The project promoted restoration, prioritizing the following ecosystems: natural grasslands, native forests, wetlands, and coastal ecosystems.
The project achieved the following:
These experiences, framed within a national planning process, fuel inclusive debate and the creation of public policy on restoration, as well as contributing to the National Biodiversity Strategy. Among the overall environmental benefits the project aimed to generate, 11,164 ha of degraded land and ecosystems have been restored.
PROAMAZONÍA, an Ecuadorian initiative for 2017–2023, which reduced deforestation and CO2 emissions. It linked national efforts to reduce emissions, priority agendas, and productive policies within the REDD+ framework, as outlined in its REDD+ Action Plan “Forests for Good Living” (2016–2025). It succeeded in reducing emissions from deforestation by 7 million metric tons of CO2 equivalents, contributing to Ecuador’s NDC. Comprising projects funded by the GCF and GEF, it was implemented by MAATE, MAG, and UNDP.
It addressed four components: REDD+ policies and institutional framework, transition to sustainable production, sustainable forest management, conservation and restoration, and operational management of REDD+. It updated land-use planning instruments, facilitated the transition to sustainable production across 93,000 hectares, conserved and sustainably managed 790,000 hectares of forests, and restored 15,000 hectares of Amazonian forests, benefiting 83,000 people.
Since 2008, the Tucumán Model Forest has distinguished itself through territorial governance led by the Cooperativa Generar. The governance approach centres on knowledge transfer and reinforces key processes and capacities among grassroots actors. This turns isolated efforts into coordinated “glocal” (global and local) development strategies and serves as a scalable model. Within this structure, the Cooperativa Generar uses its legal status to strengthen the Fundación Coquena (Tourism Guides), which, in turn, supports the Cooperativa Lagoferiantes (Women Producers). The organisation’s legal status enables its autonomy. It allows networks to self-manage and engage in international cooperation, even in political and economic adversity. As “Guardians of the Forest,” these organisations influence public policies on land-use, restoration, and climate action. The impact is reflected in improvements in marketing and social empowerment, which guarantee economic well-being without sacrificing ecosystem conservation.
The Latin American Model Forest Youth Network (RLJBM) is a voluntary organisation that brings together young people from Latin America and the Caribbean to strengthen their participation in environmental governance. It was created in response to the lack of youth inclusion in decision making and seeks to promote intergenerational knowledge exchange on landscape management. In 2022, the Youth Network was formed through workshops and processes to identify young leaders, and in 2023, it was formalised as an autonomous network. In 2024, RLJBM was consolidated through mentoring from the Chocó Andino Model Forest and held its first face-to-face meeting in Costa Rica, where thematic priorities and a horizontal governance structure were defined. RLJBM currently has a Central Committee representing several countries and promoting conservation, environmental education, inclusion, and regional coordination activities.
The RNDN, created in 2021, is the largest Natural Protected Area in Peru (6,239,205.75 ha) and the only one focused exclusively on marine ecosystems. Located 105 km off the coast of Ica, it is a vital source of resources like giant squid, sharks, and flying fish eggs for fishers from Paita, Pisco, Marcona, and Matarani. Its creation was an unprecedented multisectoral process that involved various stakeholders and governmental institutions. In 2022, the San Andres Artisanal Fishers Syndicate led the RNDN management committee, and in 2023 the Master Plan’s terms of reference were approved. The first Master Plan was developed collaboratively with fishing organizations and stakeholders, setting strategies for the conservation and sustainable use of natural and cultural resources. This plan integrates commitments to protect marine species, including the “Blue Five” (in this case whales, sharks, turtles and dolphins), and recognizes the identity and knowledge of artisanal fishers as part of the sociocultural value of the NPA.
