Scaling-up Ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) measures in rural Latin America

Latin American countries are severely affected by impacts of climate change and associated extreme weather events. The project increases the resilience of vulnerable communities and ecosystems in rural areas of the partner countries. To this end, it develops and implements proven, innovative and cost-effective EbA approaches in different ecosystems. It also strengthens the capacity of a wide range of actors, including national and local government and civil society organisations, the private sector, service providers and rural communities. It also embeds EbA practices into the revised NDCs, sectoral plans and national adaptation plans to better achieve national adaptation goals. The project ensures long-term impact in partner countries through, among other things, the (further) development of innovative financial instruments and products, improved governance and knowledge exchange.

Project data

Countries: Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala
IKI funding: 20,000,000.00 €
Included preparation phase: 516,929.90 €
Duration: 11/2020 till 12/2026
Status: open
Implementing organisation: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH
Political Partner: Diverse climate change relevant institutions in the respective partner countries/Diverse klimarelevante Institutionen in den entsprechenden Partnerländern

Ministry of Environment, Water and Ecological Transition (MAATE) – Ecuador

Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE) - Costa Rica

Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARN) - Guatemala
Implementing Partner: ALTERNA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)

International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) – Regional Office for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean (ORMACC)

MAQUITA

Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE) - Costa Rica

UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC)

Universidad Rafael Landívar - URL
Online: https://www.ebalac.com/

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State of implementation/results

All three countries positioned EbA as a cornerstone for addressing climate impacts during the heads-states level.
EbA approaches have been successfully integrated into national and subnational planning instruments.
EbA measures have been implemented on > 33,600 ha (ecosystem restoration, agroforestry and silvopastoral systems, sustainable forest management, beekeeping) benefitting > 46,600 vulnerable land users.
6,600 people have been trained and networked for climate and biodiversity action.
23,4 million USD has been leveraged from public and private sources to scale up EbA.
A regional peer-learning event has been held in Ecuador with partners and consortium members to build a shared understanding of success factors for scaling up EbA and to reinforce institutional sustainability to accelerate EbA mainstreaming.

The Costa Rican Development Bank System (SBD) developed special credit programs in livestock and tourism (20.3 Mio USD) for investment in EbA measures.
Communities and government authorities of the rural canton Pococí formalised the Biological Corridor “La Suerte”. A local committee completed the management plan for the corridor.

The Portoviejo River Basin Council has been reactivated with the MAE’s Regional Directorate. Priorities include wate and/ecosystem management, EbA and gender.
Water source protection committees have been established and elaborated management plans; a new source protection area has been designated.
Four local bank cooperatives were recognized for working on their green credit products and received funding from the Savings and Loan Cooperative Financoop.
An agricultural insurance agenda jointly developed with MAE and the Ministry of Agriculture has been adopted to strengthen coverage under rising climate risks.
Around 30 youth has been trained in bamboo instrument making to link culture with sustainable practices and EbA.

The National Forest Institute (INAB) issued a resolution to operationalise a USD 1.3 million Credit Guarantee Fund for forestry (reforestation, agroforestry) to improve SME access.
Municipal integration of climate action has been advanced, and a public investment system has been updated to include climate adaptation products to enable funding access and budget integration.
Climate finance readiness: the GCF country programme and aligned project pipeline has been approved. Coordination mechanisms have been established for climate finance access and continuous capacity development. A South–South exchange on sustainable climate finance taxonomy has been conducted to identify funding sources and instruments.

Latest Update:
04/2026