| "Maybe one program is not able to acquire a piece of land, but if we combine funding and join efforts, we can achieve the common objective of protecting important ecological areas." | |
| Ernesto Diaz, Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources |
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The acquisition of land slated to become one of Puerto Rico's largest hotels is the latest success in the commonwealth's coordinated efforts to protect more than 100,000 acres over the next 10 years. So far, over 10,000 acres of the island's ecologically important lands have been purchased and will remain undeveloped.
All conservation land acquisition efforts led by Puerto Rico's government, as well as the island's federal agencies and nonprofit organizations, are being bundled together as part of the governor's Heritage 100,000 initiative.
"It's helped to integrate and redouble our land acquisition efforts," notes Ernesto Diaz, natural resources administrator for the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DNER). "Maybe one program is not able to acquire a piece of land, but if we combine funding and join efforts, we can achieve the common objective of protecting important ecological areas."
The latest purchase agreement entered into by DNER will protect land adjacent to the largest mangrove lagoon and wetland in Puerto Rico—the Piñones Natural Reserve. The amount of acreage included will be determined when a survey is complete, but Diaz says the parcel is significant.
A permit for developing the now-abandoned $220 million Costa Serena project was approved more than a decade ago. Public pressure and the area's potential impacts from coastal storms helped "convince the owner to sell," Diaz says.
To help meet the vision of Gov. Aníbal Acevedo-Vilá to preserve 100,000 acres—roughly 15 percent of the island—a committee of staff members from groups committed to acquiring Puerto Rico's lands for protection meets quarterly to prioritize purchases, says Rossana Vidal, land acquisition coordinator for DNER.
Vidal explains that a geographic information system (GIS)–based priority matrix is based on indicators of importance, such as wetlands, rivers of importance, connecting corridors between habitats, cultural resources, and threatened and endangered species.
Diaz notes that while they try to abide by the committee's priorities, the groups are not "precluded from purchasing other areas if they become available." This flexibility enabled DNER to enter into negotiations for the Costa Serena project lands, which "became a priority due to its high ecological value."
DNER works to acquire lands under the Land Stewardship Program, Natural Heritage Program, and the High Ecological Value Trust, and recently submitted its first proposal to the Coastal and Estuarine Land Protection program. Other conservation partners such as the Puerto Rico Conservation Trust, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Trust for Public Lands, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture also acquire lands for protection.
"This has become a morally important tool for protecting high-value ecological areas," Diaz says. "There are challenges in terms of different groups working together, but the result is that we're purchasing lands that are preserving ecological diversity and natural systems."
For more information on Heritage 100,000 or DNER's land acquisition programs, contact Ernesto Diaz at (787) 721-7593, or ediaz@drna.gobierno.prt. You may also contact Rossana Vidal at rvidal@drna.gobierno.prt.
