The Kingdom of Tonga : action strategy for managing the environment

Coffee farming in Masaka District has been highly vulnerable to climate variability, including prolonged dry spells and erratic rainfall that disrupt flowering and reduce yields. Although irrigation improves productivity, adoption has remained low due to high upfront costs and reliance on diesel-powered systems, which are expensive and environmentally unsustainable. As a result, many smallholder farmers have depended on rain-fed agriculture, leading to low productivity and income instability.

The project introduced solar-powered irrigation as a sustainable solution, providing reliable and affordable water using renewable energy. Solar pumps, water storage, and drip irrigation systems were installed to improve efficiency and yields. Farmers and Community Resource Persons (CRPs) were trained in installation, operation, maintenance, and water management.

Pilot farmers established demonstration sites, supported by hands-on training. CRPs now provide local technical support, while partnerships with solar system suppliers.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.