Building Cross-Border Resilience
The San Diego we love depends on the environment we protect together — and that environment doesn’t stop at the border.
The Cali-Baja coastline, spanning from Oceanside to Ensenada, is the largest economic zone along the U.S.–Mexico border, generating $250 billion in regional GDP and seeing more than 90 million border crossings each year.
A partnership of San Diego Foundation and the International Community Foundation, the Binational Resilience Initiative addresses this cross-border region’s climate vulnerabilities by empowering collaboration between civil organizations, scientists, community leaders and other stakeholders on both sides of the border.
This work is possible because of donors and funding partners like The Builders Initiative and Alumbra Innovations Foundation, who together seeded the initiative with nearly $2 million in combined funding, alongside partners including Resilient Cities Catalyst and the San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative.
“It was so inspiring to see those teenagers speaking English and Spanish together about their research. They saw themselves as one community working on shared environmental challenges.”
50Community-based organizations supported |
12+Coastal resilience grants with a youth focus |
30Collaborative coastal resilience projects supported |
Give Close to Home
San Diego is the home we all share. And when our neighbors need us, we show up. A gift to San Diego Foundation is how we take care of each other – one family, one neighborhood, one gift at a time.
How the Binational Resilience Initiative Helps
Improve Coastal Resilience: Funds pilot green infrastructure projects, like wetlands restoration, to help the region weather the impacts of climate change such as coastal flooding and shoreline erosion.
Reduce Pollution Impacts: Works with partners to reduce pollution in the binational lower Tijuana River watershed, creating healthier oceans and waterways on both sides of the border.
Champion Local Leadership: Strengthens binational, regional leadership by collaborating and making decisions with communities that are inequitably affected by climate change.
Build a Knowledge Base: Conducts new research to expand understanding of binational coastal resilience needs, helping inform better decision-making for community leaders and policymakers.
More Environment Initiatives
Climate Initiative
Opening the Outdoors
Growing Green Spaces
