There are several governance challenges in río Paz, such as institutional weak presence and weak institutional coordination which drives to the mismanagement of the river and the coastal ecosystems.

IUCN,  UNES and local communities  proposed a buiding block to ensure the full implementation of the solution. The process implies strenthening and articulation of governance local structurers by:

- identification of leaders

- social awareness

- consolidation of local groups such as the Istatén Association, the Aguacate Microbasin Committee, women's groups and water boards.

Governance structures develop integral operative working plans, that respond to local needs and improve socio-political and advocacy capacities. The advocacy seeks to (i) persuade the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARN) to establish sanctions for those who incur in prohibited fishing practices, and to demand greater responsibility in the use of water and management of liquid waste by the sugar industry; and (ii) request the Ministry of Agriculture (MAG) to monitor the water use of this industry (i.e. the permits extended) and to introduce water rates that are proportional to the volume used. The case has already been brought forth to the Environmental Court and is waiting for a resolution.

To improve local governance in the Sumpul River, it was crucial to mainstream the ecosystem approach into land management, and train accordingly water local governance structures, local authorities, and farmers. Together they implement EbA measures to face drought and variability such as: soil conservation practices, protected spring water and implemented agroforestry systems.

Capacity building was delivered to: 

• >100 farmers through a "learning by doing" approach to attain demonstrative results in the field. The EbA measures implemented focused on the ecosystem services of water and soil, on productive diversification and on mitigating the impacts of climate change and variability (winds and extreme rainfall) on crops and goods and  improve water infiltration and availability in the area. 
• Water Committes on organizational and management skills as well as on integral water management, in order to influence their understanding of the importance of water ecosystem services.
• Leader and farmer women were trained on communication skills.
• Municipal officers were part of a regional climate change adaptation training and exchange of experience with other 30 local governements of Mesoamerica. 

Governance for adaptation requires flexible policy and legal frameworks. Therefore, the upper sub-basin’s governance platforms required management instruments that would enable those adaptation options and forms of governance that brought about the greatest socio-environmental benefits to be valued and institutionalized. The Internal Regulations of several ADESCO Water Committees and the sub-basin’s Binational Community Committee were drafted, with the latter also updating its Strategic Plan (five-year plan) and Annual Operating Plan.

The process took into account new dynamics and trends in the sub-basin, as well as the EbA approach. The formulation of municipal policies was also supported (Local Adaptation Plans for La Palma and San Ignacio, El Salvador). Given that adaptation to climate change is immersed in a series of uncertainties about future climate impacts and development trajectories, these frameworks and instruments must be constantly evolving, always taking into account lessons derived from field and governance experiences. In this way, adaptation to climate change can move forward under a flexible approach, and through iterative cycles, generate short-term strategies in view of long-term uncertainties.

 The project is being implemented by four CSOs.

FES 

Core expertise/ issues addressed: Commons governance

Institutional Development; Eco Restoration; Invasive species management

7,500 families in 87 villages in Mandla and Balaghat Districts

www.fes.org.in/

PRADAN

Core expertise/ issues addressed: Gender issues; Women self-help groups; Women centric livelihoods; Small enterprises – poultry, goat rearing.

10,000 families in 136 villages in Balaghat District.

www.pradan.net/

WOTR 

Core expertise/ issues addressed: Watershed treatment; Agricultural development; Agro advisories using local weather stations; disaster risk reduction, Knowledge Management

4,000 families in 132 villages in Seoni District.

www.wotr.org/

BAIF

Core expertise/ issues addressed:- Livestock management; Selective breed improvement; Feed and disease management; Dairy value chains

BAIF has livestock expertize, working in all three districts and supporting all 3 partner CSOs on livestock management. 

www.baif.org.in/

The CSO partners work in tandem. They undertake regular cross-learning & best practices sharing to ensure that the threats to KPC are addressed holistically. The CSOs form an important building block of the larger "working together" concept.

Under an ecosystem approach, efforts seek to improve the livelihoods and resilience of ecosystems in order to reduce the vulnerability of local communities to the challenges of erratic rains, changing pf seasons, storms and consequent loss of crops. The EbA measures promoted are:

• Restoration of riverbank forests to prevent river bank erosion during extreme storms and flash floods. This is promoted with annual Binational Reforestation Days and guided by a Restoration Opportunities study in river banks. 
• Agrodiversification was undertaken with local farmers to increase the number and varieties of crop species, fruit and wood trees in their plots, while combining with animals. This aim to improve the resilience of the system against erratic rainfall and changing seasonal patterns. The model is locally named as "integral farms".
• Learning and exchange through a network of resilient farmers with knowledge on EbA.
• Organization of agrobiodiversity fairs for the promotion and rescue of endemic seeds.

