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- Natural Protected Areas of Puerto Rico (December 2016 Inventory)
Natural Protected Areas of Puerto Rico (December 2016 Inventory)
Dec 28, 2016
Created by
Caribbean Landscape Conservation Cooperative
- Description
- Data from the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources and Para La Naturaleza. The International Institute of Tropical Forestry GIS Lab compiled the information, checked for PA-CAT quality control standards, and combined the new data to the December 2015 inventory. Technicians from all three agencies as well as the Puerto Rico Planning Board identified the boundary changes, name changes in the attribute table, and other changes from the 2015 inventory as listed in the metadata.
The Protected Areas Conservation Action Team (PA-CAT) is composed of multiple partners, including Federal and State agencies, non-governmental organizations and individuals from Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands. These include, among others, the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DNER), Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources (DPNR), International Institute of Tropical Forestry (IITF) of the United States Forest Service (USFS), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Puerto Rico Conservation Trust and its unit Para La Naturaleza, Foundation Alma de Bahía, Bahía Beach Resort, Puerto Rico Planning Board, Foundation for Development Planning, Inc., University of the Virgin Islands, and the University of Puerto Rico. These agencies and organizations work together in an alliance called the Caribbean Landscape Conservation Cooperative.Purpose:Terrestrial and marine protected natural areas of Puerto Rico compiled by the Caribbean Landscape Conservation Cooperative (CLCC) Protected Areas Conservation Action Team (PA CAT) as of December 2016. For more information please visit: http://caribbeanlcc.org/pacat.
Suggested citation: Caribbean Landscape Conservation Cooperative. 2016. Puerto Rico Protected Areas Database [version of December, 2016]. GIS data. San Juan, PR.Methods:The members of the PA CAT team provided the latest protected areas data from their agencies in shapefile format. Protected areas from other agencies not represented within the PA CAT were procured directly from the managing entities or from older protected areas files. The shapefiles were compared within ArcMap to find duplicated areas and discrepancies. Overlaps and possible errors were analyzed and discussed within the team and consulted with other agency employees to determine how to proceed. We then edited the individual shapefiles to correct any errors found and simplify the attribute table. Using the Union tool in ArcGIS 3.2, we created a new shapefile with all the protected areas of Puerto Rico. The shapefile was then dissolved and the attribute table was edited to include GIS calculated areas.
We found discrepancies between some adjacent protected areas that overlapped in places. In these situations we consulted the agencies that managed the protected areas. To eliminate overlaps we used the boundary of the protected area with either the most recent boundary or an official survey. The only case not resolved in this version is a small overlapping area between Finca Maria Luisa from Para la Naturaleza and Laguna Cartagena National Wildlife Refuge from the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Both areas appear to have official surveys. The team is working with both agencies to correct the data.References:This file is the product of a collaborative effort through the Caribbean Landscape Conservation Cooperative (CLCC), Protected Areas Conservation Action Team (PA CAT) For more information please visit:
Suggested citation: Caribbean Landscape Conservation Cooperative. 2016. Puerto Rico Protected Areas Database [version of December, 2016]. GIS data. San Juan, PR.
- Location
- Credits
- Caribbean Landscape Conservation Cooperative's Protected Areas Conservation Action Team (PA-CAT).
- Use Constraints
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
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About the Map Author
Caribbean Landscape Conservation Cooperative
Administration account for the Caribbean LCC Conservation Planning Atlas.We represent a partnership among research and management agencies, organizations and individuals who are interested in achieving a sustainable future for the Caribbean Islands, by addressing some of the issues that currently...
