Reserva Natural Caño Tiburones |
THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION AND CORNELL UNIVERSITY:
AN ALLIANCE TO DESTROY PUERTO RICO'S LARGEST HERBACEOUS WETLAND IN THE NAME OF SCIENCE
Puerto Rico is located in the Caribbean, an island 8,890 sq. km. in area with 3.8 million inhabitants (428 inhabitants per sq. km.) and has approximately 3% of its lands as Natural Reserves or Protected Forest. Due to the large population (one of the highest per sq. km. in the world), Puerto Rico has lost more than 50% of its reefs and wetlands and less than 1% remains of the original forests, although there is approximately 30% of secondary forest cover. With all the land mammals extinct and with more than 100 species of flora and fauna designated as rare, threatened or endangered, there is an urgent need to save as much as we can of our reefs, wetlands and forests.
One of the most outstanding wildlife areas in Puerto Rico is Caño Tiburones. This is an estuarine wetland of at least 5,000 acres owned by a public corporation known as the Puerto Rico Lands Authority (PRLA) and located between the cities of Arecibo and Barceloneta.
For decades, the PRLA has been draining Caño Tiburones using a pump system to create conditions favorable for agriculture. Even though all major agricultural projects in that area failed a long time ago, pumping has continued. Even with these unfavorable conditions wildlife has survived seasonally due to heavy rains that exceed the capacity of the pumps.
Breeeding begins, only to be curtailed by the gradual drainage of their nesting habitat. Young birds perish as a result. More than 200 animal species have been identified in Caño Tiburones. More than 100 different species of birds have been identified and fifty-one percent (51%) of those are associated with aquatic habitats. Twenty-one percent (21%) of all the bird species in Caño Tiburones are migratory. There are two threatened species of birds in Caño Tiburones, as listed by the Puerto Rico Department of Environmental and Natural Resources: (1) Nomonyx dominicus/ Masked Duck) and (2) Oxyura jamaicensis / Ruddy Duck) and two endangered species listed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: (1) Pelecanus occidentalis (Brown Pelican) and (2) Falco peregrinus tundrius (Peregrine Falcon).
Puerto Rico's public policy, as well as federal public policy, recognizes the value of wetlands and supports their protection. In 1988 the Puerto Rico Department of Environmental and Natural Resources recognized the ecological value of Caño Tiburones and designated the wetland as a critical coastal wildlife area. In 1990 Caño Tiburones was proposed as a Natural Reserve under the Coastal Zone Management Act by the Puerto Rico Department of Environmental and Natural Resources.
During most of 1995 the pumping system did not work and Caño Tiburones reverted to a natural water level. These conditions allowed us to witness an unprecedented explosion in wildlife habitat and breeding and the tremendous potential for restoration. By the end of 1995 the PRLA fixed the pumps and started draining Caño Tiburones without any environmental study. After pumping, water levels were substantially lower, dropped under 3.5 ft. below mean sea level. The result of that action was an ecological catastrophe which caused extensive damage to thousands of acres of recovering and historical wetlands and to resident and migratory birds.
After a remarkable effort by many people that began after this irrational action, the Puerto Rico Planning Board officially designated part of the Caño Tiburones a Natural Reserve (CTNR) on October 1998. This was a major triumph for our group and other grassroots organizations interested in the protection of this valuable wetland. However, the survival of this new natural reserve is uncertain. The main beneficiaries of the pumping are the National Science Foundation (NSF) and Cornell University (Cornell).
These institutions operate in 100 acres a High Frequency Ionospheric Modification Facility (HFIMF) in Caño Tiburones under a lease agreement with the PRLA. This agreement requires that a water level of 3 ft. under mean sea level be kept in order for the facilities to operate. NSF's and Cornell's position in the CTNR are unsustainable. Their request to maintain a water level of 3 ft. below mean sea level means the destruction of the CTNR. The HFIMF’s physical location within the CTNR is unacceptable and a threat to that valuable natural resource.
We, as any other reasonable party, are convinced that they must do something now, especially when the HFIMF was severely damaged by Hurricane Georges in September 1998. And indeed they have. On January 1999 Cornell University sued the government of Puerto Rico to ensure that the designation of the CTNR will have no effect on the current pumping policy, a policy whose only beneficiaries are the NSF and Cornell University.
It is totally improper for the NSF and Cornell to use their position and prestige without thoroughly considering the impact of their actions on the environment and the interests of the local community. Furthermore, federal funds are being used on a project that negatively impacts a designated wetland, an action running against the presidential proclamation to save all such habitats.
We believe that the NSF and Cornell, as key players in this controversy, have a moral obligation to search for alternatives and solutions. We also believe that the NSF and Cornell have no moral standing to unilaterally require the destruction of wildlife habitat or dictate all terms for the survival of wildlife at their sole convenience. The final outcome of this situation requires moving the facility or implementing engineering measures to completely eliminate the HFIMF's environmental impact on Caño Tiburones.
The NSF and Cornell have freely chosen the path of environmental degradation and should be condemned for their actions. The prestige and names of these institutions have been compromised. The international scientific community should know that by using the HFIMF in its current form they are supporting, financing and endorsing uncivilized policies and a clear case of nonsense environmental destruction.
We ask you to send an e-mail to Rita Colwell, Director, NSF, e-mail: rcolwell@nsf.gov and to Hunter Rawlings, President of Cornell University, e-mail: pp28@cornell.edu requesting them to move their facilities out of this wetland or to implement engineering measures, allowing its restoration to a natural condition. We would appreciate if you could send us a copy (CC) of your message to enlacepr@caribe.net and forward this message to any interested party. Thanks for your support,
Abel Vale, President
enlacepr@caribe.net
Citizens of the Karst San Juan, Puerto Rico
Este escrito fue preparado por Abel Vale, Presidente de la Organización Ciudadanos del Karso. El documento original proviene de la página de la Federación Espeleológica de América Latina y del Caribe.
Nota: Aparentemente, según se nos informa, estas facilidades fueron abandonadas luego del paso del Huracán Georges.