Supporting Resilient Communities
On the Importance of Community
Local community members are key to current and future stewardship of the dune ecosystems we plan to restore. In partnership with Para La Naturaleza (PLN), we look to provide capacity and support to engage and educate the community on climate impacts and test a regionally specific adaptation strategy that will build resilience for Puerto Rico.
Our goal is for communities to learn about regionally specific climate science, associated impacts, and test a regionally specific solution to minimize the impacts of climatic events. An important aspect of this project is engaging with people to foster sharing of knowledge regarding the importance of the dune ecosystems and of the historical roots of the local communities for increasing the resilience of other ecosystems as well as the communities themselves. By establishing a framework of knowledge sharing, we acknowledge that local and traditional knowledge is as important as scientific and technical knowledge. To ensure long-term project success, we plan to build a community of stewards that are engaged in restoring, conserving, and monitoring coastal sand dunes.
RESOURCES
Understanding Climate Impacts to Puerto Rico
To improve our practices and protect our communities, we must first educate ourselves on the climate consequences in Puerto Rico and what we can do to help.
The DUNAS
Challenge
Climate change is impacting critical habitats that protect Puerto Rico’scoasts, ecosystems, and cultural heritage. Take the DUNAS Challenge and do your part to help!
About Para La Naturaleza
Para La Naturaleza (PLN) is a unit of the non-profit Conservation Trust of Puerto Rico and protects 32,000 acres across 60 Natural Protected Areas. Last year, 6,480 volunteers committed over 75,000 hours to help PLN plant new trees, clean rivers, and conduct research. With a strong volunteer base, some of which are already engaged on monitoring the sand dunes, PLN is well suited to take on citizen scientist based restoration and monitoring.