidehabitatsfordifferentspecies(suchasseaturtlereproductionareas). Sandy beachesalsoexperiencecoastalgeomorphologicprocessesthataffecttheirusebyhumans andotherspecies.WeproposetodevelopatleasttwoexamplesoftheimpactthatMaria hadonsandybeachesinPuertoRico,onerelatedtocoastalgeomorphologicchanges (erosionanddeposition)andanotherrelatedtohabitatimpacts Potentialcasestudies include:Rinconmunicipality,ReservaNaturaldelCorredordelNoreste,ReservaNatural HaciendaLaEsperanza.
• Public beaches and Balnearios
Publicbeaches,suchasBalnearios,areprimarycoastaleconomiccentersandrecreation. ThesebeachesandplaceswereaffectedbyMaria. Weproposetoincludetwoexamplesof theeffectsthatMariahadontheseresources.Potentialexamplesinclude:Balneariode Anasco,BalneariodeBoqueron,BalneariodeLuquillo.
• Fishing villages (villas pesqueras)
Villaspesquerasorfishingvillagesarethebackboneofthesmallfishingeconomythat serveslocalrestaurantsandtourists. Thereareapproximately40fishingvillagesin PuertoRicothatduetotheirproximitytothecoast,practicallyallweredamagedby hurricaneMaria.Potentialexamplesinclude:AsociaciondePescadoresTresHermanosen Aguada,AsociaciondePescadoresdePuntaSantiagoenHumacao.
• Marinas and beach access
PuertoRicohasabout15marinasthatarehomeportstothousandsofrecreationalboats andthathavedirectaccesstowater,bothasaccessrampsandasports/piers.Many marinasreceivedsignificantimpactfromHurricaneMaria. Potentialexamples:Marinade SanJuan,MarinaPuertodelRey,MarinadeSalinas,ClubNauticodePonce
• Coastal tourist zones
PuertoRicohas13coastaltouristzonesasdeterminedbythePuertoRicoPlanningBoard. AlltheseareascontributemillionstotheeconomyandafterhurricaneMariamostofthe activitieshavebeenstoppedorseverelyaffected. PotentialExamples:ZonadeInteres TurísticodeRincon,ZonadeInteresTurísticodeHumacao.
• Coastal pollution
Afterhurricaneoccurrence,itiscommonforcoastalareastobecomepollutedinmany ways.Forexample,thelackofenergyforfiltrationsystemsresultsinthepouringraw sewageandcontaminantsdirectlytocoastalareas.Potentialsourceofinformationand casesofcontaminationinclude:SurfriderFoundationcoastalmonitoringprogram, AqueductsandSewersAuthoritySewageWaterTreatmentPlants
Structure of the publication
Thepublicationwillconsistinaseriesofsections(listedabove)featuringdifferentcoastal resources. Eachsectionwillcontain: (1) anintroductionthatpresentsadescriptionofthecoastal resourceorfeature(includingitssocietalandecologicalimportance)aswellasitsrelationto hurricaneoccurrenceandimpactsinPuertoRico, (2) mapspresentingthelocationand distributionofthe resourceinPuertoRico, (3) asectionwhereeachexampleisdiscussedinthe contextof hurricaneMaria, viacasestudies,andthatincludelessonslearnedor recommendationsformanagementandresilienceincreaseinthefaceoffuturehurricanes.The textineachsectionwillbeaccompaniedbyaerialimagesandphotographsrelevanttoeachtopic. Itwillalsoincludealistofresources(e.g.,publications,websites)thattheusercanaccessfor furtherinformation.
Data collection and information gathering
Theprimaryformofinformationgatheringfortheexamplesinthebookletwillbeinterviews withexpertsandwithpeoplethatarecurrentlyengagedinvariouswayswiththecoastofPuerto Rico.GISdataforthemapsandaerialphotographsaremostlyavailablefromseveralgovernment sites;thePIshavealreadyidentifiedmostofthese.SomeGISdatawillbegeneratedaspartofthis project.MapswillbepreparedbytheprojectPI(TaniaLopezMarrero). Sincethepublicationis envisionedasarichvisualguide,eachsectionwillcontainphotosofdamagesandimpactsthat willbeprovidedbytheteamandbysomeoftheparticipantsandintervieweesthatwishtodoso.
Deliverable product
Aworddocumentcontainingthetext,alongwithallfiguresandimages(maps,photographs, aerialphotos)willbehandedintoSeaGrantforeditingandforlayoutdesign.OneofthePIs, TaniaLopezMarrero,willworkwithoneofSeaGrantartistsinthelayoutdesign.Thepublication willbeinSpanish.
Wider impact
ThepublicationwillbepreparedtoaidSeaGrantwithmeetingitsobjectivesunderthethematic areaandmission“topromoteresilientcoastalcommunitieswithinPuertoRico”.Thepublication wouldbeprimarilydevelopedasapedagogicresourceaimedatageneralaudience;henceitwill
alsobeinfocuswithSeaGrantsgoaltoeducatethecommunityaboutnaturalandhumansystems onornearthecoast. Weexpectthedocumenttobeuniquesinceitwillprovideafirst-hand accountaboutauniqueexperience(hurricaneMaria’simpact)withinthecoastalcontextthatwill servebothasamemoryandaguidetoestablishactionsbybothcommunitiesandlocal governmentstodealwiththeimpactsoffuturehurricanesintheirrespectivecommunitiesand regions.
Project duration
Thisisaone-yearproject,endingonJanuary2019.
Budget and Budget justification
Wearerequestingatotalof $11,927 toconductthisproject.
• Salaries and wages
Atotalof$7,800isrequestedforaprojectcoordinator,AntonioGonzalezToro,forthe12monthperiodoftheproject(52weeks,5hoursperweekatarateof$30/hour).The projectcoordinatorwillbeinchargeofdirectingandconductingtheproject,andwillbe involveinallthephasesoftheproject:informationgathering,interviews,GISdata collectionanddevelopment,imageandphotographscollection. Theprojectcoordinator willalsodevelopthetextofthepublication.
Atotalof$2,400isrequestedofaprojectassistant(12weeks,10hoursperweekatarate of$20/hour) Theprojectassistantwillaidtheprojectdirectorinconductinginterviews andsearchingforimagesandphotographsthatwillbeincludedaspartofthepublication.
Atotalof$1,700isrequestedtohireanundergraduatestudentfor17weeks(10hoursper week),atarateof$10/hour.ThestudentwillassisttheprojectcoordinatorinGISdata developmentandinconductingliteraturereviewandidentifyingresourcesfordeveloping thetextforthepublication.
• Fringe benefits
Atotalof$27isrequestedtocoverfringebenefitsforthefivestudents(calculatedatarate of1.55%ofthetotalsalaryforeachstudentduringthe17-weeksperiod-$1,700).No fringebenefitsarerequestedfortheprojectcoordinatorandprojectassistant.
• In-kind work and collaboration
Projectco-PI,TaniaLopezMarrero,willprovideherworkasinkindfortheproject.She willworkwiththeprojectcoordinatorinconductinginterviewsanddevelopingthetext andmapsforthepublication.ShewillalsoworkwithSeaGrantartistsinthelayout design.