Page 32 - ARUBA TODAY

A32 FEATURE
Monday 12 March 2018

Crew with seeds, corals restore environment in Puerto Rico

By DANICA COTO, Associ- toration ecologist with the
ated Press U.S. National Oceanic and
FAJARDO, Puerto Rico (AP) Atmospheric Administra-
— As crews re-string electric tion. “There are still tens of
lines and clear debris from thousands of corals out
Hurricane Maria, a small there that are upside down
group of Puerto Rican and or even just on their side
international conservation- that we can get out there
ists is working on rebuilding and save.”
natural wonders destroyed Similar restoration efforts
by the strongest storm to hit are taking place on land
the island in nearly a cen- miles away from the divers.
tury. At a greenhouse run by the
Environmental groups and nonprofit group Para La
volunteers are gathering Naturaleza in the capital of
native seeds to replant for- San Juan, volunteers and
ests across the U.S. territory workers tend to thousands
and grafting broken coral of budding plants that will
back onto shattered reefs grow into trees as they’re
to help repair damage in planted across the island.
the largest-ever effort of its They have planted nearly
kind for Puerto Rico. 1,900 trees since January,
The Category 4 storm dam- with a goal of 750,000 in the
aged 1.2 billion trees and next seven years, said Luisa
snapped hundreds of thou- Rosado, the group’s habi-
sands of corals off reefs In this March 2, 2018 photo, Manuel Sepulveda, a nursery management coordinator with Para la tat manager.
around the island when Naturaleza, a non-profit organization, transplants several small native oak tree seedlings, in one “This is a project where we
it hit on Sept. 20. Despite of its nurseries in the in Rio Piedras Botanical Garden, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. really won’t see the results,”
the widespread destruc- Associated Press she said. “The results will be
tion, a lack of funding and a grapefruit to a car. animals,” said Jim Ritterhoff, 100 and 300 corals a day in from now to 100 years.”
pressing human needs kept Armed with buckets of ce- executive director of Force Puerto Rico for two months. It’s also a labor-inten-
pushing back long-term ment, divers pick up the Blue, a nonprofit organiza- They are focusing on the sive project where crews
plans to replant trees and broken pieces and swim to tion made up of retired U.S. island’s northeast region, have to return every three
rebuild corals. reefs that have been iden- Special Operations veter- where swaths of mostly elk- months to the site where
Now that Puerto Rico is tified as healthy despite the ans working on coral reef horn and staghorn corals the trees are planted to
slowly regaining its footing battering they received conservation projects. received the brunt of large monitor their progress dur-
after the storm and initial from the storm. The divers The group is participating in swells generated during the ing the first year, then every
funding has been secured, brush away any algae that a nearly $1.5 million project hurricane. If further funding four months in the second
conservationists are fan- have built up and push the largely funded by the U.S. is available, divers will tar- year. Rosado said more
ning out across the island pieces down into the fresh- government with help from get other areas as well. volunteers are needed, es-
and into its waters to repair ly laid cement. the U.S. nonprofit organiza- “The sooner we get out pecially because the non-
and restore what’s left of “If you think about what tion Ocean Conservancy there, the better,” said profit is tied up visiting plac-
the island’s flora. you’re seeing, it’s broken to help restore between Sean Griffin, coral reef res- es around the island trying
“The damage is huge,” to find seeds for native and
said Nilda Jimenez, marine endemic species.
ecology director for the is- Sometimes they get lucky
land’s Department of Natu- and people call them, say-
ral Resources. ing they uncovered seeds
Helping nature recover has amid hurricane debris.
environmental and eco- A man from the western
nomic importance: Puerto mountain town of Lares re-
Rico’s natural beauty is one cently brought in a 4-foot-
of its biggest tourist draws. tall bag filled with branches
Experts also note that reefs and leaves but also a tiny
protect coasts from heavy black seed known as aceit-
swells and serve as habi- illo, which is now a rare spe-
tat for many species con- cies.
sumed on the island, in- The find drew a big smile
cluding red snappers, lob- from Manuel Sepulveda,
sters and octopi. greenhouse managing co-
Last week, a group of div- ordinator for Para La Natu-
ers assembled on a dock in raleza. “There are very few
the northeast coastal town seed banks in Puerto Rico
of Fajardo, a popular des- and the Caribbean,” he
tination for tourists eager said. “We need millions of
to explore reefs that once seeds.”
boasted bright colors and The efforts also have a
a multitude of fish. Now, deeper meaning for Ro-
hundreds of broken corals In this In Feb. 28, 2018, photo, diver and Force Blue Co-Founder Rudy Reyes handles a crate full of sado.
that are still alive lay scat- coral to replace corals ripped off the reef during Hurricane Maria, as part of a nearly $1.5 million “This is a way for us to recu-
coral reef restoration effort largely funded by the federal government, off the coast of Fajardo,
tered across the turquoise Puerto Rico. perate together,” she said.
waters, ranging in size from Associated Press “To recover the island.”q