Transcript SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: THE PUERTO RICO EXPERIENCE

Universidad de Puerto Rico
Recinto de Mayagüez
Colegio de Ciencias Agrícolas
Servicio de Extensión Agrícola
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT:
THE PUERTO RICO EXPERIENCE
RULE Institute, January 2007
By
Prof. Carmen González-Toro
Environmental Education Specialist
Sustainable Development:
The Puerto Rico's experience
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Background information
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Sustainable development definition
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Puerto Rico as a territory
Economy
The ecological footprint
Puerto Rico’s experience and results
Discussion
Puerto Rico as a territory has
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USA citizenship (since 1917)
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US Constitution and US federal law
USA currency
English and Spanish languages
US Social Security benefits
Minimum wage
USA border patrol rules and regulations
(INS)
Puerto Rico as territory has
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One resident commissioner with voice,
but no vote in Congress
No vote in Presidential elections
USA defense
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Army, Navy, Reserve, National and
Guard
USA Postal Service
No federal tax for individuals
Coast
Puerto Rico as a territory
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Puerto Ricans have been fighting in the
U.S. armed forces since World War I,
when the island became a U.S. territory
and its residents became citizens.
Altogether, more than 150,000 Puerto
Ricans served in World War II, Korea and
Vietnam.
Map of Puerto Rico
LAS MARIAS
JAYUYA
MAYAGUEZ
OROCOVIS
SAN GERMAN
SABANA
COAMO
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GRANDE
YABUCOA
SANTA
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CEIBA
CULEBRAS
LAS
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HUMACAO
PATILLAS
GUAYANILLA
GUANICA
NAGUABO
CAYEY
PONCE
JUANA DIAZ
LAJAS
SAN
LORENZO
SALINAS GUAYAMA
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CABO
ROJO
PEÑUELAS
CAGUAS
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JUNCOS
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BARRANQUITAS
ADJUNTAS
MARICAO
GURABO
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BUENAS
LUQUILLO
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FAJARDO
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LARES
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VIEQUES
Puerto Rico
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Island – 100 miles long, 35 miles wide
3.9 million people
 1,124 persons per sq mile
 9,000 persons per sq mile in San Juan
metro
71% Urban – 29% Rural
78 municipalities or townships
Unemployment rate: 12.5%
58% live under US poverty guidelines
Economy
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Agriculture…………… 1%
Industry……………….45%
 Pharmaceuticals
 Construction
Services……………..54%
 Tourism
 Retail stores
Employment Alternatives
 Industry
 Service
jobs
 Farming
Puerto Rico - Agriculture
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1% gross national income
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(3% labor force)
Major agricultural productos
 Milk
 Poultry
 Starchy crops
(bananas, root crops)
 Coffee
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50% fertile soils
 27% land has 36-60% slope
 30% land has over 60% slope
Coffee Production
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The economy of 22 municipalities depend
on the coffee production
2004-05 coffee production was 175,000
hundred weight (quintales)
We do not produce enough coffee to
supply the local demand
Coffee plantation
Coffee shrub with green fruits
Industry
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Historically, Puerto Rico,
(manufacturing makes up roughly
42% of the economy), has
underemphasized the territory's
$3 billion tourism industry because its
leaders concentrated on bringing
in U.S. companies by offering
federal tax breaks.
Tourists choosing Caribbean
neighbors over Puerto Rico
USA TODAY 9/2006
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Puerto Rico's weak performance comes as
other Caribbean nations with lower operating
costs are successfully courting travelers —
including a growing number of upscale
vacationers — and investing significant
resources to enhance their tourism
infrastructure and hotel room counts,
according to the study.
Industry
Most manufacturing companies
are gone
 Factories are closing or outsourcing
 Pharmaceuticals are reducing
operations
 Construction prevails as the main
industry
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Sustainable Development
Definition
Economic development
that is achieved without
undermining the incomes,
resources, or environment for future
generations.
Sustainable development
Requires action to
promote the:
 Economy
 Community
involvement
 Natural Resources
 Social values
 Security
Ecological footprint
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Used to depict the amount of land and
water area a human population would
hypothetically need to provide the
resources required to support itself and to
absorb its wastes, given prevailing
technology.
The term was first coined in 1992 by
Canadian ecologist and professor at the
University of British Columbia, William
Rees.
Ecological Footprint
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Footprinting is widely used around the
globe as an indicator of environmental
sustainability. It can be used to measure
and manage the use of resources
throughout the economy.
It is commonly used to explore the
sustainability of individual lifestyles, goods
and services, organizations, industry
sectors, regions and nations.
Why measure our use of nature?
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If we cannot measure, we cannot
manage. To make sustainability a reality,
we must know where we are now, and
how far we need to go. These are
essential tools for government, business
management and grassroots for
organizing the use of natural resources.
The ecological footprint concept is used to
assess the sustainability of nations.
