uerto Rico has recently filled the news due to its financial crisis and the steps the government has (or has not) taken to fix the problem. Social media
bombards my internet homepages, Facebook and Twitter with headlines warning of default and of islanders fleeing their home in hopes of something better on the mainland. Our state university squeezes every last drop from its budget, and informs students to prepare for a hard hit to academia. Yet, despite all the negative media attention and our distressed state, this 3,508 square mile island with over 3 million people flourishes for other notable reasons.
Puerto Rico is a prime example of island biogeography, with distinctly different biomes ranging from humid rainforests, to breezy beaches and lush jungle to arid desert-like hills and mountains. We have rivers, waterfalls and caves, mountainous views that will take your breath away, coral reefs teeming with life in our protected areas, rainforests filled with unique species. The natural resources of this island are priceless and some activists have even coined #crisisisland in an effort to overwhelm social media with positive perspectives of Puerto Rico. Our natural resources are worth protecting, promoting and properly managing and these actions are not only possible, but are underway in a variety of forms.
Puerto Rico is at the heart of scientific research in the Caribbean with educational facilities like the Department of Marine Sciences of the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez and non-profits like Para la Naturaleza. These institutions contribute to our understanding of climate change and diseases on coral reefs, monitor fish spawning aggregations of threatened and endangered fish, and acquire lands then converted to natural protected areas where citizen scientists and visitors can get involved with management of these natural resources. These are just two examples, there are plenty more. It is obvious that Puerto Rico is filled with passionate, environmentally driven people who are determined to showcase the island as more than a financially troubled after-thought of the United States.
P
SEVENSEAS - 85