A MAGAZINE OF THE AMERICAS VOLUME 28 • SUMMER 2019 • LACC.FIU.EDU Society and Climate Change in Latin America and the Caribbean DIALOGUE ACADEMIA DISSEMINATE LINKAGES BUSINESS MEDIA TOPICS Hemisphere LEARN INDUSTRYDEBATEETHICS VOLUME 28 • SUMMER 2019 • LACC.FIU.EDU INFORMATION CONTENT DEPTH CULTURE INVESTIGATION STATISTICS UNRAVEL LOCATION IN THIS ISSUE CULTIVATE TRAINING EXCHANGE POLICY REVEAL SPARK NEWS ANALYSIS INSIGHT LETTER FROM THE EDITOR INTERPRET INTERNATIONAL REALITY EDUCATION FREEDOM Frank O. Mora .................................................................................................................................................. 3 FINANCE TEACH BEATS NETWORKS ILLUMINATE DECIPHER LETTER FROM THE GUEST EDITORS INTERPRETATION GOVERNMENT Javier Francisco-Ortega & David Barton Bray ......................................................................................................4 EXPLAIN ILLUMINATE EXAMINATION PUBLISHING RELIABLE FORUM LEADERSHIP ARTICLES INTERACTIVE South Florida-Caribbean Connections SOURCES RESEARCH Partnerships between Botanic Gardens and Universities in a Changing Caribbean World by Javier Francisco-Ortega, Brett Jestrow & M. Patrick Griffith ..............................................................................................6 TRUTH The Shared Natural Heritage of Southern Florida and Cuba: Orchid Conservation across Borders EXPOSE by Haydee Borrero, Matt Richards, Dennis Giardina, Julio C. Álvarez, Ramona Oviedo Prieto, Emily E. D. Coffey & Hong Liu .......11 Coral Reefs under Threat LACC: by Cindy Lewis & Mauricio Rodríguez-Lanetty ...................................................................................................................14 Conservation and Climate Change in the Caribbean Celebrating Forty Years of Excellence Saving Dominica’s Parrots in a Changed World by Paul Reillo .....................................................................................................................................................................19 Working hard to ensure that people following Latin America and the Caribbean have access to dependable, accurate and current information about the issues Algal Blooms in the Caribbean: Unpredictable Responses to Climate Change that matter most. by Ligia Collado-Vides, Marta García-Sánchez, Hazel A. Oxenford, Rosa Rodríguez-Martínez & Brigitta I. van Tussenbroek .............................................................................................................................................22 LACC supports enhanced understanding of hemispheric politics, business, In Situ Conservation Efforts in the Commonwealth of the Bahamas society and culture through: by Ethan Freid, Lindy Knowles & Shelley Woodside-Cant .....................................................................................................25 n Academic research and teaching by more than 200 LACC faculty experts Rivers, Forests and Soils n High-quality analysis available as events unfold Rivers of Latin America and the Caribbean: Centers of Biological n Interdisciplinary projects that reach audiences across the globe and Cultural Diversity at Risk from Climate Change n Critical training programs to educate a new generation of leaders by Elizabeth P. Anderson .....................................................................................................................................................29 Mexican Community Forests: A Global Model for Mitigating and Adapting to Climate Change by David Barton Bray ........................................................................................................................................................32 A New Opportunity for Slowing Climate Change: Soil Management in Agriculture in the Americas by Deborah Barry ...............................................................................................................................................................36 Urban Ecology and Reducing Climate Change Risk Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Adaptation in Latin America’s Informal Urban Settlements: Forging linkages across the Americas through education, research, outreach, and dialogue. An Ecological Approach by Juan Pablo Sarmiento & Meenakshi Jerath ......................................................................................................................39 lacc.fiu.edu @FIULACC /FIULACC Hemisphere FROM THE EDITOR Dear Hemisphere readers: EDITORIAL STAFF This issue on the social, economic and environmental consequences of climate change in the Americas is long Founding Editor Anthony P. Maingot overdue. At a time when even the science of climate change is on trial, the editors and authors of this issue go Editor Frank O. Mora beyond its destructive effects on the