Cultural and Historical Resources Recovery Planning in Puerto Rico: Natural and Cultural Resources Sector Report, Volume II

Puerto Rico has a wealth of cultural, historical, and artistic resources that are integral to its cultural identity and sense of place, to tourism, to the arts industry, and to the economy. In September 2017, many of those resources were devastated in Hurricanes Irma and Maria. In this report, the authors present an overview of Puerto Rico's cultural resources and their importance, the findings from numerous rapid assessments of storm damage, and details for the recovery actions in Puerto Rico's economic and disaster recovery plan. Based on the rapid assessments, short- and long-term recovery planning was conducted in collaboration with Puerto Rico's cultural resources managers, federal agency personnel, and other stakeholders. The needs identified in the assessments led to eight recovery courses of action (COAs) for cultural, historic, and artistic resources. The COAs address immediate precursor actions necessary for recovery, short-term stabilization of assets, and medium- to long-term recovery needs along with increased resilience of cultural resources. The COAs also address economic recovery, including the role of cultural resources in the economy and the promotion of alternative tourism to drive economic development.