Adventure Scientists’ Coral Reef Monitoring and Restoration Project is building the first coordinated, standardized coral reef monitoring network spanning two of Latin America’s most important marine regions: the Mesoamerican Reef Corridor and the Eastern Tropical Pacific Marine Corridor (CMAR). The project trains and employs local divers, coordinators, data analysts, and local photographers to collect standardized reef health data in marine protected areas using regionally adapted monitoring protocols and a custom mobile application. Since launching in August 2025, the project has completed over 1,500 monitoring transects across more than 100 reef sites in Colombia, Costa Rica, Honduras, and Mexico. In Year 2, the network is expanding to Ecuador, further strengthening regional collaboration. The long-term vision is to establish a permanent community science network that generates the data needed for coordinated conservation action across national boundaries and supports coral reef resilience throughout Latin America.
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.
As the World Heritage Convention celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2022, over 1100 sites around the world are recognized as World Heritage – places that are so valuable to humanity that there conservation has been deemed our collective responsibility. Yet many of these exceptional places face increasing pressure from diverse types of development projects within and around the sites. Assessing the impacts of such projects is essential to both prevent damage to World Heritage and identify sustainable options. This Guidance and toolkit explains the process for achieving these goals. Offering practical tips and tools including checklists and a glossary, it provides a framework for conducting impact assessments for cultural and natural heritage sites.
Se espera que la presente Nota Informativa los oriente de manera sensible y respetuosa teniendo en cuento los muchos temas involucrados. Contiene hechos fundamentales acerca de las ICCA, sintetiza lecciones aprendidas, y ofrece recomendaciones para los gobiernos qui implementan el Programa de Trabajo sobre Áreas Protegidas del CDB (PoWPA). La Nota ofrece también consejos sintéticos sobre qué hacer y qué no hacer dirigidos a los gobiernos y la sociedad civil qui están comprometarget_idos en mantener los immensos beneficios de las ICCA en términos de conservación y sustento a los medios de vida.
In Uruguay, against a backdrop of the loss of habitat critical to biodiversity, the degradation of vulnerable ecosystems and soils due to the intensification and expansion of livestock and agricultural activities, poor grassland management practices, and pollution of water bodies and wetlands, the project aimed to implement actions to strengthen systemic, financial, and institutional capacities for biodiversity conservation and sustainable land management, thereby improving the effectiveness and sustainability of the management of protected areas, associated productive lands, and human well-being. This was achieved through: the establishment of a regulatory, financial, and institutional framework for biodiversity conservation and land degradation neutrality; Implementation of biodiversity and land conservation measures at pilot sites; and Knowledge management, monitoring and evaluation, and learning, to promote dialogue between public and private stakeholders.
The Uruguayan Ministry of the Environment, with support from UNDP and the GEF through the project “Biodiversity and Land Conservation,” issued a call for proposals on sustainable production to organizations of producers of goods and services. An open competition was held for non-reimbursable grants aimed at groups of producers with proposals that incorporate improvements in environmental sustainability based on the sustainable use of natural resources. The call for proposals included an affirmative action strategy, reserving 30% of the awarded grants for women-led groups, as well as giving preference to groups that include young people. A total of 7 groups were selected, divided into 3 priority areas: i) sustainable livestock production on pastures; ii) nature tourism on livestock ranches; and iii) sustainable agriculture and biodiversity conservation.
The ecOcamp, developed by ecOceanica since 2021, is an immersive training program in marine research and conservation, implemented in collaboration with fishing communities in northern Peru. Through a field-based theoretical and practical experience, participants engage directly in marine megafauna monitoring, including aquatic censuses, sea turtle nesting surveys, whale shark registration and photo-identification, and fisheries assessments.
The program combines applied scientific training, participation in real research processes, and collaboration with artisanal fishers, fostering understanding of both ecological and social dimensions of marine conservation. It also integrates a citizen science approach, enabling participants to contribute to long-term scientific data collection.
Beyond capacity building, the model supports the financial sustainability of research activities and generates direct economic benefits for local communities, strengthening the link between science, community, and marine biodiversity conservation.
