The Puerto Rico Community Comes Together to Create New Action Plan
JUNE 13, 2022 — On June 2 and 3, 2022, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Marine Debris Program, in collaboration with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Trash Free Waters Program, hosted a virtual workshop, conducted in Spanish, for the development of an action plan that will contain strategic and coordinated actions to address the challenges of aquatic debris in Puerto Rico.
More than 60 individuals representing all levels of government, nonprofit organizations, universities, community organizations, and private entities participated in the event. The workshop included focus group sessions where participants discussed and proposed strategies to overcome the challenges presented by debris. The workshop also included presentations highlighting the current efforts of the Marine Debris Program and Trash Free Waters Program in Puerto Rico, perspectives and lessons learned from 10 years of action planning in Hawaii, and strategies on behavioral change.
There will be additional opportunities for organizations addressing aquatic debris in Puerto Rico to provide feedback on the draft action plan before it is finalized.
For more information, please contact Yaritza.Rivera@noaa.gov.