Ford Puerto Rico awards $46K in environmental grants to community projects
Ford Puerto Rico is distributing $46,000 among the four projects that won the 2023 Ford Environmental Grants program and whose objective is to continue promoting sustainability and accelerating the conservation of natural resources on the island through community initiatives that impact the environment positively and contribute to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
In its 23rd edition, Ford Environmental Grants awarded three projects in the Conservation and Recovery of Biodiversity category: Centro Comunitario para la Conservación Costera y la Educación Ambiental, submitted by Coco Puerto Rico; De la Playa al Laboratorio, water quality workshop, presented by Arrecifes Pro-Ciudad Inc.; and El Mar Comienza en las Montañas, by Grupo Tortuguero de San Juan. The fourth winning initiative was Brindando Agua Limpia al Centro de Puerto Rico, presented by Remora in the Food Security category.
“We are very pleased to continue supporting projects like the four that won this year, which in addition to working for the environment, contribute to the economic and social development of their communities. We congratulate these initiatives and all the organizations that continue to make a difference with their commitment and effort to contribute to a better planet,” said Vivian Dávila, manager of public affairs and communications for Ford Puerto Rico, Central America and the Caribbean.
Dávila added that the grants awarded this year complement the more than $1.9 million the company has contributed to hundreds of environmental initiatives in the region during the program’s more than two decades.
“With the Ford Environmental Grants program, we reaffirm our commitment to sustainability each year by encouraging the multiplication of collective efforts that serve as catalysts for change to contribute to the preservation of natural resources,” she added.
The jury, composed of environmental experts, evaluated the proposals and selected the winning projects based on their contribution to sustainable development, community impact, multisectoral alliances and multiplier effect.
The members included Dr. Jorge Bauzá-Ortega, scientific director of the San Juan Bay Estuary Program; Dr. Yogani Govender, project director of the Eco-Eagle program at the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico, Metro campus; Glorimar Toledo, coordinator of Conservation/Biodiversity Projects at Para la Naturaleza; Perla Sofía Curbelo, founder and director of Agrochic; and Dr. Adrienne Tossas Cavalliery, president of Birds Caribbean and professor in the Department of Natural Sciences at the University of Puerto Rico, Aguadilla campus.
The Ford Environmental Grants Program has supported projects contributing to the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals over the years, focusing on aspects like biodiversity, environmental education, waste management, energy efficiency, renewable energies and food security.
An impact report by Sinergia507 found that the winning projects of the 2021 Ford Environmental Grants impacted 10,622 people on the island, aligning with specific UN Sustainable Development Goals such as ending hunger, ensuring healthy living and promoting well-being for all ages, ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns, taking urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts, and revitalizing the global partnership for sustainable development.
The call for the next Ford Environmental Grants program edition will begin in April. More program information is available here.
