The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) would like to invite you to participate in a two-part virtual workshop series on the economic, cultural and community values of Puerto Rico's coral reefs.  These workshops will inform the ecosystem service valuation that is being conducted in Puerto Rico this year (2023-2024) and are part of a larger project to estimate the value of coral reef ecosystem goods and services in the United States. The first workshop will be on Tuesday, August 15th at 2-4:00pm ET/AST - if you are interested in participating, please register for the workshop on here. The second workshop will be held in early October 2023. 

These workshops are a follow-up to the regional workshop held in the fall of 2021 where we identified coral reef ecosystem services in Puerto Rico, where they occur, and who the beneficiaries are. Your input at the upcoming workshop will support CRCP’s Strategic Plan (as well as the National Coral Reef Resilience Strategy that is being developed) by updating value estimates and our understanding of how to account for coral reef ecosystem services from previous studies undertaken from 2001-2011. 

The purpose of this workshop is to gather additional feedback on local cultural and community-centric values of coral reef ecosystems in Puerto Rico. Your input will help direct the project’s methodology and ensure representation of the values most important to Puerto Rico. More specifically, the workshop will: 

• Improve our understanding of the most relevant benefits coral reef ecosystems provide in Puerto Rico, and finalize which services should be included in valuation so that the results are useful to management.
• Provide an update on our progress and approach to valuing the material ecosystem services. 
• Discuss how non-material ecosystem services are conceptualized by the community and discuss appropriate ways to represent these services.

We welcome diverse perspectives on topics regarding: 

• Commercial, recreational, traditional and/or subsistence fishing in coral reef habitats.
• Recreational activities related to coral reef ecosystems.
• Cultural practices and cultural importance of coral reef ecosystems.
• Oral histories and/or traditional ecological knowledge of coral reef ecosystems.
• Recent events that may have impacted the condition of  coral reefs and benefits they provide. 
• Previous experience in (or knowledge of) ecosystem service valuation projects in Puerto Rico.
• Any other related considerations.

The workshop will take about two hours, and there will be approximately one hour required to review material before the workshop. Please register by Wednesday August 9 if you would like to participate. 

We hope you are able to join us!