[Coral-List] NOAA Seminar tomorrow: A Watershed Approach: Building Resilience in Coral Reefs thru Implementation of Green Infrastructure & Coral Restoration in Habitat Focus Area off NE Puerto Rico

[Tracy Gill - NOAA Federal]

OneNOAA Science Seminar Series

Apologies for cross-posting and please forward to folks who might be
interested; thanks!

*Title: A Watershed Approach: Building Resilience in Coral Reefs thru
Implementation of Green Infrastructure & Coral Restoration in Habitat Focus
Area off NE Puerto Rico*

Speaker: Roberto A. Viqueira Ríos, Executive Director, Protect Our
Watersheds, Inc., Yauco, Puerto Rico. Presenting remotely from Puerto Rico.

When: Tomorrow, Thursday, Feb. 9, 2017, 12-1pm ET

Where: Via webinar (see login info below) or, at NOAA SSMC4, Room 8150

Sponsor: NOAA's National Ocean Service Science Seminar; seminar co-hosts
are Eileen.Alicea at noaa.gov and Tracy.Gill at noaa.gov

Remote Access: Mymeeting webinar uses phone for and internet. Audio is only
available over the phone: dial toll-free from US or CAN: 1-877-708-1667.
Enter code 7028688#
For the webcast, go to www.mymeetings.com  Under "Participant Join", click
"Join an Event", then add conf no: 744925156. No is code needed for the
web. Be sure to install the correct plug‐in for WebEx before the seminar
starts (temporary plugin works fine).

Abstract:The Habitat Focus Areas in Northeastern Puerto Rico are areas that
support important coastal ecosystems that help sustain human livelihoods,
recreational usage, a high biodiversity, and are therefore vital for the
economic growth in these regions. Nonetheless, over the past several
decades, these areas have experienced a significant decline in coastal and
marine habitats, particularly coral reefs, due to anthropogenic impacts
including poorly planned coastal development, land-based sources of
pollution (LBSP), overfishing and climate change impacts. In response to
these challenges, Protectores de Cuencas, along with the assistance of
multiple partners, has undertaken several efforts to abate the impacts of
land-based sources of pollution in the Habitat Focus Area’s nearshore
reefs. Project partners including NOAA, NOAA-Coral Reef Conservation
Program, NFWF, US FWS, Department of Environmental and Natural Resources,
Sociedad Ambiente Marino, University of Puerto Rico, Ridge to Reef,
Municipality of Culebra, and several others, have served a crucial role in
the advancement of coral reef conservation efforts. This presentation will
discuss the development of the Culebra Watershed Management Plan, its
implementation through various projects and assessment of their
effectiveness. It will describe, the implementation of various best
management practices, including sediment and dirt road stabilization,
stormwater practices, permeable parking lots, sediment traps, hydroseeding,
among others. Through the Habitat Blue Print Cooperative Agreement, efforts
have incorporated other initiatives, in addition to reducing the impact of
land-based sources of pollution, such as coral farming activities and the
implementation of a social science study to identify the recreational
impacts on coral and seagrass areas of Culebra island.

About the Speaker: Roberto Viqueira has over 10 years of experience
galvanizing partnerships to support wetland conservation and restoration.
Through partnerships in watershed management planning and restoration,
Roberto has garnered support for landscape scale conservation to enhance
and restore wetland habitats. Briefly, in 2010 Roberto began assisting NOAA
as a watershed coordinator for the Guánica Bay Watershed (GBW) in Puerto
Rico. Early on he recognized that the issues plaguing the GBW were
pervasive which required a broader, Territory-wide solution. In 2011 he
developed a non-profit organization, Protectores de Cuencas (Watershed
Protectors), to provide watershed coordination to support wetland
conservation and restoration throughout the Territory.

In less than 5 years, Roberto has taken the lessons learned, partnerships,
and successes from the GBW and translated those efforts to other parts of
the territory, including: Culebra Island, Vieques Island, Northeastern
Ecological Corridor, Rio Grande de Manati, Rincon, Cabo Rojo, and La
Parguera. Although his efforts in the GBW alone are award worthy, it is his
passion and translation of these efforts to other areas in the Territory
that are truly unique and impressive! Roberto has undoubtedly advanced
wetland conservation and restoration across the entire Territory through
partnering with community leaders, municipal mayors, Territorial and
Federal agencies. Lastly, in 2016 he won the National Wetland Award which
he received in Washington DC.

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-- 

Tracy A. Gill   tracy.gill at noaa.gov   240-533-0349 NEW NUMBER!Physical
Scientist, NOAA <http://www.noaa.gov/>/NOS
<http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/>/NCCOS
<http://coastalscience.noaa.gov/>/CCMA
<http://coastalscience.noaa.gov/about/centers/ccma>, Biogeography
Branch1305 East-West Hwy, # 9208, Silver Spring, MD  20910

*Check out NOAA's **NCCOS Website <http://coastalscience.noaa.gov/>*
*for more on our projects, products and news.*

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