ESTUARIO's Community Resilience initiative promotes comprehensive water quality management. Its goal is to foster the economic, social, and cultural development of communities living around the San Juan Bay Estuary without compromising the ecological value of this ecosystem's resources and services, or the development opportunities for future generations. Learn about the three principles and eight actions that guide these efforts.
Principles and actions of Community Resilience of the Estuary.
Principle 1. Each resident is the central focus of the planning and implementation of sustainable development and transformations, as defined by themselves.
- Action 1.1: ESTUARY It has a Community Water Network, which is constantly evolving through a training process. The initiative includes workshops for leadership development and the integration of residents of all ages in planning and implementation.
Principle 2. The integration of different sectors in any sustainable development process and the transformation to improve communication between these sectors facilitates socio-economic development and achieves efficiencies by directing actions aimed at responding to established needs.
- Action 2.1. ESTUARY It promotes the development of Community Benefit Agreements. These agreements are specifically designed for a collaborative project in each community. They incorporate the perspectives, opinions, and preferences of the region's residents regarding resilience plans and proposed developments in these areas.
- Action 2.2. Resilience plans by sub-basin. ESTUARY It manages its action plan taking into account the water resources of its watershed. Resilience plans for each sub-basin provide a profile of the public, social, economic, and environmental health of that sub-basin.
Principle 3. The comprehensive management of the various elements that define a community. Five of these elements have been selected for Resilient Communities: art and culture, education, health, economic development, and green spaces.
- Action 3.1 Creativity and Culture – Culture is a driving force in generating and implementing ideas and projects aimed at strengthening the resilience of the estuarine system. Resilient artists support the empowerment process alongside scientists specializing in water quality. The sustainable development of resilient communities is guided by cultural and artistic activities.
- Action 3.2 Education – ESTUARY It transforms traditional education into project-based learning. The initiatives support children, youth, and adults through Estuary Guardians, Inter-School Committees, and Citizen Science Certification.
- Action 3.3: Health – Access to health care with a preventive approach ensures social and community health, as well as individual health. ESTUARY It coordinates the training of community health promoters in the estuary basin. These promoters serve as a link between the community and the social and health services offered by municipal and local governments, as well as by private entities.
- Action 3.4: Economic empowerment – The ability of estuary residents to focus on the common good depends largely on their economic stability and their ability to afford their own expenses. ESTUARY It offers retraining opportunities through its Green Jobs, Green Estuary initiative. Citizen Scientist Certification is offered as an academic credit equivalent, in collaboration with academic institutions.
- Action 3.5: Green Spaces – Community resilience preserves open spaces for passive recreation, cultivation, and spiritual leisure, as defined by residents. Among the initiatives that ESTUARY ViveroEstuario® and HuertoEstuario® are examples of businesses that operate in this direction.
