The diverse landscape of Puerto Rico — which encompasses coastal lowlands, mountain ranges, and a tropical rainforest — necessitates an equally if not more diverse range of tools and community action to support its residents and ecosystems living in harmony. Amid hurricanes, landslides, and other weather-related crises magnified by climate change, understanding Puerto Rico’s vulnerabilities and ability to adapt to evolving climate risks is essential to its long-term prosperity. The Institute for Sustainability Engagement (ISE) continues to support the Caribbean Island’s mission to achieve greater climate resiliency through the center’s recent research project funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Program Office (NOAA CPO).
The ISE’s NOAA CPO Adaptation Sciences (AdSci) program FY23 competition project, “Beyond first response: investigating how Puerto Rico’s community-based organizations drive local climate action”, will support Caribbean climate adaptation by co-producing new research on Community-Based Organizations (CBOs), which are an important and understudied pillar of Puerto Rico’s climate-response system. By the end of this $300,000 two-year research project, ISE will advance the dialogue on the role CBOs play in climate adaptation efforts in island communities, contributing to the larger discussion about how policymakers can engage and integrate CBOs into a larger climate adaptation strategy.
CBOs have stepped up as Puerto Rico’s first line of defense against an increasing bombardment of environmental stressors due to a rising global climate. Through their hyper-local leadership, mediation, and implementation, these groups of largely informal, volunteer, not-for-profit civilian teams have established themselves as a vital and trusted resource in the face of climate emergencies, compared to the suboptimal role played by state and federal authorities. Most recently, CBOs were a critical part of a faster and more effective recovery response after Puerto Rico’s Hurricane Maria and Hurricane Ernesto.
“Receiving minimal support in the face of steadily worsening challenges, Puerto Rico is often referred to as an ‘underserved’ population, but this idea does not capture the whole picture,” explained Kaira Fuentes, ISE’s CoPI for the AdSci project. “As an island territory, Puerto Rico's climate-related risks are exacerbated by a 120-year-long colonial legacy. Those who engage in CBOs are self-determined and proud to serve in their neighborhoods, and their peers trust them to step up where their governments have not. As these groups are critical to driving local action, understanding their function, impact, and opportunities to organize can only strengthen their ability to succeed.”
