About five and a half square miles of Puerto Rican coast will be protected as the Northeast Ecological Corridor, a site that has become a major nesting site for the turtles as more and more coastal areas become uninhabitable. According to BBC, a fight for the conservation of this area has been going on for fifteen years. Developers wished to build on the coast, arguing that it would result in economic gain for the area and increase job opportunities. Green activist and apparently some celebrities were in opposition, arguing for the protection of one of the current conservation movement's poster children- leatherback sea turtles. However, the area will not remain untouched by humans. It is expected to become an area for eco-tourism which means the area will be open to hikers who want to experience a pristine nature reserve when visiting Puerto Rico. Below is a map of the protected area, which is located on the northeast coast of the island. It is close to El Yunque national forest, the only tropical rainforest on Unites States property and receives many hikers and backpackers each year.
BBC notes that this law does more than just protect nesting sites for the leatherbacks, it also protects an area that includes 860 different types of flora and fauna. Tropical areas such as Puerto Rico are known to be areas with a high amount of diversity and productivity because of the warm temperatures and high amount of rainfall. Although not mentioned in the article, islands are places that often have unique and rare species so it is important to conserve what is left of Puerto Rico's undeveloped areas. This law is an example of conservation efforts that are focused around one species, but provide benefits to various important but less popular species.
This article is geared to the public so it is relatively short and does not contain much scientific jargon. I believe articles such as this are important to raise awareness of the conservation movement and its importance. I specifically liked that the author included other aspects of the protected land such as the large number of other species inhabiting the corridor as well as that the area includes a bioluminescent bay. It is important for the public to realize that protection of these areas is not only for the benefit of one species, but helps protect many other unique species and ecosystems as well. It also provides some facts about leatherbacks that help the reader to relate the article to the actual animal.
Although the article is unbiased, it presents facts in a way that I believe leader readers to sympathize with the sea turtles and with activists. The last sentence of the article informs us that "Last August thousands of leatherback eggs and hatchlings were crushed by bulldozers moving waterlogged sand from key nesting areas." The fact that the authors chose to end the article with this information, and not information about a loss in economic potential encourages readers to support this new policy.
Hopefully, the number of laws to protect wildlife and biodiversity will continue to be passed and make international news. This will help inform the public and make them more receptive if they are ever personally involved in conservation issues.
Read the article here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-22140670.
2 comments:
well guys, didn't see that someone had already posted about this new article. Sorry for a double dose of information
Very cool story on a conservation victory!
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