The RAÍCES programme in Costa Rica: Promoting economic empowerment and biodiversity conservation through Indigenous-led sustainable tourism

Indigenous peoples living near protected areas in Costa Rica have limited access to livelihood opportunities, while logging, poaching, and other challenges have threatened biodiversity in the country. Indigenous entrepreneurship in sustainable tourism can generate local income and, at the same time, contribute to biodiversity conservation and cultural heritage protection. However, restricted access to credit, particularly among Indigenous women, prevents many from engaging in this sector.

The Government of Costa Rica, with support from the Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN) of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), launched RAÍCES — a pioneering startup incubator that provides Indigenous-led sustainable tourism businesses with non-refundable seed capital, capacity building, and support to develop nature-positive business models.

RAÍCES has mobilized USD 1,947,019.48 to support 40 Indigenous-led businesses (64% of them led by women), contributing to the sustainable management of 2,222 hectares of forest.

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Waste management and recycling by youth in Machakos County.

Kenya faces significant challenges in managing its increasing volume of waste, leading to environmental and health problems. Poor infrastructure, lack of public awareness, and insufficient funding hinder effective collection, processing, and disposal of waste, contributing to pollution and disease transmission.

Here’s a more detailed look at the waste management issues we intend to address;

1. Inadequate Infrastructure and Resources:

Lack of Sanitary facilities
Insufficient Collection Systems:
Limited Processing Facilities:

Many areas rely on poorly managed sanitation facilities posing significant environmental and health risks.

A large portion of waste is not collected, leading to accumulation in streets and homes, especially in urban areas.

There are insufficient facilities for recycling, composting, or other waste management methods.

2. Public Awareness and Participation:

Lack of Education:
Low Social Involvement:

Insufficient public education on proper waste management practices,

From Natural banana Fibre to Paper: A Practical Solution Centred on Equipment Design for Small Scale Production

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

The focus of this solution is the transformation of cellulosic fibres (in our case banana fibre) into paper, using low-tech machinery suitable for small-scale production (up to 20 kg per day). The process is entirely thermo-mechanical, requiring no chemical additives, and can be adapted for other types of cellulosic fibres as well.

As part of this open-source approach, we will share:

3D models of all equipment and machines
Explanations of how they work, and the safety measures involved
Guidelines for factory organization and daily operations
Details of our self-designed fresh and wastewater systems
A complete layout of the factory

This solution is designed to be practical, replicable, and accessible for communities aiming to create sustainable, fibre-based products using locally available resources.

Community-led sustainable tourism in Hon Yen Island, Viet Nam: conserving reefs, supporting livelihoods, and empowering women

In Hon Yen Island, Viet Nam, 12.7 ha of biodiverse coral reefs and 6.5 ha of seagrass-algal beds provide habitat for numerous marine species, sustaining the livelihoods of fishing and tourism communities. The island is known for its vibrant socio-cultural landscape, with rituals, crafts, and other traditional practices. However, aquaculture waste, unregulated tourism, and other challenges have threatened local biodiversity, while women and youth face barriers to work in tourism and marine management.

Amid this situation, the Women’s Unions of Dak Lak province and An Hoa Hai commune, UNDP’s Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN), the GEF Small Grants Program (SGP), and other partners supported the establishment of the Hon Yen Service and Ecology Cooperative (Eco-Coop).

Eco-Coop empowers local women and youth in tourism, organizes community-led ecotours, and promotes biodiversity conservation initiatives. By 2025, these tours attracted thousands of visitors, supporting the livelihoods of 80 individuals.

Villavicencio Nature Reserve: a story of commitment and conservation on private land (Mendoza, Argentina)

In 1999, Danone acquired the Villavicencio mineral water brand and ownership of 64,000 hectares of land where the product originates. In line with the company’s objectives, it was voluntarily decided to dedicate this territory to private conservation.

Thus, in 2000, the Villavicencio Nature Reserve was created, the only privately managed reserve in the province.

As a food company, it was limited in its ability to carry out specific conservation actions. It was decided to conduct a pilot test with an external operator to see if it was feasible to generate tourism services. The test was positive. A business plan was developed and presented internally to the company, approved, and the Villavicencio Foundation was created in 2014 to professionalize and specialize the management of the area.

This allowed for progress on various projects and improved sustainability, with the challenge of sustaining the management and conservation costs of the protected natural area.

More than four million hectares protected, a sea of opportunities for conservation in the Colombian Pacific region

The Malpelo Fauna and Flora Sanctuary is a marine treasure covering 4.8 million hectares, located 490 km off the Colombian coast. But protecting such a vast area presents major challenges, especially when resources for its management are limited. This is where collaboration makes a difference! Thanks to relationships with various key players involved in managing the protected area, especially the strategic alliance with the Biodiversity Conservation Colombia Foundation through its Silky project, support is provided to the Malpelo SFF park rangers in their daily work of navigating Colombian waters to monitor and control illegal and illicit fishing, collect solid waste, conduct research and monitoring, and ensure responsible ecotourism. The results are amazing! Since 2018, these pressures have been reduced, promoting the increase of marine populations that are key to the health of the ecosystems of the Tropical Western Pacific.

