Our initiatives... our contribution.
Community engagement is at the core of our strategy to implement projects that result in education, respect and conservation of our natural resources. We invest heavily in supporting the development of environmental initiatives that promote behavior change through participatory methods. Discover more about our innovative projects below.
Community-based Social Marketing
Tackling Parrotfish Overfishing in Dominican Republic and The Bahamas
Our efforts pertaining to this project involved studying social perceptions to design, implement and evaluate three behavior change parrotfish conservation campaigns in the Dominican Republic (Puerto Plata and Samaná) and The Bahamas (Eleuthera Island). We did these in partnership with the Institute for Socio-Ecological Research and funds from NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program.Project duration: 2016 - 2018. For more information, please access: http://isercaribe.org.
Salina Los Cobos Conservation Reserve
Making a Difference by Acquiring Ecologically Sensitive Land
In 2015, Alelí Environmental purchased 21 acres of coastal lands in Lajas Puerto Rico for their preservation. Our long-term goals for Salina Los Cobos are to design and establish a self-sustained small-scale ecotourism and aquaculture program focused on coastal resource conservation and sustainability; an internship research program; and a citizen science program to monitor the Monsieur José Bioluminescent Bay, as very little is known about this type of unique ecosystems.
Sustainable Agriculture
Strengthening an agro-ecology program in six schools of south-west and central Puerto Rico
For this project, Alelí Environmental, Inc has partnered with Plenitud PR and six schools from southwest and central Puerto Rico to strengthen and expand their agro-ecology education program. Our team installed an aquaponic system to grow fresh water fish and vegetables. The main sponsor for this project is the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Project duration: 2018 - 2021.
Marine Debris Research
An Alliance with Villanova University (2022-2024)
Villanova University will use field and laboratory experiments to explore how marine debris moves from the upstream areas of the Guánica Watershed to the nearshore coastal waters of southwest Puerto Rico. In partnership with local partners in Puerto Rico Alelí Environmental, Inc. and Protectores de Cuencas, Inc., the researchers will look at sources of debris, how debris transport varies across the wet and dry seasons, and what factors influence debris degradation. This information will be used to develop a regional assessment of marine debris in the Guánica Watershed, which can both be used to improve natural resource management in the region and be applied to increase our understanding of marine debris in other riverine and coastal locations. This is a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) funded project.