Biodiversity is vital for sustainable forest ecosystems. However, community values for forest biodiversity depend on environmental engagement, education, and awareness. The objectives of this study are to (1) assess households’ willingness to pay (WTP) for native plant and tree nursery in the Rio Hondo Community Forest (RHCF) of Puerto Rico, with the specific goal of supporting biodiversity and (2) examine the influence of environmental awareness on preferences for biodiversity improvement. Using a contingent valuation method, we find that households are willing to contribute $43/year to support biodiversity in the RHCF by planting native plants and trees, and that environmental awareness increases the support for biodiversity projects. The results suggest that outcomes of economic cost-benefit analyses can depend on environmental awareness. Hence, programs that support environmental awareness can improve economic efficiency of environmental protection projects.

In Puerto Rico, we use a choice experiment method through in-person interviews to estimate consumer willingness to pay (WTP) for a half gallon of cow's milk that is produced locally, friendly to the environment and with ethics in animal management. The results from a random parameters logit model show that consumers are willing to pay a premium of up to 41% for differentiated milk, indicating a potential market for these products. We also find that consumer's income and education, and number of dependents affect WTP estimates. Implications for the development of differentiated milk products are discussed.

Objective: This study aimed to develop a shared understanding about the drivers of nutrition security in Puerto Rico (PR) from the collective perspective of multi-sector stakeholders in the agri-food, environmental and the health/disease systems. Design: A participatory community-based system dynamics approach (group model building) engaged stakeholders during one 4-h workshop March 2023 (followed by two 2.5-h member checking sessions). Setting: San Juan, PR. Participants: Stakeholders (n 22) in PR representing the agri-food, environmental and health/disease systems from multiple sectors (commercial food retail and technology, food production, public servants, academia and civil society) participated in the workshop. Results: Stakeholders collectively framed nutrition security as an outcome of six interconnected subsystems exacerbated by climate change: (1) governance and public policy; (2) demographic change and rural disinvestment; (3) climate change and adaptive capacity; (4) local food production economy; (5) food culture; and (6) nutrition security and health. Stakeholders identified leverage points mostly focused on strengthening information flow within and across subsystems and expanding cross-sectoral collaboration (systems structures and elements). We identified three paradigms that have the potential to transform the system structure and function: ecological conscience, traditional and healthy food culture, and social cohesion. Conclusions: These findings deepened the collective understanding of systemic interdependencies that drive nutrition security as stakeholders identified locally feasible leverage points.