Puerto Rican Biosphere Reserve in 'Tierras Adjuntas' – 2005-06 |
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Name [up]
The origin for the name, Puerto Rican Biosphere Reserve in ‘Tierras Adjuntas’, comes from the seventh century when the region was known as ‘Tierras Adjuntas’ by the Coamo municipality. Adjuntas municipality was established in 1815. Today in the twenty- first century we retake ‘Tierras Adjuntas’ in 10 municipalities of the central region to constitute the first Puerto Rican Biosphere Reserve.
Definition [up]
The Puerto Rican Biosphere Reserve in ‘Tierras Adjuntas’ is a place where management strategies are imposed implimented on private properties and protected land to promote solutions for the reconciliation of the ecosystem conservation and the economic development of the region.
Location [up]
The Puerto Rican Reserve is placed located in the central west area of Puerto Rico. The main offices are located within Casa Pueblo’s facilities in Adjuntas. It consists of 28,800 acres of land located in 10 municipalities. Is a mountain region with above sea level elevations from of 2,000 to 4,000 feet above sea level.
Characteristics [up]
The Puerto Rican Reserve is known for its mountain ecosystems, five forests protected by law, great abundance of flora and fauna species, (some oh which are endemic and endangered), and the important hydrographic sources which that supply water to the north, south and west through the Grande de Añasco, Grande de Arecibo, Portugues, Inabon and Grande de Jayuya Rivers. Inside the Reserve area there are six dams that provide electric power and supply potable and irrigation water to more than five municipalities in the south coast of Puerto Rico. The scenic drive crosses through the Reserve with is marked by impressive scenery, through Puntitas, , the highest peak of Puerto Rico, historic zones, haciendas, caves, waterfalls and the ‘Gigante Dormido’Sleeping Giant’ Mountains in Adjuntas can be appreciated.
The home base of the Puerto Rican Reserve is in Adjuntas in Casa Pueblo’s facilities. Among its attributeThe reserve also includes:
- The nucleus zone consists of Pueblo and La Olimpia Forests.
- Grande de Arecibo River emerges in the protected area of La Olimpia Forest. The two main contributors are Pellejas River, which emerges in Pueblo Forest and Garzas River, which emerges in Guilarte Forest.
- Grande de Arecibo River supplies potable water to more than a million inhabitants from Adjuntas, Utuado, Arecibo and to the Metropolitan area, contributing also to Puerto Rico’s economy.
- Guayo Lake supplies potable and irrigation water through a tunnel that passes across Cordillera Central to Yauco , Lajas and it’s agricultural valley.
- Garzas Lake supplies potable water to Peñuelas and Ponce in addition to generating electrical power.
- Pellejas and Adjuntas Lake supply water through tunnels to Caonillas Lake to benefit the residents of Utuado. Adjuntas has a total of five lakes.
- The Adjuntas municipality is known as the city of the forests and lakes. Pueblo Forest has a history with great communitarian eloquence, and Guilarte and La Olimpia Forest are located at 3,200 feet above sea level elevation with great spectacular scenery.
Added To to the list above you must add themust also be the 19,000 residents, and the green scenery with peaks and mountains like the ‘Gigante Dormido’ (‘The sleeping Sleeping Ggiant’). It enjoys an envious temperature all year round that varies between 40 and 78 degrees Fahrenheit. The road of the scenic drive crosses the town from east to west. In addition it counts with a modern resort, hotel, hostelsries, restaurants and a wide vial net. CThe coffee, citrice and bananas plantations are the main agricultural produce of the region.
In the middle of the town there is a beautiful and historic public square, Aristedes Moll Boscana, where several great Puerto Rican and Latin American men have been present like Eugenio Maria de Hostos and Gabriela Mistral.
Coverage [up]
With the purpose goal of compatibility of ecosystem conservation and economic development, the Puerto Rican Reserve consists of four interrelated zones: the nNucleus zone which is formed by the protected areas of Pueblo and La Olimpia Forests; the bBuffer zone like such as the area surrounding the Pueblo and La Olimpia Forest where private activities do not damage the nucleus zone; the tTransition zone that includes the areas of major urban intervention where the main pilot projects for sustainable development are developed and; the special zone like such as the area that covers the conservation plan ofareas of highly sensitivitye areas of Adjuntas and Adjacent Municipalities, approved by the Board of Planning of Puerto Rico.
Functions [up]
The Puerto Rican Reserve must comply with three major complimentary functions. One function is conservation to protect genetic resources, the different species, the ecosystems and the scenery. Another function is to promote economic and human sustainable development for the persons people that live in the Reserve. And theFinally, a logistic support function to encourage and support research, educational, training and observation related to activities aimed at conservation and sustainable development formation and observation activities that are related with activities rearing towards conservation and sustainable development.
Objectives [up]
The objective of the Puerto Rican Reserve is to apply a model of excellent management in Puerto Rico, using the parameters of other protected areas in the world that serves as an answer example to forthe sustainable development onf our island. It tries to harmonize the use of land with political, economical, social and municipal interests in the actual continental development model that is applied in Puerto Rico. It looks for the conservation of fundamentally sensitive areas for this and future generations.
Community's role [up]
One characteristic that distinguishes the Puerto Rican Reserve is its principle that the local and national populations carry a constructive main characterparticipatory role and it isare not excluded from the management unit. It pursues the participation of different sectors of the community like such as schools, farmers, guests house and restaurant owners, merchants, clubs and associations, the municipality, government agencies and universities,y among others.
The Puerto Rican Reserve offers the opportunity to the citizens to participate like as actors and main characters in the this unique initiative of Puerto Rico that marks seeks to create its own destiny. The initiatives campaigns for zoning, monitoring and management emerge from the community community itself that recognize and lives inside the Puerto Rican Biosphere Reserve in ‘Tierras Adjuntas’. It is fFor this reason is that we are offering the opportunity for all thosee interested to be a part of this innovative model of bioregional conservation oin our island.
