Enhancing Ecosystem Services, Grazing Sustainability, and Livelihoods in Imam Abdulaziz bin Mohammed Royal Reserve

Imam Abdulaziz bin Mohammed Royal Reserve (IARR) provides a compelling model of how arid ecosystems can recover when adaptive, science-based management is combined with strong community engagement.in the past the reserve suffered from drought, debris accumulation, and unsustainable grazing that drove vegetation cover to critically low levels, threatened biodiversity, and limited the benefits that communities could derive from natural resources.

In response, IARR adopted an integrated approach focused on ecological restoration, sustainable grazing management, biodiversity recovery, and diversified livelihoods. Between 2022 and mid-2025, more than 10,830.41ha of degraded land were restored with 1.02 million native trees planted, raising vegetation cover from 0.13% in 2022 to 0.45% in mid-2025. Importantly, this was not a tree-planting campaign alone—it was a structured program combining natural regeneration, habitat rehabilitation, and rotational grazing to reduce pressure on fragile ecosystems.

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Revive & Rewild: Community-Led Frankincense Woodland Restoration in Puntland, Somalia

The Revive & Rewild Initiative, led by the Somali Relief and Development Organization (SORDO), is a community-driven and youth-powered restoration model that protects and regenerates critically endangered Boswellia carteri frankincense woodlands across the Uur-Caleed corridor and Golis Mountains in Puntland, Somalia. The project restores degraded dryland ecosystems, strengthens climate resilience, and enhances sustainable livelihoods by integrating ecological restoration, community stewardship, rotational grazing governance, and youth eco-guardianship.

Through restoring 14 hectares of frankincense woodland (within an 800-hectare landscape of ongoing restoration), clearing invasive Prosopis juliflora, planting 2,000 native seedlings, establishing community conservation areas, and empowering 40 eco-guardians, the initiative demonstrates an effective, low-cost, and replicable model for dryland biodiversity recovery.

Building Climate Resilience in Coffee Farming Through Agroforestry Solutions

In Masaka District, widespread tree cutting and land degradation have significantly reduced soil fertility and threatened coffee production, a key livelihood for thousands of farmers within the region. These challenges are further exacerbated by climate change, characterized by erratic rainfall patterns and long dry spells, as well as declining tree cover, which have weakened the resilience and productivity of coffee farming.

To address these challenges, Masaka District Farmers Association, as a recipient of the International Climate Initiative (IKI) Small Grants, is implementing a solution focused on restoring coffee farms and degraded landscapes through agroforestry and large-scale tree planting

This effort is reinforced through the establishment of centralized tree nurseries to ensure a reliable and sustainable supply of appropriate, coffee-friendly seedlings. Farmers are supported through targeted training and continuous technical guidance in agroforestry practices and sustainable agricultural land management (SALM).

Integrating Photovoltaics with Water Retention and Ecological Restoration in Arid Regions

This solution demonstrates how large-scale solar energy development can be aligned with nature-based solutions (NbS) to address land degradation, water scarcity, and climate resilience. Implemented in Yulin, Shaanxi Province, and Yinchuan, Ningxia Province, the projects integrate photovoltaic infrastructure with ecological restoration and water retention strategies, transforming degraded sandy land into multifunctional landscapes.

Beneath the solar panels, water-retaining agents are incorporated into the soil to form distributed “micro-reservoirs” that capture limited rainfall, reduce evaporation, and support vegetation growth. The resulting vegetation has shown strong establishment compared to typical solar farm conditions. This improved vegetation cover enhances soil stability, reduces desertification risks, and strengthens ecosystem resilience, while maintaining efficient energy production with reduced cleaning frequency and lower water demand.

Improvement of Water Regime Management in the Okanj bara Special Nature Reserve

The project addresses the issue of water scarcity, which threatens biodiversity and the local community. The project aims to create conditions for controlled water inflow and retention, improving the area’s resilience to climate extremes and enhancing conditions for livestock, wildlife, tourism, and biodiversity conservation, all without jeopardizing the flood defense system.

The project activities were focused on the reconstruction and modernization of parts of the canal network to make it resemble natural water habitats as closely as possible, with sloped banks to allow animals easier access to water, including the construction of overflow weirs to improve the water regime in the Crvenka marsh depressions and control the water level.

Revitalization of water and wet habitats in SRP Obedska bara

The project idea of was to revitalize and manage the wetland habitats in the Special Nature Reserve “Obedska bara” by implementing a nature-based Solution (NbS), namely through extensive grazing by a herd of water buffalo. Managed by a local farmer, and in cooperation with the protected area manager (Public Enterprise Vojvodinašume) and the BirdLife partner (Bird Protection and Study Society of Serbia), the problem posed by overgrown vegetation and reduced water flow was greatly reduced.

The main goal of the project was to clear up 25 ha of overgrown wet meadows, ponds, and forest edges by grazing water buffalo and to remove invasive plant species, creating “open water mirrors” and attracting more birds to reside in the area. The project also conducted activities to strengthen and raise the awareness of the local community about the importance of preserving wetland habitats.

Restoring Degraded Lands: The Dry Valley Rehabilitation and Productive Use (DVRPU) Approach for Climate Resilience in Ethiopia

In Ethiopia’s lowlands, climate change, erosion and drought degrade land, cut yields and fuel conflicts among agro-pastoralists. The Dry Valley Rehabilitation and Productive Use approach under the global GIZ ProSoil programme integrates technical and socio-ecological measures to restore dry valleys, secure water and promote sustainable land use. The approach uses Water Spreading Weirs, Dry-Stone Measures and biological measures. Water Spreading Weirs span dry riverbeds to spread and slow floods, enhance infiltration, trap nutrient-rich sediments and improve soils and vegetation. Based on a traditional and administrative system, the approach follows 7 steps from satellite-based suitability mapping to participatory planning by user cooperatives, rehabilitation and productive use. GIZ, BMZ, Ethiopian agencies, research bodies and communities collaborated to build 110 Water Spreading Weirs and 205 Dry-Stone Measures in Afar with similar work in Somali and Oromia, restoring 55,500 ha of degraded land and supporting 6,000 people.

