A report of the Surfrider Foundation granted Puerto Rico a grade of “D” regarding the status of its Beaches and established measures the island can take to mitigate coastal erosion, such as prioritizing “natural infrastructure” through the rehabilitation of dunes and mangroves.
The document represents a wake-up call on issues that have not necessarily been widely discussed in the public sphere, in order to establish more and better policies for the protection of the coastal zone, stated experts consulted by The new day.
The analysis, corresponding to 2023 and which analyzes the state of beaches nationwide in the United States, gave Puerto Rico a “poor” rating in the categories of sediment management, coastal protection and infrastructure development. Regarding the measures to confront the rise in sea levelgranted an “OK”, so, on balance, the grade is a “D”.
Published a few days ago, the report highlights that Puerto Rico lacks a sediment management plan, a document that would allow establishing policies tailored to the conditions of each coastal zone. Likewise, it highlights that even no policy has been firmly stipulated that prioritizes the use of “natural infrastructure” to protect coastsinstead of the so-called “hard structures” – such as stone coverings – that tend to generate unwanted repercussions on the terrestrial maritime zone.
“There have been very few groups or people who have worked on the first criterion, which is the regional sediment management plan,” said the geological oceanographer. Maritza Barreto Ortaby highlighting the importance of having this guide, which must be based on a kind of inventory of the composition of the beaches.
“The regional plan consists of knowing what you have and recognizing the value of those sands, that mud and the different sediments, and planning and protecting. For example, if you know that you have a beach like Flamenco, in Snakewhich mostly has particles that are sand, and almost 90% of those sands come from the reef and the seagrasses, I can protect that reef because the purpose is to protect the beach,” commented the director of the Puerto Rico Coastal Planning and Research Institute.
Upon a request for reaction from The new daythe secretary of Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DRNA), Anais Rodriguez Veganoted that the agency was not consulted by the Surfrider Foundation and stressed that “We do not agree with the result”, but “we recognize the importance of this type of studies in environmental management”.
In her statements, the official invited the organization to share the “specific data and the criteria used in its evaluation,” while highlighting measures implemented by the government, such as the declaration of corals as critical structures and the state decree of emergency for the coastal erosion.
“Likewise, this quarter, together with the United States Corps of Engineerswe will be presenting the 'Coastal Study', which precisely proposes the acquisition and removal of more than 70 structures on the coast of Rincón, setting a precedent in coastal management in the United States and reflecting the effort and innovation that Puerto Rico is putting into the protection of its coasts,” added Rodríguez Vega.
The Program Manager of the Surfrider Foundation in Puerto Rico, Hector “Tito” Varelastressed that, although the report segregates the evaluation into multiple lines, It is key to analyze the different components as a “conglomerate”.
Varela pointed out that, in recent years, There has been a surge in environmental activism at the community level that has not yet translated into policies aimed at eradicating practices harmful to the protection of beaches., including excessive construction. Initiatives such as legislation to impose a temporary moratorium on construction on the coasts, as well as to establish a comprehensive public policy for the management of these ecosystems, have failed to advance.
Among the data that the Surfrider Foundation study exposes, is a 239% increase in permits granted for “new developments” in the coastal zone that has been recorded “in the past years.”
“We need to work on a national boundary that can clearly establish the parameters for the construction processes. (…) It is important that government agencies sit down with the organizations that work with all these conservation processes,” Varela emphasized.
Barreto Orta, member of the Committee of Experts and Advisors on Climate Change (Ceacc), attached to the DRNA, mentioned that, In other jurisdictions, a clear hierarchy of the strategies required to mitigate coastal erosion in the face of phenomena such as sea level rise has been established.as well as to protect the infrastructure near the coastline, a concept that must be replicated in Puerto Rico.
“You will find that states like Florida already have, as public policy, laws that support that, when you are going to mitigate, the priority is (to resort to) natural infrastructure.”such as the rehabilitation of dunes and mangroves, said Barreto Orta, specifying that the guidelines defined by the Ceacc promote this type of action.
The absence of a public policy, said Barreto Orta, opens the door for municipalities or even private citizens to resort to non-recommended methods to try to protect coastal constructions.