From left to right: Lcdo. Fernando Lloveras, President of Para la Naturaleza; Luis García Pelatti, former Director of the Planning Board; Lcda. Estrella Santiago Pérez, Environmental Manager of the ENLACE Project at Caño Martín Peña; producer María Falcón, event moderator; Lcda. Neida Pumarejo, Director of Land Conservation and Legal Advisor at Para la Naturaleza; Abel Vale, from Ciudadanos del Karso; Arturo Massol-Deyá, from Casa Pueblo; and Vanessa Uriarte, co-director of the organization Amigxs del M.A.R.
Para la Naturaleza held its second conservation forum “Puerto Rico Conserva: Herramientas digitales para la participación ciudadana” at Casa Ramón Power y Giralt in Old San Juan. The event, designed in both in-person and virtual formats, attracted a large audience. It featured presentations on digital platforms for conservation and a panel of community leaders and environmental experts discussing the use of technology to collaborate in the protection and conservation of nature, as well as compliance with regulations and laws safeguarding ecosystems and biodiversity.
Para la Naturaleza introduced a new digital tool, Ciudadano Protector, an application that encourages citizen participation to ensure compliance with laws and regulations related to land use and environmental protection. It also educates about planning concepts and raises awareness about the ecological value of protected and conserved areas. The data collected through this digital application will serve as a tool to promote public policy, support research projects, and identify needs in the protection of natural systems.
Which actions can be taken in Ciudadano Protector?
Navigate: Utilize the interactive map that shows watersheds, protected natural areas, and planning zones in the archipelago.
Report: Create reports to inform relevant government agencies about various situations such as clandestine landfills, earth movements, tree cutting, discharge of used water, and loss of drinking water. The reports allow you to describe the situation in detail, locate it on the map, and share photos or videos to visualize the situation in your community.
Learn: Explore the integrated library containing key terms, concepts, and laws for protecting lands and ecosystems in the archipelago. Users can share and save relevant information related to their reports. Users can download the application at ciudadanoprotector.com.
The event featured panel discussions on citizen participation and the presentation of the new digital tool, Ciudadano Protector.
“We know how cumbersome and difficult it is to file an environmental complaint and the follow-ups required to enforce laws. We wanted to create a simple and personalized process so that citizens can participate in the process. Protecting nature is a collective responsibility. We need tools that assist in enforcing and creating laws that protect nature. We have plans to visit government agencies to showcase the application and provide information on the complaint process. We want this tool to become a repository of information and a place where citizens, the press, and academia can access information,” added Lloveras.
The organizations Filantropia Puerto Rico and Fundación Segarra Boerman facilitated this tool. Meanwhile, the Puerto Rican company Tembol and Coded S+P were responsible for the design and programming.
Vanessa Uriarte, co-director of the organization Amigxs del M.A.R., presented the Mapa de Costas of Puerto Rico. This project aims to make visible information about sales, closures of accesses, and destruction of beaches and the entire coastal ecosystem, a vital component of the Puerto Rican archipielago. Through citizen participation, the Mapa de Costas revealed the extent of the country’s problem posed by the destruction occurring along Puerto Rico’s coastlines.
The Coastal Map collected 231 complaints in one month, highlighting issues from 39 out of 44 coastal municipalities, with abandoned constructions and structures being the most visible complaints.
“It’s not enough to react; we must move and act,” concluded Uriarte during her presentation.
In the second part of the event, the panel discussion “Citizen Participation and Tools to Create Public Policy” took place, involving community leaders and experts in environmental issues: Abel Vale from Ciudadanos del Karso; Arturo Massol-Deyá from Casa Pueblo; former Director of the Planning Board Luis García Pelatti; Lcda. Estrella Santiago Pérez, environmental manager of the ENLACE Project in the Caño Martín Peña; and Lcda. Neida Pumarejo, Director of Land Conservation and Legal Advisor at Para la Naturaleza.
Panelists discussed their experiences with community projects aimed at protecting natural and community spaces, serving as models to encourage citizen participation in safeguarding natural areas. The forum also underscored the role of community struggles and citizens in protecting areas of high cultural and ecological value, emphasizing the importance of digital platforms as tools to raise visibility and promote citizen involvement in compliance with land use laws and their protection.