Internationally [up]
As a parting point bonds of participation have been created established locally and nationally. The initiative is amplified with a proposal to create a new Caribbean and global network that augments the communication, cooperation, investigation and educational bonds.
Intention [up]
The Puerto Rican Reserve looks to be a place of excellence for the rehearsal and demonstration of methods of conservation and sustainable management in on a bioregional scale. The main functions are: contribute to the scenery, ecosystem, species, and conservation of genetic variety conservation, promote the economic and human sustainable development from a socio cultural and ecological point of view to strengthen the democratic participation that takes assumes responsibilities in this country.
Initial Plan of Action - 2006 [up]
As a parting point the following will be done:
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Education - develop a broad educational program that describes the Reserve, its benefits and what to do to protect and develop it.
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Economy - create the initial conditions for the participation of different sectors and of the municipality, rearing orienting towards a sustainable variety of eco tourism sustainable development.
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Conservation and Management
- Offer and Implement implement management plans in private properties;
- Establish monitoring water quality monitoring stations in the rivers
- Students from the ICBC- will participate with Adjuntas’ schools in reforestation activities as part of the Management Plan for the Hydrographic sources of the Puerto Rican Reserve.
- Follow up to the permanent pavilion of biodiversity monitoring in Pueblo Forest
- Reforestation for the recuperation of Pueblo and La Olimpia Forest with trees that sustain the wild life
- Locating with GIS the management, sustainable development and recuperation areas in the nucleus, buffer and transition zones of the Puerto Rican Biosphere Reserve in ‘Tierras Adjuntas’.
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Government
- Department of Agriculture- impulse encourage change in public politics policies to shaded coffee cultivation
- Adjuntas Municipality – Propose public politics policies that contribute to sustainable developments with the improvement of the roads to access the forest, the cleanliness and décor of the town, trolley bus use, solar energy in the new public square lighting, etc.
- University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez Campus- to acknowledge its participation in the Reserve.
- Institutionalize the arrival and follow up construction permits solicitation on the Reserve area.
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Symposium: Puerto Rican Biosphere Reserve in ‘Tierras Adjuntas’ and sustainable development
- As the first public activity a symposium is going to be held in Adjuntas on March 2-4, 2006. The intention is to fortify and follow up the initial Plan of Action. As a closing act, an artistic, cultural, and educational presentation in the public square with the participation of students and parents of the CIBC is being planned.
In addition, alternatives will be presented such as ecological septic systems, the benefits of coffee with less water, promote the promotion of the sales of natural and artisan articles, and the development of organic fertilizers and orchards, among others.
Urgency [up]
The urgency to implement the Puerto Rican Reserve Plan is due to the need to stop and present alternatives for the aggression against and destruction of highly sensitive territories, , hydrographic sources, flora, fauna, and scenery, by urban spread, water contamination, erosion problems and river and lake sedimentation, saline intrusion and contamination to underwater sources, and noise and air contamination, flora, fauna and Puerto Rican scenery destruction..
History [up]
Casa Pueblo’s trajectory from 1980 has beenis concentrated onin actions and the development of concrete communitarian community-based self- determined plans. In This this way, the bases foundations are established to start and implement an innovative communitarian management and sustainable development plan for the region are set. Among the accomplishments:
- A victorious communitarian community-based fight that stopped the ecological disaster from mining exploitation in 29,600 acres of land in the municipalities of Adjuntas, Utuado, Lares and Jayuya. that would have resulted in mining exploitation.
- Casa Pueblo has been recognized at locally, nationally and internationally for its continuous victories. It owns a permanent workstation with various facilities in its community center. It is an interest site with a lot of visitors.Thousands of visitors come to the center every year.
- Madre Isla coffee represents the economic self sufficiency of Casa Pueblo, allowing to producinge jobs and guaranteinge management continuity and the development of its communitarian community-based self- determined projects of with liberty criterion.
- Pueblo and La Olimpia Forest are law protected areas protected by law, accomplished and managed by the organization’s initiative.
- Casa Pueblo initiatesis a new environmental education strategy that covers spans from the elementary to undergraduate college level. Functional cCollaboration agreements have been established with Washington Irving Elementary School of Adjuntas and University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez Campus.
- Law #268, Acquisition Funds and Conservation for High Ecological Value properties Properties, proposed by Casa Pueblo and approved in 2003, assigned initially alloted $20 million dollars and close to $5 million dollars will be contributed annually and continuously for the protection of new sensitive areas in Puerto Rico.
- Conservation Plan for Sensitive Areas of Adjuntas and Adjacent Municipalities submitted by Casa Pueblo and approved by the Planning Board in 2004. This creates the biggest Conservation District in Puerto Rico made up of 28,800 acres of land in ten municipalities and the first biological corridor of the island that unites Pueblo Forest with Guilarte, La Olimpia, Toro Negro and Tres Picachos forests.
- The Puerto Rican Biosphere Reserve was recognized in September 2005 by the Environmental and Natural Resources Department (ENRD). By an amendment to the agreement with ENRD, Casa Pueblo took the role of communitarian manager of the Reserve.
Related Forest Reserve Network [up]
In 2006, Casa Pueblo initiateds a program to motivate owners of properties in the zone of the Puerto Rican Reserve of the Biosphere in ‘Tierras Adjuntas’ to protect places that are sensitive, or of are sources of water production and sources.
The programIt looks for the voluntary and patriotic participation of all those who want and can support the salvation of the land and its biodiversity which is fundamental to life. The network will encourage others and the participants will receive an orientation in the Forests Auxiliaries program that offered by the government and Conservation Servitude law offer.
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