Puerto Rico's water quality is currently in relatively poor conditions due to many sources of impairments such as direct sewage runoff or release from damage septic tanks, sanitary sewer overflows, and animal feeding operations, and pollution from urban runoffs, agriculture and industrial discharge. Because many of these impacts are anthropogenic in nature, we need to couple social and natural systems in order to make improvements in land and water use. In this research, I address the nature of water quality issues at a western watershed in Puerto Rico through understanding farmers' behaviors. Specifically, I assessed, using a survey, what motivates local farmers to engage in conservation practices. The survey was developed based on a model which looked at how general connections to nature, place attachment, concern about water quality, and pro-environmental behavioral intentions, influences pro-environmental behaviors by the local farming community in selected regions in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The survey was implemented in two municipalities (Añasco and Las Marias) of the Rio Grande de Añasco watershed to a total of 31 farmers, from a total of 455 farmers in these two municipalities. In order to analyze the data we used descriptive statistics, and to compare between municipalities I used t-test. To test the model I used spearman correlation analysis to see the relationship between variables. The survey demonstrated that farmers at Las Marias have a significantly greater place attachment than those in Añasco. However, the analysis of relationship between did not depict that there was a significant relationship between place attachment and "environmental behaviors" (Spearman correlation (rs)=-0.06 p-value=0.74). There was a statistical significance between "social bonding" and "pro-environmental behaviors" (rs=0.32 p=0.08) and also a statistical significance relationship between "general connection to nature" and "behavioral intentions" (rs=0.21 p=0.09). I also noted a strong and significant relationship between "behavioral intentions" and "behaviors" (rs=0.43 p=0.01), which means that once a farmer is engage in conservation practices, or that has an interest to participate, will likely participate in the future. The differences noted in place attachment between municipalities could like a result of the make up of farming community in the different municipality. For instance, farmers at Las Marias had smaller farms with an average of 25 acres, live for more generations in the municipality, and were less commercial in nature compared to Añasco municipality. All these characteristics have been reported to promote stronger social attachments, which would motivate farmer's behaviors towards great stewardship. To improve the water quality in Puerto Rico in these predominately farming communities management agencies should focus on strengthening the social attachments between citizens within the watershed and educate the citizens about how their actions while farming influences the water quality in nearby rivers; which serves as their primary source of drinking water. Such actions will likely promote peoples motivation to participate in pro-environmental behaviors and therefore enhance water quality in the watershed.
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