A CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION PLAN FOR THE SAN JUAN BAY ESTUARY: THE CLIMATE READY ESTUARY WORKBOOK EXPERIENCE 2016 National Nonpoint Source Training Workshop Boston, Massachusetts November 2, 2016
Dr. Jorge Bauza-Ortega Sciences Director San Juan Bay Estuary Program The San Juan Bay Estuary
Ecological importance • Wetlands, coral reefs, seagrass beds, lagoons, sandy beaches, rocky shores. • The SJBE provides home for over: – 160 bird species – 19 reptile/amphibian species – 124 fish species – 300 wetland plant species • The SJBE contains the largest protected mangrove forest in Puerto Rico, that comprises 33% of the total mangrove acreage on the island.
Economic importance
• Over 1 million tourists visit the port through 700 annual cruise ship trips • 9.8 million travelers use the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport, located in the watershed • Recieves 80% of the products imported to Puerto Rico
Recreational importance and others values & services. Land-Use andLAND Paved USE Area Map
National Estuary Program USEPA ACTIONS 49 actions
(WS) WATER SEDIMENTS (16 actions)
(HW) FISH AND HABITAT (18 actions)
(PI) PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT (7 actions)
(AD) AQUATIC DEBRIS (8 actions) Global Changes Stressor: Extreme Weathers.
Global Changes Stressor: Extreme Weathers. Overflows… Global Changes Stressor: Seal level rise.
Extreme high tides: Caño Martín Peña Environmental Justice Community. High Tides: Caño Martín Peña Environmental Justice Community Global Changes Stressor: Sea Level Rise Documented in the San Juan Bay Estuary.
Fuente: Prof. Aurelio Mercado 2015 June 16, 1947, Research and RDB* members actively discussed polar melting: from a classified 1947 meeting Development
* Research Board and Developmen meeting, t Board, Washington, Joint Chiefs of Staff, D.C. Pentagon June 16, 1947, Research and Ahlmann gains backing from Carl-Gustav RossbyDevelopment Board meeting, Washington, D.C. June 16, 1947, Research and Ahlmann gains backing from Carl-Gustav RossbyDevelopment
Such changes of enormous significance,Board and “can only be the result of a long –period changemeeting, in the climate of the high places.” --C-G Rossby, 3 June 1947 Washington, D.C. The San Juan Bay Estuary Program taking action… The Climate Ready Estuaries program works with the National Estuary Programs and other coastal managers to:
• Assess climate change vulnerabilities. • Develop and implement adaptation strategies. • Engage and educate stakeholders. • Share the lessons learned with other coastal managers. • THE WORKBOOK… THE WORKBOOK:
• Designed as a step-by-step approach that will guide managers through the development of a broad assessment of climate change risks in their own systems.
• The vulnerability assessment should be used as a communication tool and a priority setting tool, and feed directly into the development of an action plan. A workshop- conversation/discussion was held in the regional offices of the USEPA on September 12, 2012 sponsored by the SJBE Program.
Twenty-two scientists attended representing academia, environmental organizations, the private sector, and state and federal agencies. Climate change risks identification:
San Juan Bay Estuary Program Objective
Effectively control point and nonpoint sources of pollution
San Juan Bay Estuary Climate Change Stressor
Warmer water temperatures
San Juan Bay Estuary Risks
Warmer water will hold less dissolved oxygen. Greater algae growth may occur. Warmer temperature may increase toxicity of pollutants A total of 68 Risks Due to Climate Changes were identified for the San Juan Bay Estuary.
Step 4:
The objective is to understand the nature of the risk, its impacts and consequences, the probability that it will occur, and its spatial extension (how much of the estuary will be impacted) in order to begin to prioritize the risks on the basis of those specific criteria. Step 5 end the Vulnerability Assessment section of the Workbook !
Step 5 completes the vulnerability assessment, and consists of reviewing the risks identified and analyzed in the prior steps. The objective is to create a matrix in which the risks are organized on the basis of the probability they will occur and the consequences of their impacts.
Then those risks with a high probability of occurrence (or that are already occurring) and whose impacts are high—the combination producing what are known as Red Risks are prioritized and an adaptation plan is designed for them. A total of 28 Red Risks were identified for the San Juan Bay Estuary. Step 6 and 7 start the development of the adaptation plan but we have first to decide on the concrete action to be taken for each of the 28 Red Risks identified in Step 5. That is, the SJBE Program decides which risks will be mitigated and which risks it will accept, transfer, or avoid. The objective of Step 8a and 8b are to identify and select a series of potential adaptation actions to mitigate the risks identified in Step 7, in other words, to reduce the probability and consequences entailed by the risk.
On the basis of certain specific criteria, we only selected those adaptation actions that the SJBE Program will be able to implement with its available resources. During Step 8a, several adaptation actions were identified, but not all were feasible.
Therefore, each of the actions was further evaluated using the following criteria: Risk reduction potential Feasibility and effectiveness Cost and cost effectiveness Ancillary costs and benefits Fairness and Social Justice Robustness: Finally, these are the climate change adaptation selected for immediate implementation…
ACTION 1: Restore and enhance coastal ecosystems such as dunes impacted by extraction of sand and other causes.
ACTION 2: Implement a plan for frequent maintenance of stormwater and sewage collection systems.
ACTION 3: Begin an educational campaign aimed at restaurants on the proper management and disposal of oils and grease. Action Plan 1: Reactive “soft” measures: Restoring living shoreline…red mangroves planting in the Condado Lagoon. Community-based…
Action Plan 1: Coastal Dune Restoration in Piñones Recreational Beaches.
1 2 3
4 4 Punto más bajo de la pendiente Punto más alto de la pendiente 5
6 Fotos por: Zenaida M. Vázquez
Sargassum: from a problem to a resource… 1 2
ACTION 2:
Implement a plan for 4 frequent maintenance 3 of stormwater and sewage collection systems in the San Juan Bay Estuary Watershed. 5 ILLICIT DISCHARGES DETECTION & ELIMINATION
T A S K
F O R C E ACTION 3: Begin an educational campaign aimed at restaurants on the proper management and disposal of oils and grease. Vertical accretion against extreme weather…adaptions from the community. “It must be kept in mind that climate changes cannot be precisely predicted or foreseen, and that responses will not be linear. Thus, new information will emerge day by day, information that should be taken into consideration in carrying out, updating, and amending the adaptation plan”. The SJBE Program published the Climate Change Adaptation Plan in 2015 to: Assess climate change vulnerabilities. Develop and implement adaptation strategies. Engage and educate stakeholders. Share the lessons learned with other coastal managers. Available on line: http://www.estuario.org/index.php/datos/cie ncia?task=document.viewdoc&id=139 MUCHAS GRACIAS ! [email protected] www.estuario.org https://www.facebook.com/ciudaddelasaguas
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