Environmentally Focused and Citizen-led Disaster Preparedness

In the past decade, major natural disasters have affected many parts of the world in the form of extensive droughts, unprecedented hurricanes, and the accompanying wildfires and floods. Many of these have occurred as consequences of human activity that accelerate climate change and sea level rise. This represents an existential threat for humanity, especially in vulnerable regions like island nations and developing countries. In response to this, some areas have begun to adapt their infrastructure to mitigate the effects of climate change using green infrastructure, and citizens have become involved in such climate-friendly efforts, providing inspiration for community-based initiatives elsewhere. Unfortunately, a common factor impeding environmentally focused disaster preparedness is government leadership ignoring the expertise of scientists and communities whose intention is to protect the environment and save human lives. Instead, political leaders tend to listen to interests who invest in their campaigns and in turn act against the interests of the public.

During the first half of 2022, the Senate of Puerto Rico discussed a bill that would create a board in charge of guiding the adaptation and modernization of Puerto Rico’s infrastructure for the coming decades. Conservation and sustainability experts, government agencies, and organizations that specialize in resilient infrastructure participated in public hearings to promote evidence-based policies in this bill. The bill supported green infrastructure to mitigate the effects of storms, flooding, and extreme heat while also promoting the conservation of biodiversity and restoration of ecosystems. The legislative measures included simple initiatives such as the integration of trees in cities to combat extreme heat and reforesting coasts to form living shorelines against erosion, as well as complex initiatives for restoring wetlands to reduce flooding events and rehabilitating polluted areas using bioremediation. While it seems clear the bill included necessary measures to prepare for future disasters, Puerto Rico governor Pedro Pierluisi vetoed the bill, claiming his administration was already making progress on infrastructure issues. However, this decision appears to be tainted by Pierluisi’s own conflicts of interest. Some of his family members own property that violates environmental regulations at their beachfront apartments in the town of Rincon. This conflict of interest was brought to public attention when activists found the location of those apartments and uncovered that some of the tenants were Pierluisi’s cousins. After months of controversy, a court ordered the demolition of new structures in the area, but no one wanted to assume the responsibilities and costs of this task. In light of this situation, local community activists have demonstrated their willingness by submitting their own proposal for the demolition of illegal structures and restoring the habitat to its natural state. Again, this exemplifies a scenario where the official channels are failing in their duties to protect the environment, but citizens rise to the occasion. Encouraging this form of community engagement in solving local problems reduces costs and leads to better accountability for the work undertaken. In turn, communities become empowered to use their own resources while demanding support from government institutions. Thus, community involvement can avert opportunistic interests from making undue profit by taking advantage of environmental destruction.

Clearly, the path forward should be to integrate scientists and community groups who have the expertise in preparing infrastructure for the challenges of climate change. Academics have technical knowledge and conduct extensive studies that can inform the most adequate approach to achieve resiliency. Local communities know what their needs are and can propel initiatives to solve them in their particular contexts. The next step is to convince the public sector and its leadership to follow suit by putting the safety of their constituents and the ecosystem above their financial and political interests.