The goal of this project IT to develop a mixed methods approach for collecting environmental, social, food, and health data which will be used to evaluate changes in contaminant exposure from…

The goal of this project IT to develop a mixed methods approach for collecting environmental, social, food, and health data which will be used to evaluate changes in contaminant exposure from climate change stressors.activities:the specific objectives are to: 1) develop a community-centered framework to assess the cumulative impacts of environmental exposures, climate change, and food and water insecurity on the health and wellbeing of adults over the age of 55 with chronic illnesses in vieques; 2) establish the relationship between food and water insecurity, contaminant exposure, and how climate change may impact this relationship; and, 3) develop community outreach to strengthen local food production and safety on vieques, a superfund site and model small island impacted by climate change.subrecipient:isla nena composta ($120,500) - technicians from isla nena composta will work with phase II participants to identify mitigation alternatives for environmental impacts and climate change triggers in the frequently visited 'special riparian zones' and elder trees ecosystems (trees 40 years and over). They will use phase II and III findings to develop a site work guide, including maps of the elder tree forest ecosystem and citizen science methods for restoring and monitoring ecosystem services to mitigate existing environmental impacts and climate change triggers. They will also organize public presentations and colloquia to share the research results with communities and researchers university of puerto rico-RIO piedras (UPR-RP) ($430,000) - UPR-RP will create a technical guide with practical tools to address ecological disturbances. They will also create a water monitoring station network that the community can use to monitor the ecosystem's health over time, as well as assess the impacts of the management actions at a large scale by evaluating vegetation dynamics in the watersheds using the greenness index of enhanced vegetation index (EVI) derived from satellite images. University of puerto rico-medical campus (UPR-MC) ($90,199) - UPR-MC will manage and oversee project activities including instrument development, sampling design and implementation for survey interviews, training and supervising interviewers, dataset development/management. They will develop the curriculum and execute a health promotion campaign to empower promotoras DE salud. The campaign will include workshops and experiences to help families make healthy decisions to reduce contaminant exposure and improve food security within a changing climate through knowledge, experience, and community.outcomes:deliverables include annual and final reports. The results of this project will create a network that address food and water insecurity in vieques. The primary outcome of the project is demonstrating how an innovative cumulative impacts risk assessment framework can be applied to communities which have experienced long term exposure to chemical contamination. Direct beneficiaries of this project are the residents of vieques, residents of small island communities affected by climate change, the general public, human health, and the environment.