Addressing land based sources of pollution in Guánica , Puerto Rico

The Guánica Bay/Rio Loco (GB/RL) watershed is located in the southwestern corner of Puerto Rico, approximately 20 miles west of the city of Ponce. Due to human alteration, the watershed area was increased by 50% to approximately 151 square miles and discharges to Guánica Bay near the town of Guánica. The Guánica Bay/Rio Loco watershed includes the urbanized areas of Yauco, a portion of the Lajas Valley agricultural region, and the upper watershed where coffee farming and subsistence agriculture is practiced on steep often highly erodible slopes. The GB/RL is one of the major riverine discharge points in the southwest coast. Historically, the area was associated with some of the most extensive and healthy reef complexes in Puerto Rico. Coral reefs have experienced an unprecedented decline over the past 30-40 years in the Caribbean by some estimates have lost greater than 50% of live coral and over 90% of sensitive and federally listed Acropora palmata (elkhorn) and Acropora cervicornus (staghorn) species. Meanwhile studies by scientists in Puerto Rico have suggested that important nutrient and sediment contaminants have increased by 5-10 times pre-colonial levels and several times in the last 40-50 years. The Guánica project represents an effort to marry local efforts with an interagency and interdisciplinary approach to watershed management for improved coral reef health.