The Amazonian border integration initiative known as the Tri-National Program, was promoted by the Administrators of three protected areas (The La Paya National Park-Colombia, the Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve-Ecuador, and the Güeppí National Park-Peru), enabling a management optimization under a regionally coordinated model.

It all started in 2005 as a result of the dialogue efforts carried on by the representatives of the three Protected Areas. In 2006 the initiative was consolidated as the Tri-National Program, since then it has continuously been strengthened over time.

The first important decision towards financial support for the initiative, was sought trough an agreement among the environmental funds available in each of the three participating countries. Afterwards, additional financial support was pursued through several projects that could cover the expenses of priority lines such as protected and buffer area’s management, social participation, organizational capacity improvement and the conservation corridor´s enhancement.

In this context, the Goverments united to seek operational, technical and financial mechanisms to ensure the conservation and sustainable development of the Corridor, with the ambition of becoming a successful pilot experience of transboundary management.

One of the great challenges for the Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve was the consolidation of its boundaries and securing management agreements with the local populations and indigenous organizations. Under the previous logic of integrating cultural variables in the national preservation process, the project “Delimitation of the lower region, conflict resolution, and awareness of the communities about the resource management and use in the Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve” was successfully created.

The project main goal was to preserve the biological and cultural integrity of the Reserve under a strong alliance between the MAE and the indigenous communities that inhabit and coexisted in the territory: Siona, Secoya, Cofán, Kicwa, and Shuar.

As a result, in 1995 began the process of establishing Natural Resources Use and Management Agreements with most of the communities in these five indigenous nations. Such efforts promoted local participation and the recognition of the Protected Area for shared management.

The agreements became formal documents that legitimized the communities’ right to live in the Reserve and use the natural resources within under special conditions.

CITIES WITHOUT HUNGER contributed to the passage of a bill on urban agriculture in São Paulo in 2004 (Lei 13.727, de 12 de Janeiro de 2004). By this law, the institutional and legal framework for urban agriculture in São Paulo was created. 

Partnerships and collaboration between different public bodies is necessary for the development and implementation of activities.

Furthermore, public participation is required for the development of a Land Use Plan and is also part of the implementation of green strategies aimed at improving air quality and buffering heat stress. For example, a scheme has been in place since 1992 for Stuttgart residents to  adopt a tree, for which they are also responsible for.

Designing Marine protected areas help protect ecosystems so that they can provide their multiple services such as coastal protection and food sources.

The project supported the case for the declaration of Port Salut as one of the MPAs, by making baseline data available on the diversity and status of coastal and marine ecosystems in the area and emphasizing the multiple benefits of protecting these ecosystems, in particular for disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation. The protected area of managed resources of Port Salut/Aquin now covers 87,422 hectares of the coastal zone of Port Salut Municipality.

Capacity building activities included:

• Awareness raising
• Trainings and workshops
• Hands-on learning activities at the field sites
• Supporting improved municipal coordination
• field visits and study tours with government and other partners

 The project focused on re-enforcing the capacities of actors on the ground (local community-based organizations as well as capacities of the Municipal Government), to implement ecosystem-based interventions and therefore much was "learning-by-doing".

The project also aimed to strengthen coastal governance at the municipal level and capacity for sustainable coastal zone management through the creation of a Municipal Coordination Roundtable, trainings and support.

At the national level capacity building efforts were directed at raising national awareness of the importance of the ridge-to-reef approach to disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation and need for sustainable coastal zone management.

The project invested significantly in capacity building at the local and nation level through awareness raising on EbA/Eco-DRR, hands on field learning activities and training workshops. The project ensured that women were among those trained in all activities.

Local capacity building targeted mainly the five villages where the interventions took place but also involved representatives from villages who were involved in up-scaling the project interventions to a larger area of the wadi in the upstream section.  Awareness raising promote dialogue on dryland ecosystems and disaster risk management issues. 

Farm extension agents (2 in each village) were trained due to limited presence of the Government in the villages to provide agricultural extension support services. Moreover, eight community animal health workers also referred to as “paravets”, were trained on animal husbandry, treatment, animal drugs, feeding, and vaccination, through theoretical and practical sessions. The "paravets" also monitored the re-seeded pasture areas.

A national and a state-level training on Eco-DRR were also undertaken.

Building strong partnerships at the local and national level and working with the local community is essential for the implementation and overall success and sustainability of the project.

Furthermore it was essential to connect the local communities to government bodies and ensure the state takes joint ownership of the activities so that any future support that is needed can be sought from the government.

To support the Government of DRC in its national transition towards IWRM a Roadmap was developed to guide the development of a National Water Policy. The Roadmap outlines the principal orientation and necessary steps in the elaboration of the National Water Policy, the principal stakeholders involved, an initial work plan, and a fund mobilization strategy. DRR is also highlighted in the Roadmap as a priority theme along with capacity building and cross-sectoral coordination. This Roadmap is influenced by the IWRM experience in Lukaya and makes specific reference to DRR and the role of local communities in IWRM.

A National working group on Eco-DRR was also formed at the demand of the Government, who had interest in establishing a National Platform on DRR.

As this was DRC’s first experience in applying both the Eco-DRR, as well as IWRM approach, it was critically important to progressively develop and strengthen capacities over time, which involved:

• Awareness-raising;
• training and workshops;
• Hands-on learning activities in the field demonstration sites;
• Field visits and study tours both in the country and in the region.

There was a total of 71 trainings and workshops. These covered general meetings (inception and presentation); national awareness raising workshops on Eco-DRR and IWRM; workshops related to IWRM, the role of Eco-DRR in IWRM and action planning; trainings on hydro-meteorological monitoring, soil erosion monitoring and flood risk modelling; training on agroforestry and value chain production; and trainings on soil loss monitoring and bioengineering to reduce soil erosion.