Participatory in-situ Conservation and Sustainable Use of Agrobiodiversity in Hainan

This solution is part of Sparśa, a Nepali non-profit initiative producing compostable menstrual pads made from locally processed banana fiber.  

It describes the first phase of the production chain, detailing how banana pseudostems are sourced from farmers and processed at a factory near the plantations. The solution includes replicable CAD-supported designs for semi-automatic fiber extraction and pseudostem-cutting machines, enabling local manufacturing and adaptation. It also outlines sustainable fiber-drying methods and a circular system that converts the remaining biomass into organic compost fertilizer, which is returned to farmers. The extracted fiber is then turned into absorbent paper sheets used as the core of Sparśa menstrual pads. Overall, the solution strengthens circular economy practices, creates rural employment, empowers women, supports environmentally responsible menstrual hygiene options in Nepal, and offers a model that can be replicated in other banana-growing regions worldwide. 

Viet Nam, one of the world’s most biodiverse countries, is losing nature at an alarming pace due to deforestation, unchecked tourism, land-use change, and pollution. Although 176 protected areas exist, many were long treated as “prohibited zones,” limiting community participation, weakening stewardship and restricting access to resources. Rapid growth in tourism, infrastructure, agriculture, and fisheries, combined with gaps in legal frameworks, institutional capacity, and awareness, has increased pressure on both protected and non-protected landscapes.

From 2020 to 2025, the GEF-funded Biosphere Reserve Project, led by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (now Ministry of Agriculture and Environment) with support from UNDP, worked to reshape this relationship. At its heart was a simple but powerful idea: biodiversity thrives when communities, authorities, and planners share responsibility for the landscapes they depend on.

Protected areas in Kazakhstan expanded yearly, reaching 25 million hectares in 2018. However, public funding did not increase accordingly. As a result, the amount of financing per hectare of protected area declined. Challenges in planning and law implementation aggravated this situation.

The Government of Kazakhstan, supported by the Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN) of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), promoted legal reforms and capacity building to enhance the management and financial sustainability of protected areas. This support was jointly provided with the project “Conservation and sustainable management of key globally important ecosystems for multiple benefits” funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

This initiative catalysed additional public funding for protected areas, which rose from USD 22.5 million in 2018 to USD 60 million in 2024. Moreover, the revenue from paid services in protected areas grew from USD 620 thousand to USD 2.6 million, supporting biodiversity conservation.

In Panama’s western highlands, small coffee farmers face growing pressures from pests, plant diseases and climate change. Heavy reliance on chemical pesticides has harmed biodiversity, degraded soils and threatened pollinators. This solution shows how endophytic fungi, microorganisms that live naturally inside plants, can serve as effective biological pest control adapted to local conditions. Fungal strains were identified and transformed into low-cost formulations that were tested on coffee farms, where they significantly reduced the need for chemical inputs. The initiative brings together scientists, government institutions and local communities, with a strong focus on training and empowering women farmers. By addressing biodiversity loss, land degradation and gaps in technical capacity, the project strengthens sustainable livelihoods and climate resilience. Farmers benefit through higher yields, lower costs and healthier ecosystems, creating a scalable model for sustainable coffee production in Panama and beyond.

This solution is part of the Sparsa Solution, a Nepali non-profit company that locally produces and distributes compostable menstrual pads featuring an absorbent core made from banana fibre.

To strengthen global replication of fibre-based pad manufacturing, a community-building approach was developed to connect practitioners, innovators, small manufacturers and researchers working with natural fibres. The process began with continuous ecosystem mapping and grew through honest, trust-based relationship building supported by regular interactions, especially on LinkedIn. Co-creation spaces—online workshops, stakeholder meetings, technical calls and real-time learning loops—allowed actors to exchange practical insights and refine approaches together. A flexible, distributed infrastructure combining PANORAMA with informal communication channels helps sustain the community and keeps the production model adaptive, accessible, and grounded in real-world experience.