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Shut out of global climate forums, Puerto Ricans bet on the power of community
Puerto Rico’s environmental groups are developing grassroots strategies to fight the climate crisis, collaborating with and strengthening the power of their communities
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For two years, residents, environmental advocates, and surfers have tried a plethora of tactics to push back against a proposed seaside bike and pedestrian path that they say threatens already vulnerable beaches in Rincón, Puerto Rico. The coastal town has long been a destination for surfers attracted to its strong waves and sandy beaches, but has suffered rapid erosion linked to climate change since Hurricane Maria struck on Sept. 20, 2017.
There is one strategy, however, that local organizers have not yet accessed: taking their fight to the world stage at global forums such as the annual United Nations Climate Change Conferences. Though some environmental groups from the archipelago have attended these events, Puerto Rico cannot join as a sovereign nation because of its colonial status, dating back to 1898.
That status has presented environmental organizers in Puerto Rico with limitations and challenges, but also an opportunity to devise creative solutions to tackle the climate crisis, according to groups interviewed by Prism. As another anniversary of Hurricane Maria approaches, and Puerto Rico continues to face unique and pressing climate challenges, the pressure to strategize thoughtfully is growing.
Tatiana Bessarabova, a member of Coalición Paseo Responsable, said the coalition of environmental groups, residents, business owners, and surfers understands the importance of global forums, but as a nascent organization, its focus is elsewhere. The group has worked to educate Rincón residents about the path’s negative environmental impact. Members have adapted their message for different groups, raised money to fight the project in court, and connected with groups in the U.S. and Puerto Rico to share lessons learned.
Even when some groups do attend global forums with their own resources, they encounter a misconception that the territory and the U.S. share the same environmental challenges. For Gabriel Meléndez, environmental public policy coordinator at El Puente–Enlace Latino de Acción Climática, the lack of awareness of colonialism in Puerto Rico makes it harder to build international partnerships with environmental groups abroad.
“In general, there isn’t much coverage of, or attention to, Puerto Rico’s participation—or the participation of organizations like ours—in global environmental forums. In fact, these spaces have very rarely included government representation [of Puerto Rico],” said Meléndez, whose organization focuses on educating people about climate change’s impact in Puerto Rico. “From our position, participating in these forums allows us to understand where the international and regional conversation on climate change stands, and to use that knowledge to inform what we share with the public through our own media outlets.”
Verónica Nieves, project coordinator at Conservación Costera Puerto Rico, which teaches teens and young adults about beach conservation, shared her view on the struggles to collaborate with groups in other parts of the world.
“Although we have no say whatsoever in U.S. foreign policy decisions, we undeniably belong to the United States. This creates a stigma that is difficult to shake off,” she said. “Moreover, those international [political] policies dictate how we build relationships with other countries and the challenges we face as a result.”
However, groups have found ways around these obstacles by maximizing their resources.
Paseo Responsable, for instance, has connected with other communities worldwide where surfing is also a major economic driver and part of the local identity.
“A surfing community in Puerto Rico can have so much in common with communities in Mexico, Costa Rica, Chile, Peru, El Salvador, California, or Australia. Many face variations of the same problems: development too close to the coast, loss of public access, pollution, erosion, infrastructure that disrupts natural processes, and projects that can even alter a surf break,” Bessarabova told Prism.
“There is almost a common language,” she added.
El Puente, meanwhile, has worked to make scientific information more understandable for everyday people.
“The substance of El Puente’s message remains the same. What changes is how we communicate it and the nuances we emphasize depending on whom we’re speaking to,” Meléndez said.
For Conservación Costera, the focus is more on teaching practical skills and exposing people to conservation.
“We can’t hide behind concrete walls, sitting in front of a screen in air conditioning, or throwing massive rocks onto some coastal shore,” Nieves said. “This model, imported from the United States, doesn’t serve the common good—not here and not there. It serves the interests of large multinational corporations—it doesn’t address our immediate reality, nor our long-term reality.”
Beatriz Llenín, spokesperson for Coalición Defiende a Cabo Rojo, a coalition opposing the multibillion-dollar Esencia high-end residential project in Cabo Rojo, said her group has relied on being creative. That includes community tours, events in public spaces to attract people in surrounding neighborhoods, political action, and documentary screenings.
“We’ve also carried out outreach at traffic lights throughout Cabo Rojo and Mayagüez, on multiple occasions. We’ve attended events to talk about the case, including activities held in the town square, and we’ve organized events in the public plaza,” Llenín said.
Faced with what they described as ineffective local government, and with limited access to global forums, groups in Puerto Rico have conveyed their message in creative ways, building collaborations with communities and a wide range of sectors across the island.
Editorial Team:
Sahar Fatima, Lead Editor
Carolyn Copeland, Top Editor
Stephanie Harris, Copy Editor