Fishing and Responsible Tourism in the Gran Golfo de Chiriquí (GGCh)

Promoting fishing, responsible tourism, and marine-coastal conservation through the use of low-impact fishing gear and activities are the pillars of FEPACOIBA’s good management practices. This is complemented by the support and coordination of partners for training, research, and data generation for decision-making, both by authorities and internally within organizations, for the management of marine and coastal resources. Also, within the framework of technological innovation and with the support of regional organizations such as MarViva, satellite monitoring is implemented to prevent illegal fishing and ensure the safety of local actors when navigating the coasts. Likewise, tourist activities are carried out with respect for the natural environment.

Sqba Community Adopts the Satoyama Initiative: Promoting Eco-Friendly Farming and Traditional Crop Conservation

The Sqba Community is located in a mid-altitude forest with abundant ecological resources. Once an industrial area for the Hrung tribe, the community now comprises 33% Atayal, alongside populations of Hakka, Minnan, and Mainlanders. Local industries center on agriculture, particularly fruit production such as persimmons, and tourism, featuring campsites, ecotours, fruit-picking experiences, cultural ecology guided tours, and DIY workshops that make use of local ecological resources. Under the Satoyama Initiative, the Taichung Branch of the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency conducted resilience assessment workshops (RAWs) in collaboration with locals to identify and prioritize urgent needs, such as conserving traditional crops, promoting sustainable use of forest, river, and field resources, and leveraging ecological assets for income generation and marketing. The local government and agricultural technology departments also participated.

Eco-Tourism for Mountain Communities in Khan Tengiri State Nature Park, Kyrgyzstan

In Kyrgyzstan, livestock herding remains a cornerstone of rural livelihoods, yet inefficient resource use and unsustainable herd sizes are accelerating land degradation, increasing greenhouse gas emissions, and creating environmental and public health risks—all of which heighten the impacts of climate change. Ecotourism is often presented as a complementary livelihood option, but it also comes with its own set of challenges. These include ensuring that tours respect nature and do not harm protected areas, difficulties in connecting tour operators with new or remote destinations, limited local services and marketing capacity, and ensuring that tourism activities genuinely support conservation efforts.

Outdoor education for young students to a pecan tree collection to raise awareness about pecan tree varieties and agrobiodiversity

Pecan tree [Carya illinoensis (Wangenh.) K. Koch] is the most important nut tree of North America. In Portugal, a pecan tree collection was planted for agronomic research in the 1980-90s with the purpose of evaluating these nut trees’ adaptability to several distinct Portuguese local geophysical and climatic conditions.

Nowadays, this collection is a biological resource of interest not only in terms of agrobiodiversity, but also for educational purposes through outdoor visits. These are organized for students and the public, with the aim of raising awareness about Pecan tree varieties and biodiversity.

Outdoor visits with young students address three current relevant phenomena – extinction of experience, nature disconnection and plant awareness disparity (i.e. – the idea that students tend not to notice or appreciate the plants in their environment).

Outdoor visits have helped students and the wider public to learn about pecan tree biodiversity. The collection is managed by INIAV, I.P. and Oeiras Municipality.

Watering troughs for strictly protected animal species

This solution focuses on addressing the challenge of surface water availability for wildlife in the mountain regions in Southwestern Serbia. Less surface water is available to wildlife due to climate change, jeopardizing the survival of numerous protected species such as the Griffon vulture, Cinereous vulture, Eastern imperial eagle, Ural owl, Brown bear and Common wolf. This project provides for a reliable, year-round water supply system through the construction of watering troughs and associated infrastructure near the existing supplementary feeding site for vultures, birds of prey and large carnivores. Advanced real time video surveillance has been made available to monitor usage and collect data on the movements and diversity of protected species at the supplementary feeding and watering site. The solution also includes an awareness-raising campaign for the local community on the importance of the habitat and species conservation.

Successful Establishment of the WIO Mangrove Network

Formal registration as an NGO granted Western Indian Ocean Mangrove Network (WIOMN) essential funding access, legal identity, legitimacy, and governance needed to fulfill its mission. Although founded in 2011 with members across 10 countries, WIOMN lacked formal NGO status, limiting its potential and stakeholder recognition. To address this, WWF, IUCN, and Wetlands International formed a consortium providing technical and financial support, enabling WIOMN’s successful registration in 2021. Since then, the network secured international project funding and was appointed by the Nairobi Convention to lead the Regional Mangrove Action Plan (RMAP) development.

Natural measures for ecological Gradac

The Public Water Management Company “Srbijavode”, in cooperation with the protected area manager “Ecological Society Gradac” achieved significant ecological restoration and educational outreach in the Gradac River area. The project involved riverbed clearing by mechanically removing obstacles to river flow, such as large fallen tree trunks, stumps and over 3,500 m³ of sediment, to enhance river flow and restore ecological balance. PWC “Srbijavode” implemented bioengineering interventions by installing willow-wattle structures to provide a nature-based solution for preventing riverbank erosion along a pilot area of 150 m. Throughout the project, scientists from the Institute for Biological Research “Siniša Stanković” conducted biodiversity assessments to ensure minimal negative impact on the ecosystem and to highlight the Gradac River’s good water quality. The Ecological Society Gradac engaged with over 250 primary school students in the Valjevo area through educational workshops.