Ecological footprint
We need measuring rods to
track progress for:
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Sustainability and people's
use of nature
Measures of carrying capacity and
human impact on the Earth
PR Ecological Footprint
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Carl Axel Soderberg, EPA Director for PR
indicated that PR FP = 2 X Cuba
Cuba (745mi x 124mi) = 7 X PR
It means that we need an island
26 times bigger to be sustainable
My footprint quiz results
CATEGORY:
ACRES FOOD 3.5; MOBILITY 1; SHELTER 6.4;
GOODS/SERVICES 6.7
TOTAL FOOTPRINT18
IN COMPARISON, THE AVERAGE ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT IN
YOUR COUNTRY IS
24 ACRES PER PERSON.
WORLDWIDE, THERE EXISTS 4.5 BIOLOGICALLY PRODUCTIVE
ACRES PER PERSON.
IF EVERYONE LIVED LIKE YOU,
WE WOULD NEED 3.9 PLANETS.
Puerto Rico’s Experience
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Puerto Rico has been a United States
territory for more than a century.
Considered self-governing, with no voting
representation in the U.S. Congress.
This Commonwealth status has given
Puerto Rico many advantages over other
low-income economies.
Puerto Rico’s Experience
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During the 1950s and 1960s, Puerto Rico
consistently outperformed similarly
populated countries such as
South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore.
All that has changed - the prosperity of the
post-World War II decades has ended.
The island economy has become recognized
for its destitution and joblessness.
Puerto Rico’s Experience
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Since the 1970s, Puerto Rico's economy
has steadily deteriorated,
(poverty levels twice those of Mississippi).
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Unemployment (officially reported 12 – 14 %)
is more likely to be 40 - 50 % because of
the island's low labor participation rate.
Only 46 % of the population has a formal
job, and nearly half (1/2) of the island's
salaried employees work directly or
indirectly for the government.
Puerto Rico’s Experience
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The Commonwealth's government
expenditures are now over $9.6
billion, leaving the tiny nation with a
steadily-rising deficit of $3 billion.
Puerto Rico's paternalistic
bureaucratic and political policies
have turned the island into
a no-growth, debt-ridden economy.
Puerto Rico’s Experience
Puerto Rico's drastic economic decline can be
blamed on many factors:
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the unintended consequences of an expanding
government role in the provision of welfare
services.
a sharp rise in the amount of federal transfer
payments to citizens (increased from $69 million in
1968 to over $8 billion in 2002 for disability,
unemployment, and welfare payments) now account
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for one-fifth of the island's personal income.
This massive social spending, which began in the
1970s and continues today, has resulted in
severe domestic disinvestment in the economy.
Puerto Rico’s Experience
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Domestic capital investment has declined
from 32 % of Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) in 1970 to 16 % in 2000.
This means that the Puerto Rican
government, rather than supporting the
creation of jobs and market incentives,
relies primarily on tax-induced revenue
and foreign investment for any growth in
the island's GDP.
Puerto Rico’s Experience
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Changing the island's economic activity from
production to distribution, the Puerto Rican
bureaucracy has crowded out community
solutions and business incentives.
These policies have created:
labor distortions, private disinvestment, and
have left a large segment of the population
without the skills or ambition necessary to
achieve economic mobility.
Puerto Rico's experience
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Puerto Rico's rising welfare
expenditures have created
unsustainable economic trends,
and have brought devastating
consequences to the
island's entire population.
Results of our experience
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Puerto Rico to continue its
present urban sprawl in 60
years, half of the Island will
be urban and in 75 years,
all the Island will be
urbanized.
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(Based on a study by the
Metropolitan University,
Juan)
San
Results of our experience
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This dramatic transformation has resulted
in:
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Climate changes
Pollution
Health related problems
Diminished tourism
Lost of social and
cultural legacy
Economic decline
Puerto Rico experience
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Community – Environmental concerns
•Water quality problems
•Reservoirs reduced storage capacity
•High unemployment rate
•Poor infrastructure (maintenance)
•High demand for land use
•Lack of environmental understanding
•Need for collaborative work
•Loss of family values
•Waste management problems
Puerto Rico’s Experience
Soil erosion
Water pollution
Endanger coral reef
Puerto Rico’s Experience
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Conclusion
As Puerto Rico has shown, when public
solutions (government) replace market
forces, the loss of privately-produced
goods and services can lead to economic
stagnation and decline
Lets talk about…
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What relevance does
this situation have to
the state of
Pennsylvania or your
home district?
What can be done to
make it sustainable?
Recommendations
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Community land use is
fundamental to sustainability
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plan the physical layout,
Change from poorly-managed sprawl
land use planning to maintain efficient
infrastructure
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Restoration and rehab of urban centers/
construction
Less vehicle dependency
Create public space/land preservation
Educate citizens and elected officials
to
vertical
"We do not inherit
the earth from our
ancestors,
we borrow it from
our children"
References
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The Ecological Footprint of Nations by Mathis
Wackernagel
Smart Communities Network
http://sustainable.doe.gov/landuse/luintro.shtml
The Smarter Land Use Project
http://landuse.org/guidebook.html
To calculate your footprint
http://www.mec.ca/Apps/ecoCalc/ecoCalcHousing.jsp
USDA-NRCS Area-wide Conservation Planning Course,
National Employee Development Center.
Smart Growth, Lorri Jones, Lifescapes Texas A&M,
Vol.4, No. 2, Summer 2004, P. 6-8.
Virtual visit -
www.geog.nau.edu/courses/alew/ggr346/ft/overseas/?epr