Developing a Sustainable Biochar Value Chain: A Business Model to Combat Soil Degradation and Enhance Agricultural Productivity

India’s growing population has placed immense pressure on agricultural lands, resulting in nearly 40 percent of India’s land being degraded, with 3.7 million hectares suffering from the depletion of soil organic matter and nutrients. Also, the access to subsidised but still expensive synthetic fertiliser is challenging for many smallholder farmers. Therefore, the use of agro-chemical alternatives has gained traction to support sustainable agriculture. Biochar (in combination with biological fertiliser) improves soil fertility, water retention, neutralises acidity in soils and acts as a long-term carbon sink. However, the very limited number of businesses currently engaged in market-oriented biochar production is partly a consequence of technological and infrastructural limitations. To support market expansion, community bioresource enterprises have been established in six districts of Maharashtra/India. The goal is to promote the use of biochar among small-scale and female farmers through a sustainable business model.

Enhancing Local Climate Action: Strengthening Municipalities’ Strategic Climate Adaptation Planning and Financial Integration

Guatemala is considered as one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change, facing threats to water and food security as well as livelihoods. Despite this, climate action has received insufficient consideration in the country’s development agenda and local planning.

To address these issues, the EbA-LAC program has collaborated with relevant institutional teams to establish a joint approach towards guiding municipalities in the incorporation of climate considerations into their planning and budgeting processes. Through advocacy actions, key actors have updated the public investment system to include adaptation products, providing a procedural framework for municipalities to access funding and include adaptation measures in municipal budgets. In addition, by improving inter-institutional coordination, facilitating joint municipal planning tools, as well as strengthening municipalitechnical capacities, EbA-LAC has succeeded in paving the way for municipalities to leverage synergies towards an increased resilience.

Beyond Bang for the Buck: the Business Case for Financial Inclusion to Scale EbA Solutions in Philippine Coastal Communities

In the small-scale fisheries (SSF) communities of Siargao, Philippines, a two-pronged financial strategy is helping bridge the gap between household resilience and local government budgeting for coastal conservation.

The international conservation organization Rare, with support from the Global EbA Fund, tested a combination of financial inclusion research—focused on tools like savings, insurance, and responsible credit—and a practical Excel-based budgeting model to help Local Government Units (LGUs) cost and plan for the Managed Access with Reserves (MA+R) environmental management system. The MA+R model is a proven rights-based approach to fisheries management that combines sustainable use of coastal natural resources with strict protection and ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) measures.

Together, these tools support long-term sustainability, empower communities, and enable LGUs to better integrate EbA into formal planning and budgeting cycles.

Sustainable Agro-Sylvo-Pastoral Management as an integrated solution for landscape restoration and livelihood improvement

In the Boeny region of Madagascar, communities are facing landscape degradation due to unsustainable agricultural practices (slash-and-burn agriculture, deforestation etc.) and repetitive bush fires. The consequences for agricultural production are serious, posing a dilemma between conserving forests as a home to endangered species and ensuring food security through agricultural expansion. On top, climate change poses additional challenges to the grazing system of around 70 percent of Malagasy households being involved in raising livestock. Traditional spatial approaches separating conservation and production have proven inadequate. The concept of “Aménagement Agro-Sylvo-Pastoral Durable” (ASPD; sustainable agro-sylvo-pastoral management) has been developed with the objective to balance use of space. By combining agriculture, forestry, and livestock planning to enhance productivity while preserving natural resources, ASPD offers an integrated solution, with a focus on the adoption of climate-smart pasture management.

A stepwise approach to advancing the agroecological transition in Ethiopia

The Ethiopian Highlands face serious land degradation caused by fragile soils, heavy rainfall, frequent tillage, poor nutrient recycling, inappropriate fertiliser use, overgrazing and deforestation. As soils become unproductive, smallholder farmers lose income and may abandon their land. Reversing degradation is therefore essential for livelihoods and agricultural productivity. The stepwise approach to advancing agroecological transition offers a sustainable pathway, shifting from conventional to ecosystem-based farming systems. Adapted for Ethiopia by the ProSoil programme as well as the embedded multi-donor action “ProSilience: Enhancing soils and agroecology for resilient agri-food systems in Sub-Saharan Africa”, the approach follows this process: Quick Win technologies to raise yields, measures to reduce nutrient and biomass losses, tools to improve resource-use efficiency, and integration at watershed level. By 2024, the approach reached over 784,500 farmers in 235 districts.

Combating Land Degradation in Western Kenya: Climate-Smart Agroecological Solutions for Sustainable Farming

Recent studies suggest that 12-15% of the Kenya’s total land area is suffering from severe to very severe degradation. Very densely populated Western Kenya is one of the hotspots where the rate of landscape degradation is rapidly increasing, with soils lost on average 0.5 t ha per year in 2017 compared to 0.3 t ha per year in 1995. This in turn leads to low and inadequate food supply and farm incomes. Unpredictable periods of drought and variable rainfall due to climate change are further exacerbating the situation. The solution provided by agroecological methods is to reverse land degradation and provide long-term sustainable methods of soil management as well as new income streams for farmers. Three climate-smart solutions have been assessed and promoted by the GIZ-supported Global Programme “ProSoil”: vermicomposting, conservation agriculture, and agroforestry. The solutions can be aligned or applied separately to meet individual farmers’ needs.