environment to highlight its impact on cultural diversity, disaster mitigation, agricultural production and tourism. I am grateful that Professors Javier Francisco-Ortega and David Bray of Guest Editors Javier Francisco-Ortega & David Barton Bray Florida International University’s Departments of Biological Sciences and Earth and Environment, respectively, Associate Editor Liesl Picard enthusiastically agreed to be guest editors of this important interdisciplinary issue. Copy Editor Alisa Newman Graphic Designer Aileen Solá-Trautmann The guest editors have brought together an outstanding collection of authors from FIU and external institutions to not only examine the impacts of climate change but also provide solutions that national and local governments, Production Manager Genesis Cajina as well as communities, can implement to address the threat to Latin American ecosystems. The interdisciplinary approach of this issue underscores the multifaceted effects of rapid climate change on economic and cultural EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD development, agriculture and urban settlements in vulnerable societies facing poverty, inequality, political Uva de Aragón Ana María Bidegain uncertainty, citizen insecurity and limited access to quality social services. José Miguel Cruz Jorge Duany Eduardo A. Gamarra A. Douglas Kincaid Sarah J. Mahler Andrea Mantell Seidel The convergence of structural political and socioeconomic challenges in Latin America and the Caribbean, and Félix E. Martín Bianca Premo the multidimensional effects of climate change on the flora, fauna and overall livelihood of the region, generate a Allan Rosenbaum Mark B. Rosenberg Richard Tardanico Victor M. Uribe-Uran mix of reinforcing threats that are difficult to measure and understand. The stability and sustainability of political, social, economic and environmental ecosystems depend not only on understanding the effects of climate change but also on adopting appropriate interdisciplinary policy solutions today. Hemisphere (ISSN 08983038) is published once a year by the Kimberly Green Latin American and Caribbean Center, Steven J. Green School of International and Public Affairs, Florida International University. Copyright © 2019 by the Kimberly Green Latin American and Caribbean Center, Florida International University. All rights reserved. Printed in the The Kimberly Green Latin America and Caribbean Center (LACC) remains committed to supporting its faculty United States of America. and students in their interdisciplinary research and will use Hemisphere as a platform to explore and promote Hemisphere is dedicated to provoking debate on the problems, initiatives, and achievements of the Americas. Responsibility theoretical and public policy issues facing the Americas. Given the impact climate change and global warming for the views expressed lies solely with the authors. Editorial, Circulation and Advertising Offices: Kimberly Green Latin American and Caribbean Center, Florida International University, Modesto A. Maidique Campus, DM 353, Miami, are expected to have on virtually all aspects of life in the region and around the world, they are sure to remain the Florida, 33199, Tel.: 305-348-2894, Fax: 305-348-3953, E-mail: [email protected], http://lacc.fiu.edu, @fiulacc themes of future LACC programs and publications. Frank O. Mora COVER IMAGE: Sargassum algae and tourists choke Playa Ruinas at Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico, 2018. Director & Professor MARIA KUZKINA/iStock by Getty Images. Kimberly Green Latin American and Caribbean Center Florida International University Hemisphere Volume 28 3 FROM THE GUEST EDITORS Climate change is upon us. It is estimated that human-induced warming reached approximately 1.8°F from pre- industrial levels by 2017 and is likely to increase an average of around 0.4°F per decade in the coming years. This would quickly put us well beyond the 2.7°F that the Paris Accords set as the aspirational limit for warming. The consequences for Latin America and the Caribbean include decreased plant and animal species diversity, coral bleaching, changes in ecosystem composition and biome distribution, the melting of most tropical glaciers in the near future (2020-2030), and severe impacts on coastal and riverine areas. This special issue of Hemisphere examines some of the steps that are being taken to conserve marine, terrestrial and urban ecosystems for the biodiversity they contain and the human communities that depend upon them for sustainable livelihoods. The invited contributors to this issue work at NGOs, botanic gardens and universities in The Bahamas, Barbados, Cuba, Mexico, El Salvador and the United States. The ten articles we present not only raise concerns for the social, economic and environmental consequences