Recovery Planning for Natural Resources and Parks in Puerto Rico Natural and Cultural Resources Sector Report, Volume I
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Recovery Planning for Natural Resources and Parks in Puerto Rico Natural and Cultural Resources Sector Report, Volume I SUSAN A. RESETAR, ABBIE TINGSTAD, JOSHUA MENDELSOHN, MIRIAM ELIZABETH MARLIER, BETH E. LACHMAN, KATHERINE ANANIA, CHANDRA GARBER, DAVID M. ADAMSON HS AC HOMELAND SECURITY OPERATIONAL ANALYSIS CENTER An FFRDC operated by the RAND Corporation under contract with DHS Published in 2020 Preface On August 8, 2018, the government of Puerto Rico submitted to Congress its economic and disaster-recovery plan, as required by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (Pub. L. 115-123). Under a contract with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center (HSOAC) provided substantial support in developing the plan by soliciting and integrating inputs from a wide variety of stakeholders, contributing analysis where needed, and drafting the plan. To support federal agencies evaluating and funding recovery actions, HSOAC is releasing this detailed report for natural resources and park assets in the Natural and Cultural Resources Sector.1 The purpose of this document is to provide decisionmakers greater detail on • the conditions in Puerto Rico prior to the 2017 hurricane season • damage from Hurricanes Irma and Maria • courses of action that we identified to help the sector (and, more broadly, Puerto Rico) recover in a resilient manner • potential funding mechanisms • considerations for implementers as they move forward. This document will likely also be of interest to other stakeholders funding or implementing recovery activities in Puerto Rico, including commonwealth and local agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector. Furthermore, this body of material contributes to the larger literature about natural resources and disaster recovery and resilience and might be of interest to other communities planning for or recovering from similar disasters. This research was sponsored by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and conducted within the Strategy, Policy, and Operations Program of the HSOAC federally funded research and development center (FFRDC). About the Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center The Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Section 305 of Public Law 107-296, as codified at 6 U.S.C. § 185) authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security, acting through the Under Secretary for Science and Technology, to establish one or more FFRDCs to provide independent analysis of homeland security issues. The RAND Corporation operates HSOAC as an FFRDC for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) under contract HSHQDC-16-D-00007. 1 Cultural resources and alternative tourism, also included in this sector, are treated in a separate report (Resetar et al., forthcoming). iii The HSOAC FFRDC provides the government with independent and objective analyses and advice in core areas important to the department in support of policy development, decisionmaking, alternative approaches, and new ideas on issues of significance. The HSOAC FFRDC also works with and supports other federal, state, local, tribal, and public- and private- sector organizations that make up the homeland security enterprise. The HSOAC FFRDC’s research is undertaken by mutual consent with DHS and is organized as a set of discrete tasks. This report presents the results of research and analysis conducted under task order 70FBR218F00000032, “Puerto Rico Economic and Disaster Recovery Plan: Integration and Analytic Support.” The results presented in this report do not necessarily reflect official DHS opinion or policy. For more information on HSOAC, see www.rand.org/hsoac. For more information on this publication, see www.rand.org/t/RR2605. More information about HSOAC’s contribution to planning for recovery in Puerto Rico, along with links to other reports being published as part of this series, can be found at www.rand.org/hsoac/puerto-rico-recovery. iv Contents Preface ........................................................................................................................................... iii Figures .......................................................................................................................................... vii Tables and Boxes ............................................................................................................................. x Summary ....................................................................................................................................... xii Acknowledgments ....................................................................................................................... xxx Abbreviations .......................................................................................................................... xxxiii 1. Natural Resources in Puerto Rico and Their Significance .......................................................... 1 An Overview of Natural Resources and Parks in Puerto Rico .................................................................. 2 The Importance of Natural Resources and Parks to Puerto Rico’s Economy, Community Well-Being, and Resilience ..................................................................................................................................... 6 Developing the Strategy for Recovery .................................................................................................... 14 2. Principles for the Development of Strategies for the Posthurricane Recovery of Puerto Rico’s Natural Resources .................................................................................................................... 16 Social–Ecological Systems: A Conceptual Framework for Natural Resource Recovery ....................... 16 Overview of the Ways in Which Hurricanes Damage Natural Resources .............................................. 19 Principles Underlying Recovery Activities ............................................................................................. 22 Developing Recovery Goals and Courses of Action ............................................................................... 26 3. Recovery of Coastal Resources ................................................................................................. 31 Overview ................................................................................................................................................. 31 Seagrasses and Coral Reefs ..................................................................................................................... 35 Dunes and Beaches .................................................................................................................................. 50 Wetlands .................................................................................................................................................. 60 4. Recovery of Terrestrial Resources ............................................................................................ 69 Overview ................................................................................................................................................. 69 Forests ..................................................................................................................................................... 73 At-Risk Species ....................................................................................................................................... 88 5. Other Natural Resource Issues ................................................................................................ 111 Landslides .............................................................................................................................................. 114 Water Quality ........................................................................................................................................ 119 Debris .................................................................................................................................................... 127 Landfills ................................................................................................................................................ 130 6. Recovery of Parks and Crosscutting Courses of Action ......................................................... 134 Conceptualizing Parks: A Key Human–Nature Interface ..................................................................... 136 Prestorm Conditions and Challenges .................................................................................................... 138 Damage Assessment .............................................................................................................................. 143 Recovery Model and Courses of Action: Parks .................................................................................... 147 Themes and Conclusions ....................................................................................................................... 152 v Crosscutting Courses of Action ............................................................................................................. 152 7. Concluding Remarks and Research Needs .............................................................................. 156 What We Learned in Puerto Rico Recovery Planning for Natural Resources ...................................... 157 Appendix A. Federally Listed Threatened, Endangered, and At-Risk Species in Puerto