Conservation Management and Community Integration: Comparative Case Studies for Puerto Rico
Lindsay Cray ^1,2 William Gould² Diane Kuehn¹ and Charles Hall¹

1. SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse , NY 13210.

2. USDA Forest Service, International Institute of Tropical Forestry, Río Piedras, Puerto Rico.

Abstract: Puerto Rico is facing threats to its environmental resources from pressures of urbanization and development, combined with ineffective conservation of biologically sensitive areas. Several management organizations in Puerto Rico, each with different approaches, are taking measures to conserve the island’s natural resources. The purpose of this study is to determine how community involvement and attitudes towards differing approaches to conservation management are influencing the success of conservation programs in Puerto Rico. We are assessing the hypothesis that sustainable conservation management for Puerto Rico is better achieved through combining administrative and ecological understanding with the social mechanisms that affect management practices. Key issues include private ownership of protected lands, poor management practices and general lack of public education regarding environmental systems - leading to an overall sense of apathy from community members towards conservation. To address this hypothesis we are conducting studies in the periphery of five management areas, each with differing management organizations and methods. Our objectives are to 1) characterize and map land use within and surrounding the five protected areas, 2) interview community stakeholder groups to determine local individuals’ degree of comprehension about conservation and management, as well as sentiments regarding the level of success of the conservation management plans for each of the protected areas,3) interview administrative officials to determine where possibilities for collaborative actions with locals have been limited or facilitated, and to clarify sentiments regarding the level of success and efficiency of the resource management plans for each of the protected areas, and 4) compare stakeholder perspectives to those of management in order to describe any potential disconnect in the perceptions of success in conserving these five areas.

The information derived from this research will help managers understand the dynamic between local stakeholders and conservation agencies and strengthen community involvement in conservation by allowing managers to better identify areas that are important for conservation of ecosystem-services, evaluate the success of conservation planning given human-land use dynamics, identify programs that promote sustainable resource use, facilitate decisions on improving the overall performance of programs, provide input for new program ideas, and expand management approaches to include greater stakeholder education and involvement.