3rd Coastal Erosion Summit set for Thursday in Carolina

Loíza Mayor Julia Nazario Fuentes

By The Star Staff

Loíza Mayor Julia Nazario Fuentes announced Tuesday that preparations are complete for the Third Coastal Erosion Summit, a significant event aimed at educating the public and raising awareness about the effects of global warming and community resilience.

The summit will take place this Thursday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Vivo Beach Club on highway PR-187, next to the Balneario de Carolina.

“In March 2023, we initiated our first effort with a group of local and international experts to analyze the impact of coastal erosion on Puerto Rico, especially following several natural disasters in recent years,” the mayor said. “We took this initiative because we in Loíza have witnessed the significant loss of our beach and how the ocean continues to encroach on our coastal communities, coming alarmingly close to our homes.”

Among the speakers at the event will be Prof. Rafael Méndez Tejeda, a climatologist and professor at the University of Puerto Rico at Carolina, as well as Dr. Carlos Padín Bibiloni, a former secretary of the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources, environmental planner and ecologist, and current professor at Ana G. Méndez University.

“We will be joined by Dr. Robert Mayer Arzuaga, an assistant professor at the University of Puerto Rico at Aguadilla, whose work focuses on the conservation and ecological restoration of coastal ecosystems. He has done particularly effective work in Loíza,” the mayor added.

The aforementioned will also be joined by Juan Picorelli, a Loíza resident, planner and master’s student in archaeology.

Nazario expressed particular pleasure at the attendance of Sen. Marissa “Marissita” Jiménez Santoni from the Carolina district, who chairs the island Legislative Assembly’s Joint Commission on Climate Change Mitigation, Adaptation, and Resilience.

“We have been collaborating since the last legislative term, and I am familiar with her work,” the mayor said. “She understands how coastal erosion has adversely affected us in Loíza.”