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From: Maritza Barreto, Ph.D. Geological Oceanographer and Geographer
Geography Department, Social Science College, University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras
Campus.
Date: August 6, 2009
Submitted to: Interagency Ocean Task Force
Recommendations related with issues set forth President’s Memorandum
Topic: Marine Spatial Planning
After reading 1) The President’s Memorandum; 2) web page documents from
Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force; and the 3) National Ocean Month, 2009
proclamation, I want to share some recommendations with the Ocean Interagency Task
Force focusing the topic Marine Spatial Planning as defining in your documents.
Based on my experience in coastal studies and outreach activities, I found that part of the
success of a coastal plan management may depend of the coastal data quality (spatial and
temporal) collected, improving design management plan based on specific coastal profile
and community participation. Based on this observation my specific recommendations
are:
• Identify and improve continuous coastal monitoring areas (different spatial and
time scales). This is due by:
o Coastal processes are dynamic. We need understand coastal behavior
changes in space and time scales.
o Coastal sites showed different geomorphic, oceanographic, social and
economic profiles by sites
o Coastal geomorphic characteristics are different in continental vs. island
systems
o Needs of additional continuous monitoring stations.
• Improve Coastal Databank for each coastal site (includes Human-natural system
variables)
o Data collected in the monitoring process should be includes detail physical
and social aspect of the coastal community.
o Be sure coastal databank is in a standard format that all members can use.
• Integrate federal and states agencies, universities and communities groups in the
data collection and databank preparation process.
o May use the model of Informal Science concept from National Science
Foundation (NSF) with the main purpose of engaging individuals from all
walks of life and with diverse profiles (age, gender, education, working
status, retired persons, etc. in science by bringing science to the
communities.(for more detail of this project see attach file related with
informal science project Understanding our Coast, Manatí, Puerto Rico
supported by Puerto Rico Conservation Trust and NSF)
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• Use data collected (Human-Natural system description) to enforce actual
management plans and if is necessary develop new local strategic plans.
• Underlying the impact of human activities as urban expansion and land use
changes, sea level rise, increase of temperature and changes in weather patterns in
management plans.
• Improve outreach activities. Community participants are important key in the
success of the coastal plan implementation. Especially when many geomorphic
changes in the coastal and marine areas are produced by pressure of human
activities. Community participants should be known in detail their real scenario in
coastal natural risk to be prepared based in their specific needs.