PLAN OF ACTION OF THE CARIBBEAN BIOLOGICAL CORRIDOR AUGUST, 2009 TECHNICAL TEAM OF THE REPUBLIC OF CUBA Luis Alberto Barreras Cañizo Nicasio Viña Dávila Sebastian Croissiert Tamayo TECHNICAL TEAM OF THE REPUBLIC OF HAITI Vernet Joseph Ronald Toussaint J. Jean HilaIre Vilmond Herns Marcelin L. TECHNICAL TEAM OF THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC Angel Daneris Santana Yvonne Arias José Rafael Almonte Isabel Guzmán Genaro Agramonte This document has been drafted with the technical and financial support of the UNEP Regional Office for Latin America & the Caribbean (UNEP/ROLAC). The participating countries express their gratitude to this organization for its support. COMPILATION, DRAFTING AND FORMAT Nicasio Viña Dávila Sebastian Croissiert Tamayo Alexander Sánchez Ruiz Pauline Bachasson GRAFIC DESIGN AND EDITING Luis Antonio Casanella Cue Luis David Maturell de la Rosa David Maceira Filgueira MAPS Euclides Fornaris Gómez Alberto Beyris Mazar CARIBBEAN BIOLOGICAL CORRIDOR TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction.......................................................................................................... 8 2. Background and legal basis of the Caribbean Biological Corridor....................... 9 3. Characterization ................................................................................................ 10 4. Beneficiaries...................................................................................................... 14 5. Structure of the plan of action............................................................................ 14 6. Summary of the activities by topics ................................................................... 16 i. Conservation and monitoring of biodiversity ................................................... 16 ii. Sustainable economic and social development.............................................. 18 iii. Scientific research ......................................................................................... 20 iv. Training and institutional strengthening......................................................... 21 v. Information management ............................................................................... 22 vi demarcation and stablishment of the Caribbean Biological Corridor.............. 23 7. Actions finished or underway............................................................................. 23 8. Data sheets. Description of proposed actions ................................................... 24 i conservation and monitoring of biodiversity ..................................................... 24 i. 1. Rapid biological inventory in areas of conservation interest in the CBC.. 24 i. 2. Areas of importance for the conservation of amphibians in the CBC in cuba ............................................................................................................... 26 i.3. Protection of migratory species such as seagulls (boobbies): (Anous stolidus, Sterna fuscata, Sterna antillarum), during their nesting periods in Siete Hermanos and Alto Velo cays in the Dominican Republic .................... 28 i. 4. Promotion of the creation of a Biosphere Reserve in Haiti ...................... 31 i. 5. Design of the management plan of Lake Enriquillo National Park........... 33 i. 6. Conservation strategy at a municipal scale in the CBC. Case study: municipalities of Tercer Frente and Baracoa.................................................. 36 i. 7. Diagnosis of the impact of pollution on the biodiversity in the CBC areas of cuba ............................................................................................................... 38 i. 8. Rapid ecological evaluations of the cbc’s main coastal ecosystems ....... 40 CARIBBEAN BIOLOGICAL CORRIDOR i. 9. Monitoring of birds of prey’s migration in the CBC .................................. 42 i.10. Preliminary monitoring of population density of three species of crabs: mangrove crab (Ucides cordatus), moro crab (Gercarcinus ruricula), and blue land crab (Cardisoma guanhumi), in the localities of Montecristi and Pedernales in the Dominican Republic and Baconao Biosphere Reserve in Cuba............................................................................................................... 45 i.11. Monitoring of marine turtles nesting in the southeastern coast of Cuba, northeast and southeast of Haiti and southwest of the Dominican Republic.. 48 i.12. Monitoring of queen conch (Strombus gigas) at the Jaragua National Park (Province of Pedernales), the coastal zone of the Province of Montecristi in the Dominican Republic and Desembarco del Granma National Park in Cuba.... 51 i.13. Monitoring of the american crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) at Lake Enriquillo ........................................................................................................ 54 i.14. Monitoring the main ecosystems of the CBC coastal zones (seagrass, mangrove and coral reefs) ............................................................................. 57 i.15. Diagnosis of the current state of the CBC beaches................................ 60 ii. Sustainable economic and social development.............................................. 62 ii.1. Reforestation program as an infrastructure for climate change adaptation and reduction of poverty................................................................................. 62 ii. 2. Research and promotion of mangrove oyster (Crassostrea rhizophorae) culture development with the participation of small fishing communities in its massive culture .............................................................................................. 64 ii. 3. Promotion of beekeeping practices in forest areas of Quisquella Island or Hispaniola ...................................................................................................... 67 ii. 4. Implementation of integrated coastal zones management initiatives (ICZM) in six coastal localities of the CBC ..................................................... 69 ii. 5. Comprehensive and communitarian management of the mangrove located at the northeastern area of Haiti ........................................................ 72 ii. 6. Renewable energy based on electricity supply for rural, social and economic development of coastal communities in northeastern Haiti ............ 75 CARIBBEAN BIOLOGICAL CORRIDOR ii. 7. Development of salt production at the delta of the Artibonite river in Haiti ....................................................................................................................... 77 ii. 8. Encourage the use of energetic forests in Haiti ...................................... 79 ii. 9. Encourage the sustainable use of rainwater........................................... 81 ii.11. Study to determine the ecotourism carrying capacity in Lake Enriquillo 86 ii. 12. Establishing a pilot plantation of Pimienta haitiensis and organization of the pruning in wild environments.................................................................... 89 ii. 14. Development of ecotourism in the Lake Enriquillo - Azuei circuit ......... 95 iii. Scientific research ....................................................................................... 103 iii. 1. Study of the pteridoflora (ferns) of Hispaniola...................................... 103 iii. 2. Taxonomic diversity of arachnids (except for mites) in Hispaniola....... 105 iii. 3. Freshwater macroinvertebrates and the quality of water of the main rivers in the Caribbean Biological Corridor............................................................. 108 iii. 4. Population study of lionfish (Pterois volitans) in the northeastern and southeastern coasts of Quisqueya or Hispaniola and eastern Cuba............ 111 iii. 5. Increase knowledge of invasive species and their impact on biodiversity and ecosystems ........................................................................................... 113 iii. 6. Description of the bryological flora in protected areas of the Dominican Republic ....................................................................................................... 116 iii. 7. Study of the floristic affinities between the coastal zones of the Baconao Biosphere Reserve and those of the Jaragua-Bahoruco-Enriquillo Reserve 119 iii. 8. Phytonimics of timber-yielding trees in the Caribbean Biological Corridor ..................................................................................................................... 122 iii. 9. Phytogeography of the Biological Corridor in the Caribbean ............... 124 iii. 10. Catalog of terresttrial mollusks of the CBC in Quisqueya .................. 126 iii. 11. Establishment of the connectivity degree through the mobility analysis on marine fish of great conservation importance.......................................... 128 iii. 12. Climate change scenarios and their relation to changes in CBC ecosystems. Estimation of environmental impact......................................... 130 CARIBBEAN BIOLOGICAL CORRIDOR iii. 13. Systematic study of risks due to landslides caused by extreme natural phenomena in Hispaniola and Cuba ............................................................ 133 iv. Training and institutional strengthening....................................................... 135 iv. 1. Enrichment of collections in the National Museum of Natural History (MNHN), the National Botanic Garden (JBN) and the Institute for Botanical and Zoological Research of the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo