October 13, 2020 

Audubon Florida is excited to join the East Central Florida Regional Resilience Collaborative (R2C). ​Members include government agencies and entities that serve the eight counties and municipalities of Brevard, Lake, Marion, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Sumter, and Volusia counties. R2C is committed to strengthening regional cooperation, developing a regional action plan, advancing regional legislative priorities, engaging the community, and sharing knowledge via an annual summit. 

The East Central Florida Region is home to more than four million residents - approximately 20% of the population of the State of Florida - and includes two of the four majority-minority counties in the State. Moreover, the region hosts over 60 million visitors annually, and comprises one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the United States.

In 2018, the East Central Florida Regional Planning Council resolved to convene stakeholders across the region to develop a structure and framework for a regional resilience collaborative.

The framework identified three central pillars of resilience – people, places, and prosperity. Included in those pillars are health and equity, built infrastructure and the natural environment, and economic prosperity; woven throughout those pillars is a commitment to carbon emissions reductions, increased sustainability, and an emergency management system that is more responsive to current and future risks and vulnerabilities.   ​

At Audubon, we agree that resilience requires building the capacity to not only survive, but also thrive in future conditions by adapting to and preventing negative impacts. There are rich possibilities in the intersections between our work and the R2C’s goals. Our five core strategic priorities – coasts, climate, water, working lands, bird-friendly communities – cover a breadth of landscapes and issues imperative to fortifying resilience. 

Additionally, climate change is the greatest threat to birds and we know that what affects birds affects us. Protecting the vital habitat of birds and other species also protects the natural infrastructure we rely on for tourism, recreation, and water quality. 

We look forward to partnering on initiatives that will bolster East Central Florida’s economic prosperity, community wellbeing, and ecosystem health. 

Read the full MOU here.