The U.S. territory of Puerto Rico not too long ago gained a brand new marine protected space off the island’s central north coast.
The MPA, named Jardines Submarinos de Vega Baja y Manatí or the Vega Baja and Manatí Underwater Gardens, spans 202 sq. kilometers (77 sq. miles) and is the end result of a 16-year effort by a coalition of native communities and NGOs.
It’s comprised of a number of critically necessary ecosystems, together with coral reefs, mangrove forests and seagrass beds, and is residence to greater than a dozen threatened species, together with the higher Caribbean manatee (Trichechus manatus manatus) and a number of other species of sea turtles.
“Juvenile sea turtles foraging within the shallow coral reef and seagrass habitats will obtain added safety with zoning designed to cut back potential conflicts with leisure vessels,” Wildlife Conservation Society scientists instructed Mongabay in an e-mail. “This can even afford safety to numerous species of corals that develop there,” they added.
The brand new MPA can be a web site for native small-scale fishing and a number of other ecotourism tasks. The coalition organized to ascertain the MPA so it will probably proceed for use by locals and on the similar time shield the sources they depend on for sustenance and income.
“These ecosystems nourish us and maintain our high quality of life,” Ricardo Laureano, main member of Vegabajeños Impulsando Desarrollo Ambiental Sustentable (VIDAS), mentioned in a press launch. VIDAS is among the native teams that organized to ascertain the MPA.
“It took 16 years of exhausting work, beginning in 2007, to get right here. Over time, we rallied neighbors, knocked on doorways, and engaged native and nationwide leaders to focus on the important want to guard this Reserve,” Laureano mentioned.
Vega Baja y Manatí joins greater than 30 different marine protected areas in Puerto Rican waters. Greater than 27% of the island’s territorial waters are protected, putting Puerto Rico effectively on the trail of attaining the worldwide aim of defending 30% of the Earth’s land and water by the yr 2030.
Puerto Rico’s MPAs, together with this latest one, are a part of the Caribbean Organic Hall that stretches from Puerto Rico to Cuba. The area is a biodiversity hotspot stuffed with endemic and threatened species, together with a number of species of sea turtles, manta rays, whales and sharks. By establishing a organic hall of protected areas, native conservation advocates say they hope to attach habitats in a manner that permits for secure migration between them.
The coalition that established Vega Baja y Manatí is now engaged on a co-management plan, which can decide what the MPA can obtain when it comes to safety.
“The imaginative and prescient of the plan is to zone areas throughout the MPA to cut back conflicting makes use of that have an effect on the wildlife in addition to their important habitats (coral reefs, seagrasses, and mangroves) within the coastal areas,” the Wildlife Conservation Society scientists mentioned.
This article by Bobby Bascomb was first printed by Mongabay.com on 12 November 2024. Lead picture by Ron Watkins by way of Ocean Picture Financial institution.
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