Cities4Forests

We're thrilled to continuing growing our partnership and impact with Blue Forest! Over the past ten years, we've helped protect and restore forests and watersheds in the American West for stronger, more resilient communities. We look forward to the next ten years of our journey together.

Exciting career opportunity: Colorado River Basin Senior Manager World Resources Institute is looking for a Senior Manager to advance a forest and nature-based solutions project pipeline across the Upper Colorado River Basin. You will partner closely with Blue Forest and engage various stakeholders—such as utilities, government agencies, land managers, tribal entities, and corporations—to support funding and conservation finance that protects and restores ecosystems, enhances community resilience, strengthens natural systems, and supports climate goals. If you are interested in making meaningful impact, we encourage you to apply or share this opportunity with your network: https://bit.ly/3QzgmTg This is a remote position which can be based in Colorado or Utah. Apply by May 18, 2026 #WorkWithUs #Careers #SustainabilityJobs #Cities4Forests #Colorado #Utah

How cool is your city? How cool could your city be? 😎🌳 Check out the latest from WRI's Cool Cities Lab. #CoolCitiesLab

Congratulations on the launch of the EcoFilter in Johannesburg. This modular wetland will help clean water in the Jukskei, provide monitoring data, and supply water to nearby women-led gardens. We're proud to collaborate with the International Institute for Sustainable Development, Global Affairs Canada | Affaires mondiales Canada, and all the partners to continue bringing nature-based solutions to cities.

We are thrilled to welcome to Bobby Cochran and Jonah Busch as Cities4Forests' newest team members! Bobby Cochran joins the team as the Senior Lead for Strategy, Policy, and Delivery. He will guide strategy and policy development, strengthen partnerships and fundraising, and lead delivery of place-based projects to advance forests, water, and resilience outcomes, primarily focused across our U.S. portfolio. Bobby brings over 20 years of experience advancing conservation, community health, and sustainable water and land management. Jonah Busch joins the team as the Senior Environmental Economist. He will lead economic analysis and business case development to demonstrate the value of natural infrastructure solutions and support their adoption and financing across the U.S. and global portfolios. Jonah brings deep expertise as an environmental economist, with over 20 years of experience advancing solutions on climate change, forests, and sustainable development across global contexts. We’re excited to have them on board and look forward to the expertise and perspectives they will bring to advance our #Cities4Forests work! 🌳

📆 April 15 & 23 - Two opportunities to learn about the new #CoolCitiesLab open data platform. Live demo, practical tools, real-world insights. Let's beat urban heat with cool solutions!

📰 Did you read it? Cities4Forests newsletter went out yesterday, covering floods in Kenya, nature advances in Rwanda, the launch of the Cool Cities Lab, and much more. Check it out! ⬇️ 📨 Want to receive the next issue in your inbox? Subscribe today: https://lnkd.in/eb58SKFc

Nairobi is flooding again. After the devastating floods in 2024, we outlined practical steps Kenya could take to reduce future flood risk: protecting wetlands and river corridors, improving urban drainage, planning cities around water, and investing in nature-based solutions.  Today, as communities once again deal with flooded homes, disrupted livelihoods and tragic loss of life, the question is will we act on these recommendations before the next rainy season arrives? If Nairobi and other Kenyan cities are to become safer, more resilient and better prepared for a changing climate, the time to move from recommendations to implementation is now. Read our Insights: https://lnkd.in/drpRjPGQ By Susan Onyango, Hellen Njoki Wanjohi, Rebekah Shirley, Ph.D. and Obadiah Mungai Maps by WRI India's Walter Samuel, Bina Shetty and Vaibhav Shrivastava.

📣 #CoolCitiesLab is live! This first-of-its-kind global data platform maps — down to individual city blocks and streets — where residents face the highest heat risk and which solutions can lower temperatures most effectively. The tool provides cities with detailed, actionable data to help guide heat planning, infrastructure investment and climate resilience strategies. 🌍 Check it out today 👉 coolcities.wri.org

🗓️ Tomorrow, March 17, join us for women-led community resilience: https://bit.ly/3NC2RB4 Participate in-person in New York City (open to the public), or register to join online or receive the recording. Experts and local partners from the SUNCASA project will spotlight women’s leadership in urban nature-based solutions (NbS). The panel will discuss how they are shifting norms, designing inclusive practices, and expanding opportunities—from women’s engagement in restoration work in Dire Dawa to GESI codes of conduct in Kigali and community dialogues on gender norms in Johannesburg—showcasing the essential role of gender‑responsive NbS in building equitable, climate‑resilient urban futures. SUNCASA is a 3-year project that restores urban watershed areas through gender-responsive NbS in urban communities in Ethiopia, Rwanda, and South Africa, ultimately strengthening the resilience of 2.2 million people. SUNCASA is implemented with a wide range of local organizations, delivered by International Institute for Sustainable Development and World Resources Institute / WRI Africa, and funded by Global Affairs Canada | Affaires mondiales Canada.