Residents - pretest

RESIDENT’S - MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS CARD

• If current management practices continue in the future (Status Quo), in 10 to 20 years scientists expect that all but the few areas that are receiving special protection will be in a poor or low condition with respect to the corals, sponges, fish, and water clarity/visibility. If rules and regulations are not enforced even the specially protected areas will be in poor or low condition.

• If management is changed to improve reef conditions, it will require both public and private investments to protect and restore the coral reef ecosystems, which would include enforcement of rules and regulations.

• In the next section of the survey, you will be presented with several sets of coral reef ecosystem conditions. There is an estimated cost to your household per year that would be required to achieve each condition.

• The cost per year is based on the costs that will be paid by businesses and households to pay for investments that protect and restore the coral reef ecosystems like improved sewage treatment, filtering and cleaning urban run-off, erosion control from agricultural areas and development projects, installation of mooring buoys to protect reefs from anchor damage, restoration of reefs, and enforcement of rules and regulations.

• The costs per year would be paid by all residents and visitors to Puerto Rico through increased prices of goods and services. This might also include increases in local sales taxes to cover government costs to pay for protection and restoration.

• The Option A: Status Quo (No change in management), will cost your household nothing ($0 per year), but will result in low reef condition on all of Puerto Rico’s coral reef ecosystems, except for the few specially protected areas if rules and regulations are enforced.

• You will always have the option of choosing the Status Quo (Option A).

• Remember when making your choices on how much you are willing to pay that you only have so much income and if you pay to improve reef conditions you will have less to spend on other goods, services, and social issues that are important to you.

• Also, even under the low conditions there are three coral reefs within Puerto Rico that have strong protections that you could use, in addition to coral reefs outside Puerto Rico.