Enhancing social sustainability in activities to combat desertification : a manual for reflection

The “Mobile Intervention Unit for Wild Carnivores” project equipped the formal rapid-response team for interventions involving wild carnivores in Serbia, focusing on Brown Bear related interventions. A new vehicle was procured through this project for the transport of 5 team members and the accompanying equipment (tools for safe catching and immobilizing brown bears). Apart from ensuring the main means of rapid deployment of 5 members of the Mobile Intervention Unit for Wild Carnivores anywhere in Serbia, the project also contributed with the establishment of key protocols for intervention procedures and team safety, ensuring compliance with modern best practices. Capacity building done through this project involved a practical training for the members of the Brown Bear Intervention Team and a workshop for stakeholders, involving more than twenty participants, including protected area staff, hunting associations, local self government units and others. 

In Mongolia’s dry rangelands, uneven water access concentrated livestock around a few water points, increasing pressure nearby while remote pasture remained underused. At sites in Uvurkhangai, Dornogovi, Sukhbaatar and Tuv aimags, the Sustainable Land Management for Combating Desertification Project linked water-source development with community participation and pasture-management objectives. The solution established 13 engineering wells, restored eight engineering wells and 52 hand wells, and protected 60 natural springs from livestock trampling. These measures improved livestock water access, enabled use of remote pasture and supported haymaking, windbreak and tree-planting sites. By connecting wells and spring protection with pasture planning, agreed use and community responsibility, the approach offers a replicable model for distributing grazing pressure, supporting pastoral livelihoods and strengthening dryland resilience.

The Zhejiang Tianmu Mountain National Nature Reserve is located in Lin’an District, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, China. Covering a total area of 4,284 hectares, it is one of the national nature reserves featuring subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forests located closest to a major metropolitan area,It preserves more than 5,000 ancient trees across 72 species and is home to 119 species of wild flora and fauna under national key protection (including Tianmu ironwood, ancient ginkgo, ancient Chinese fir, Chinese stone pine, South China sika deer, black muntjac, and white-necked long-tailed pheasant).In 2024, the “Regulations on the Zhejiang Tianmu Mountain National Nature Reserve” officially took effect—marking the first time Hangzhou City has enacted legislation specifically for a single mountain; that same year, the “Tianmu Mountain–Qingliang Peak” site was incorporated into the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves.This plan uses the application for an IUCN Green Name designation as a catalyst to conduct a systematic “health check” and upgrade the management of the protected area based on globally recognized standards for protected areas. At its core is a “five-in-one” model comprising “legislative authorization—government-led governance—community-based joint protection and management—integrated aerial, terrestrial, and space-based smart monitoring—coordinated law enforcement in accordance with the law,”five-in-one model, driving the reserve toward refined, standardized, and professional management. The plan addresses core challenges including illegal crossings in the core zone, visitor and fire prevention pressures, invasive species, standardization of monitoring, and shortages of professional talent, yielding positive outcomes such as significant conservation achievements, deepened community co-management, and regional green development.

The solution addresses water security and climate resilience in Ecuador by integrating Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) into public planning, governance, and finance. Led by the Banco de Desarrollo del Ecuador (BDE) with the GIZ Programme Scaling-up EbA Measures in rural Latin America, the initiative made BDE  a pioneer in water security through public banking. The BDE is currently incorporating EbA criteria into its budget lines, credit instruments, and project evaluation processes.

A key output, the Sustainable Watershed Management Guide, equips local governments with tools to design bankable, low-emission projects combining infrastructure and nature-based solutions. These approaches are institutionalized in local development plans (PDOTs) and coordinated through watershed councils, fostering multi-level governance and community participation.

Together, these innovations form a replicable model connecting finance, planning, and governance to deliver, climate-resilient investments for Ecuador’s most vulnerable territories.

This Solution focuses on spring source protection and pasture water access in Mongolia’s dryland pastoral ecosystems, implemented through the ADAPT Project with support from the Government of Mongolia, the Green Climate Fund, and UNDP. It addresses growing water scarcity, spring degradation, pasture deterioration, and climate-related drought affecting herder communities and livestock.

The approach combines ecosystem-based adaptation measures, including fencing and protecting spring sources, regulating water flow, restoring surrounding vegetation, and establishing community based management systems. By preventing livestock trampling and reducing contamination, the Solution supports natural spring recovery and improves water quantity and quality.

Between 2022 and 2025, 88 spring sources were protected across Khovd, Zavkhan, Dornod, and Sukhbaatar provinces. In Dariganga soum of Sukhbaatar province alone, restored springs improved water access for more than 30 herder households and over 30,000 livestock.

Climate change and rapid land-use change intensify floods and droughts in the Lower Mekong Basin. Vulnerability is particularly high in transboundary areas, where upstream-downstream interdependencies limit purely national adaptation. In the 9C-9T sub-basin shared by Cambodia (9C) and Thailand (9T) nearly 1.8 million people are affected. Facilitated by Mekong River Commission (MRC) and supported by GIZ, both countries established a Joint Governance Mechanism for Transboundary Assessment, Planning and Action. With a shared vision, the endorsed 9C-9T Flood and Drought Master Plan guides investments towards Nature-based Solutions (NbS). Economic analysis strengthened the case and enabled German funding for two pilots: (1) a constructed wetland in Thailand reducing wastewater flowing to Cambodia, and (2) rural retention ponds in Cambodia for water security and reduced flooding. Local Climate Risk Assessments (CRA) translate basin-scale concepts into site-specific Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) measures now being implemented.