The communities of the Sixaola River basin (2,848 km2), shared between Costa Rica and Panama, are mestizo and indigenous, with high rates of poverty and vulnerability. The area evidences an increasing incidence of extreme climatic events, in particular droughts, high temperatures and floods, which put local livelihoods at risk. A comprehensive solution is proposed to increase socio-environmental resilience that consists of combining dialogue, capacities, knowledge, alliances and field work to promote agrobiodiversity and reforest the basin. With producers from 7 communities, local empowerment and inter-institutional coordination, EbA measures are implemented, their impact on food security is monitored and transboundary cooperation is facilitated. EbA is promoted through “action learning” processes aimed at improving and diversifying productive practices, rescuing the use of autochthonous seeds and restoring riparian forests through bi-national actions.