Case Study

Training a Workforce to Bring Nature-based Solutions into Every Project

An ecosystem restoration nonprofit, Protectores de Cuencas, Inc., is training workers in the skilled trades to implement nature-based solutions as part of their workflows on every project, regardless of whether projects are publicly or privately funded or specifically focused on ecosystem restoration and management.

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Location Puerto Rico & U.S. Virgin Islands
Year
2025
Cost $3.5 million

Details

Hazards
Drought
Erosion and Shoreline Recession
Extreme Heat
Flooding – Coastal
Assets
Economy
Natural Areas and Wildlife
Sources
Protectores de Cuencas, Inc.

A small group of people gathering around a table with a professional guiding students as they interact and learn about plants, using live specimens.

  • Kynoch Reale-Munroe, Horsley Witten Group

    • Mr. Rudy O'Reilly, USDA teaching students about plant identification in St. Croix, US Virgin Islands. April, 2025.

    Protectores de Cuencas, Inc. (PDC), a community-based nonprofit organization in Puerto Rico, has been developing and managing nature-based watershed and coastal ecosystem restoration projects across the island for many years. Many of their showcase projects involved collaborations with federal agencies and local municipalities. Today, PDC is working to go a step further. The plan involves spreading nature-based watershed restoration knowledge, skills, and management practices across many relevant occupations so that nature-based solutions can also be incorporated into projects that lie outside the boundaries of publicly-financed initiatives. 

    Through its own leadership in Puerto Rico and in partnership with the Horsley Witten Group for programs in the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI), PDC is developing very short, specialized workshops to augment existing training programs. These workshops are being designed for a wide variety of skilled trade and professional jobs, including truck drivers, digger operators, carpenters, electricians, planners, architects, engineers, and more.

    Each of these occupations plays a role in ecosystem restoration projects, yet PDC is also using this initiative to implement a larger strategy. PDC’s goal is to instill nature-based watershed management, stormwater runoff management, and coastal erosion management knowledge and skills throughout the workforce so that public and private development and infrastructure projects can include ecosystem restoration measures regardless of their funding sources or primary objectives.

    Given the unpredictability of grant funding, PDC and the Horsley Witten Group recognize that workers who are knowledgeable about climate-related hazards and nature-based solutions will be able apply their knowledge and training to whatever projects their communities and employers are working on. The PDC’s strategy is to infuse a wider workforce with a shared understanding of the benefits of nature-based hazard mitigation and the techniques used to reduce hazards through nature-based solutions.

    The photo shows participants working on skills prioritization exercises to implement NbS

  • Protectores de Cuencas, Inc.

    • Strategic partners working in restoration and nature-based solutions met to identify priority skills and assess their interest in hiring new positions trained in climate-informed practices in Guánica, Puerto Rico.

    Caribbean islands face many climate-related hazards and stressors, including tropical storms and storm surge, coastal erosion, extreme heat, drought, and sea level rise. Investing in nature-based solutions can mitigate damage to natural systems and communities and minimize recovery costs when extreme weather events occur.

    The economies of Puerto Rico and USVI are not identical. Pharmaceutical and technology manufacturing play a significant role in Puerto Rico’s economy, whereas the economy of the USVI is more focused on tourism. Historically, however, ecosystem restoration work relies heavily on federal grant funding in both locations.

    In response to climate hazards and limited funding for ecosystem restoration and resilience projects, PDC is developing workforce training programs that will teach skills and develop an understanding of the benefits to communities so that nature-based solutions can be implemented as widely as possible.

    The project is in its planning and design phases, so it is too early to determine whether this project has succeeded.

    Funding & Building Capacity

    PDC received a $3.5 million Climate-Ready Workforce grant from NOAA to develop, design, and implement workforce training.

    Organizations

    Protectores de Cuencas, Inc.

    Relevant Options

    To prepare for potential droughts, coordinate with owners of winter recreation areas and water recreation areas to support the development of recreational activities that are less dependent on snowpack Determine the economic impact of water management on critical elements of the economy, including agriculture, tourism and marine industries. Develop a new water source that benefits the commercial activity of the community as well as community health and safety. Diversify food supply chains to prepare for potential impacts from changing seasons and extreme events. For example, support local food production by promoting new technologies, encouraging farmers to Promote opportunities for controlled-environment agriculture (e.g., hydroponics, aquaculture) to increase local food production of food that is less energy and water intensive and protected from climate

    Steps to Resilience

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    Understand Exposure
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    Assess Vulnerability & Risk
    Investigate Options
    Prioritize & Plan
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    Take Action
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