The model used a "learning by doing" approach and the adoption of iterative decisions that identify short-term strategies in light of long-term uncertainties. Learning and evaluation allows new information to be considered and inform policies at different levels. 

To be effective, governance for adaptation must be multidimensional and participatory, which entails involving farmers, municipalities, ministries and other public institutions in the area, community leaders, public health units and educators, in water management and adaptation processes. In the Sumpul River, this was achieved particularly through "action learning" processes and the revitalization of the Binational Community Committee of the Sub-basin. The work and local legitimacy of the Binational Committee was enriched by the inclusion of community bodies that for years were disjointed and lacked participation, such as the Water Committees, which are important entities in each community. New management instruments were also generated, leadership and the active participation of youth and women was promoted within the Binational Committee, and training and exchange of experiences were carried out for collective learning. Other contributions to governance came from producers who implemented EbA measures on their farms (and are now spokespersons for the benefits derived from such measures) and from municipalities (La Palma and San Ignacio) that integrated the EbA approach into their policies through the formulation of Local Adaptation Plans.

Governance for adaptation requires an ecosystemic vision, whereby actions implemented in the field for building up the resilience of natural resources focus more on protecting watershed ecosystem services (forest-water-soil) and less on responding only to problems found at the level of individual farms. For this reason, the prioritization of restoration areas is key, since it must be with a view to improving water capture and also productivity (local livelihoods). The three types of EbA measures implemented in the Goascorán River basin were: 1) restoration of water sources, 2) soil conservation, and 3) agroforestry systems. This combination recognizes the interdependence of the forest-water-soil components and allows communities to witness positive changes over intermediate periods, which in turn increases their confidence in the "natural solutions" being introduced for water and food security. Territorial management with a basin or micro-basin vision also contributes to the ecosystem approach that is required for sustainable development, that is, one that is adaptive to climate change.

Adaptation to climate change is immersed in a series of uncertainties regarding future climate impacts and development trajectories. Therefore, adaptation must proceed under a flexible “learning by doing" approach, integrating flexibility into legal and policy frameworks, and into sequential and iterative decisions that generate short-term strategies in view of the long-term uncertainties. In Goascorán, the lack of regulatory and policy frameworks for the management of shared basins limits the capacity to jointly respond to climate change - and therefore to be flexible and learn. This limitation was remedied by integrating adaptation into various management instruments at the micro-watershed, municipal and national level, and in transboundary agendas between local actors. The effectiveness of these (and other new) frameworks should be evaluated in interim periods, to allow for revisions and adjustments as knowledge about climate change increases; the same is true for EbA measures in the short term. The information that underpins these iterative processes must integrate Western science with local knowledge. In this way, it is possible to be flexible and identify new adaptation options and criteria for its evaluation.

 Within Chiapas rural governance structures, the ejido Assembly is the main social platform where participatory decisions are made regarding natural resources. Ejido land tenure in Mexico is an example of individual and communal tenure co-existing within communities. Communal lands are titled in the name of the community leaders. Ejido Azteca and Alpujaras are partly witin the Tacana Volcano Reserve.

With a view to increasing the ejidos adaptive and management capacity main actions undertaken under this solution were:

• Training on climate change legal and policy frameworks was delivered to ejido leaders and municipalities officers.
• Development of the Local Strategy for Sustainable Development under Climate Change of La Azteca ejido.
• Conformation of ejido's Water Committees. 
• Public presentations on events such as the VII National Congress on Climate Change Research. Leaders shared the benefit of soil conservation practices and forest protection to water security.

After analysing vulnerabilities and adaptation establishing priorities, the ejido La Azteca and ejido Alpujarras sought to protect the ecosystem services provided by their forests (water capture, biodiversity, soil and fertility structure) aiming to benefit their livelohoods and resilience to climate change.

The following EbA measures and actions were implemented to face heavy rains, storms, erosion and to improve ecosystem resilience, soil water retention and water downstream. 

1. Protection and restoration of the cloud forest in the Tacaná Volcano Reserve. Specific actions were: 

• natural regeneration of forest degraded areas

• reforestation with native species

• wildfire preventative measures such as firebreaks

• soil conservation practices
• surveillance to prevent illegal logging, illegal hunting and extraction of flora and fauna, forest fires, and to detect outbreaks of pests

2. Optimization of agroforestry systems,: 

• Soil conservation practices (e.g. live fences, terraces and breakwater small natural constructions). Live fences use plant species to divide plots, provide shade and protect againts erosion.
• introducing forest and fruit species into coffee plantations (shade-grown).

Measures helped to improve and maintain the resilience and integrity of the natural forest.