PUERTO RICO: Outfoxing Developers in the Concrete Jungle

Carmelo Ruiz

SAN JUAN, Aug 19 2005 (IPS) - Mention the word "ecology" in Puerto Rico and many will think of the El Yunque rainforest or of the island's world-renowned beaches, or perhaps the Amazon rainforest. But important nature conservation initiatives are taking place right in the middle of the sprawling San Juan metro area.

One such endeavour is the Arboretum de Cupey, a grassroots group formed in the highly urbanised Cupey sector of southern San Juan, which since its founding in 1999 has planted some 3,000 trees in the community.

It is not possible to move about Cupey without seeing the Arboretum's work. Victor Labiosa Avenue, Cupey's main thoroughfare, is lined with the trees they planted. It is not hard to find the location of the organisation's "headquarters", but it is so modest that most first-time visitors tend to miss it.

There is no sign, building or even a tent. It is but a ramshackle collection of potted seedlings on a strip of public land between Labiosa Avenue and the main entrance to San Gerardo, a gated suburban community.

This makeshift tree nursery is not reminiscent of any sort of ornamental landscaping and is definitely not the work of any professional agronomist or forester. Potted seedlings are scattered informally under the shade of a 30-foot-high reina de las flores (lagerstroemia speciosa).

The seedlings include Barbados pride (Caesalpinia pulcherrima), ylang-ylang, bulletwood, grandleaf seagrape, flamboyant (also known as flame tree), Florida elder (Sambucus mexicana), yellow poui (Tabebuia chrysantha) and bay rum.

Just across the street is the home of Esteban González, a retiree and self-taught forester who founded the Arboretum. González told IPS of the never-ending list of difficulties and obstacles his group has encountered, from indifferent government agencies to hostile business interests that view green spaces and vacant lots as perfect places for shopping malls, gas stations and parking lots.

"Last year, the owner of the lot next to us came over with two employees of his," said González. "He was ordering them to come over the next morning and tear up the breeding ground and toss all the seedlings into a dump truck. I told the man that he cannot do that in public land, and that in any case the Highway Authority knows about the breeding ground and has no problem with it."

According to González, if that lot owner had destroyed the breeding ground, the Department of Natural Resources would have fined him 5,000 to 10,000 dollars.

"That would have been a drop in the bucket for him," González added. "He would have gladly paid the fine and gotten on with his business."

So far, this individual has not reappeared, but González is up every morning before dawn to make sure no demolition crew sneaks up on the breeding ground. He said that a considerable number of seedlings and trees have had to be replaced because of employees of the Transportation Department and the Electric Power Authority, who often fell trees that stand in their way when they are working.

The San Gerardo community borders the Piedras River, and between both lies a green space that has also benefited from community environmental work. The riverbank used to be one long vacant lot full of overgrown weeds and junk, but local residents took it upon themselves to mow the weeds and remove the garbage, and turn the place into a series of garden plots and ornamental gardens. All this was done with no help from the government or foundation funding.

But the residents fear that one day this space of solace and urban ecology could be bulldozed to make way for walk-up apartments. Riverbanks are supposed to be public land, but the government has repeatedly turned them over to developers.

Upstream from San Gerardo is the Chiclana Creek, which was illegally filled in to build houses, and downstream is a government building illegally built right next to the river, and which now, ironically, contains the offices of the Natural Resources Department.

But the outlook for the Arboretum is bright since Puerto Rico's Senate signed into law a bill that expands the San Juan Ecological Corridor, an already existing belt of green areas that cuts across the municipality, to include the lands around Cupey's major creeks, including Guaracanal, Las Curías and Ausubo, which runs parallel to Labiosa Avenue.

According to Pablo Calero, president of the Pro-San Juan Ecological Corridor Alliance, "the zones that are protected (by the bill) constitute an integrating element that permits a balance between environmental conservation, economic advancement and citizen participation. It represents a valuable contribution to creating sustainable communities."

The new law "is the beginning of our efforts to save the few green spaces in the region, as well as our water resources, which are so important for our fauna and our society," said Dr. Basilio Santiago, spokesman for the Arboretum. (END/2005)