Binational Resilience Initiative and Climate Funders’ Collaborative Tour

Climate Funders Collaborative Site Visit 

Join us on October 26th for a special close look at our vibrant communities advancing climate resilience. We’ll be joined by community leaders from Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve, Proyecto Fronterizo de Educación Ambiental, and 4Walls. Our tour will offer a guided experience, insight into some of BRI‘s projects being implemented on both sides of the border, and the opportunity to learn about the unique funding model and partnerships that are transforming climate investment in our region. 

We will provide space for tour participants to explore, through dialogue and engagement with community leaders, what it entails to support an authentic binational partnership.

Binational Resilience Initiative

As a border region, San Diego has an interdependent environmental, economic and cultural relationship with border communities in Baja California, Mexico – the coastal landscape between the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of California. Our binational coastal region, home to more than 5.7 million people and considered one of the most productive coastal ecosystems in the Americas, is at risk from a changing climate. The Binational Resilience Initiative (BRI) is a partnership between San Diego Foundation, International Community Foundation, San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative, and Resilient Cities Catalyst. Together, we are building community-driven solutions and fostering cross-border collaboration to build resilience and help our region adapt and thrive in the face of a changing climate. 

High-quality multi-benefit resilience projects in the border region offer solutions, but often lack the financing required to move from design to implementation in a truly binational way. Nonprofit organizations across our coast that are involved in collaborative climate action prioritizing community needs can be strengthened by funding that supports transboundary research, education, projects/programs, and capacity building.  

The Binational Resilience Initiative provides needed funding to advance projects located in the US-Mexico border region spanning from Oceanside to San Quintín. This fund aims to build regional resilience by ensuring investment in high-impact multi-benefit projects that strengthen community capacity and drive impact at the regional scale. Since BRI was launched in 2022, a total of $1.7 Million in funding was administered to advance coastal resilience projects. The most recent grant cycle includes projects addressing pollution in the Tijuana River watershed, hosting coastal-environmental education and music workshops for youth, and developing the first binational symposium on coastal resilience.