This blog is part of the Basin Report Card Initiative: a partnership between the World Wide Fund (WWF) and the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) The Orinoco River Basin report card was released on July 6th, 2016 in Bogota, Colombia. This is the first report card in South America, and the first report card developed as a part of the partnership between WWF and UMCES.

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"Across and through the Bay: Rio, Niteroi, and Guanabara expeditions" (Portuguese translation by João Paulo Coimbra) Em 20 de Junho de 2016, Bill Dennison and Dave Nemazie, e eu viajamos para o Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, para a segunda seção do workshop com as partes interessadas para desenvolver o Boletim de Saúde Ambiental (Report Card) da Baía de Guanabara.

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On June 20th 2016, Bill Dennison, Dave Nemazie, and I traveled to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for the next stakeholder workshop to develop the Guanabara Bay Report Card. We convened the workshop on June 23rd in neighboring Niteroi, a city across the Bay from Rio de Janeiro. There were some of the same participants as our first stakeholder workshop as well as a wider group of stakeholders from additional universities and municipal government offices.

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"How fast can you create and complete a newsletter? In Rio, you only have until tomorrow" (Portuguese translation by João Paulo Coimbra) Depois do nosso primeiro workshop com as partes interessadas no INEA na segunda-feira, 25 de Abril, Bill Dennison, Dave Nemazie e eu tivemos que nos preparar para nosso workshop mais abrangente com 200 pessoas na sexta-feira, 29 de Abril, no Museu do Amanhã.

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After our first stakeholder workshop at INEA on Monday April 25th, Bill Dennison, Dave Nemazie, and I had to prepare for our expanded workshop of 200 people on Friday April 29th, at the Museum of Tomorrow. This meeting brought together stakeholders from all around Guanabara Bay, and served to not only discuss the report card, but also to talk about governance, management, and restoration in the Bay. The team outside the Museum of Tomorrow. Participants at the workshop.

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"Welcome to Rio! The Guanabara Bay first stakeholder workshop" (Portuguese translation by João Paulo Coimbra) O Rio de Janeiro é um estado brasileiro com cidades vibrantes (incluindo a cidade de mesmo nome) vizinhas à zona costeira da Baía de Guanabara e o Oceano Atlântico. A Baía de Guanabara é um sistema intensamente degradado em virtude da grande população, relacionada com a poluição por lixo e esgotos.

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Rio de Janeiro is a Brazilian State with vibrant cities (including the one with the same name) along the shore of Guanabara Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. Guanabara Bay is highly impacted system due to a large population leading to sewage and trash pollution. The State of Rio and State of Maryland have a partnership of learning between their similar bays, Guanabara Bay and Chesapeake Bay, in order to promote opportunities for restoration to achieve economic, social, and environmental benefits.

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The Coastal Georgia Ecosystem Report Card was released November 13th, in Brunswick, Georgia. Heath Kelsey and I traveled to Georgia for the release event, which included both a media talk and a more detailed technical talk on the report card results. Coastal Georgia has a huge tidal range, as seen in this photo from St. Simon’s Island. This was one of the many things discussed in production of the report card.

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I had the privilege of attending the CERF Conference this year in Portland, Oregon. It was my first trip to Oregon, and visiting the Pacific Northwest was a really great experience. Before the Conference I had a few days to explore Portland including hiking in the Hoyt Arboretum, and visiting the Pittock Mansion.

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Caroline Donovan and I were invited to speak at the joint meeting of the Long Island Sound’s Citizens Advisory (CAC) and Science and Technical Advisory Committees (STAC). After completing the Long Island Sound Report Card in June, they asked us to give some wrap up and next steps information for where the report card is going in the future. Overall, the Long Island Sound report card included water quality, human health, and ecosystem/habitat indicators.

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