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INNOVATIVE RESEARCH FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
Sustainable Environmental Management in Puerto Rico
Background
Sustainability means meeting the needs
of the present population without
compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs.
This means different things to different
disciplines. From the Sustainability
Research Strategy (2007) of the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency's
(EPA) Office of Research and
Development (ORD), the science of
Sustainability develops the underlying
knowledge base that allows decision
makers to make choices that protect
human health and the environment
over the long term Sustainability
science aims to anticipate and resolve
problems and promote innovation to
help communities move toward
Sustainability.
ORD is working to develop
knowledge, decision tools, and new
technologies that can lead to
sustainable solutions. One goal of
EPA's Sustainable Environments
research is to integrate all of these
different aspects into a unified
approach to quantify Sustainability.
Introduction
Sustainable environmental
management applies practical metrics
of Sustainability to on-the-ground
problems. Related transdisciplinary
research aims to understand the
interactions between ecosystems, the
economy, law, and technology well
enough to formulate effective long-
term management strategies.
The goal of ORD's Sustainability
metrics research is to construct a
useable and useful methodology for
environmental management using
scientifically based metrics that assess
environmental, economic, and social
components of Sustainability.
The methodology will allow managers
to evaluate the efficacy of actions in
attaining and maintaining a sustainable
system
Objectives
The project objectives are to:
(1) Apply four Sustainability metrics
used previously in the San Luis Basin
Sustainability Metrics Project (U.S.
EPA 2010) to the island of Puerto Rico
as they quantify Sustainability for the
overall system
(a) Fisher Information estimates
dynamic order.
(b) Ecological Footprint characterizes
environmental burden.
(c) Emergy Analysis computes energy
flow through the system
(d) Green Net Regional Product
ascertains economic welfare.
(2) Identify additional metrics and/or
indicators that address specific policy
needs that will foster partnership on
Sustainability between EPA Region 2,
other Regions within EPA, ORD, and
Puerto Rico's government, and expand
existing partnerships with land
management agencies within EPA
Region 2 and possibly non-
governmental organizations. One
method for identifying additional
metrics and/or indicators is to conduct
a symposium and workshop in which
invited participants are actively
involved in research applicable to
Sustainability in Puerto Rico. To
develop valuable collaborations,
participants would include government
and academic researchers and relevant
decision makers. Collaboration will
enable EPA to use expertise outside of
the core team's research areas to
address issues important to
stakeholders.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Research and Development
National Risk Management Research Laboratory
Sustainable Technology Division
As shown above, stakeholders have
identified a number of issues as
important for Sustainability in Puerto
Rico, including (on the top) soil washing
into the ocean due to soil erosion, and
(on the bottom) habitat loss along a
hillside, which can lead to a number of
problems such as loss of biodiversity,
increased erosion, and loss of usable
land. Photos courtesy ofNOAA (2009).
(3) Implement recommendations from
the research in the San Luis Basin in
Colorado, including using stakeholder
meetings to determine major
Sustainability issues in the region, and
better link metrics and indicators to
those concerns. The project team will
also determine if there are other
established metrics or indicators that
may assess better the Sustainability of a
region by addressing known issues.
Including metrics or indicators that
address specific policy needs will also
foster partnerships between federal and
Puerto Rico agencies.
(4) Develop technical expertise in
Sustainability within EPA Region 2,
other EPA Regions, and other
EPA600-F12001
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government agencies to assist in the
review of development and land
management decisions related to
sustainability.
Status
Data collection and preliminary
calculations are ongoing. A symposium
and workshop to identify
collaborations to broaden the research
effort and supplement the core metrics
are in development.
Products
• Workshop proceedings identifying
existing research and potential
collaborations.
• A written protocol for identifying
and calculating the metrics in
Puerto Rico.
• A scientifically sound strategy for
sustainable environmental
management in Puerto Rico.
• Peer-reviewed journal articles
including a series presenting the
metrics and results, and an article
that describes pollution
distribution and environmental
justice issues in Puerto Rico.
Partners
The U.S. EPA is partnering with other
federal agencies, Puerto Rico agencies,
Puerto Rico industry and non-
governmental organizations.
ORD Project Team
The project team members listed below
are ecologists, economists, engineers,
geographers and experts in outreach,
policy and law:
H. Cabezas, B. Demeke, A.
Garmestani, M. Heberling, M. Hopton,
C. Ma, J. Milanovich, L. Vance, and S.
Wu
Contacts
Matthew Hopton, Ph.D., Office of Research &
Development, 513-569-7718,
hopton.matthew@epa.gov
Matthew Heberling, Ph.D., Office of Research &
Development, 513-569-7917,
heberling.matt@epa.gov
References
Publications about the Puerto Rico project are
being prepared. See the following San Luis Basin
project report for a list of related publications about
sustainable environmental management:
US EPA. 2010. San Luis Basin Sustainability
Metrics Project: A Methodology for Evaluating
Regional Sustainability. United States
Environmental Protection Agency, Office of
Research and Development, National Risk
Management Research Laboratory, Cincinnati,
Ohio. EPA/600/R-10/182.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Research and Development
National Risk Management Research Laboratory
Sustainable Technology Division
EPA/600/F-12/001
December 2011
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