The Development Banking System (SBD), a second-tier financial entity of the Costa Rican state, has the mandate to provide financing for vulnerable individuals in rural Costa Rica at favorable rates, particularly focusing on women and youth. Though there are existing institutional policies and strategies at national and territorial levels, there are large gaps in integrating climate change adaptation as an investment priority for financial entities. 

Until recently, climate change and the concepts of climate resilience and ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) have been largely absent from the agenda of SBD. However, by providing training and capacity-building on these topics, the SBD can now pave the way for the development of innovative financial products and the enhancement of existing ones. 

Additionally, developing monitoring and evaluation systems for financial products helps measure the impact of adaptation measures integrated into local enterprises' business models. This strengthens transparency and builds trust among the financial sector, beneficiaries, decision-makers, and international financiers.

Top-level athletes have an important communications platform at their disposal and can lead by example, making them key contributors to the Healthy Waters Alliance’s goals. By using this awareness-raising potential, they can help bring attention to the degradation of freshwater and coastal ecosystems, increase visibility of practical solutions, and drive greater public engagement and action. 

Appointing athlete ambassadors dedicated to the cause strengthens the movement. With the launch of the Healthy Waters Alliance, World Rowing have engaged Christine Cavallo (USA) and Martin Helseth (NOR) as the first World Rowing Healthy Waters Ambassadors, and are now looking to expand this into a global Athlete Ambassador Programme with representatives from each continent.

Athletes inspire action more effectively than generic messages, making initiatives more relatable and engaging. For example, Norwegian Olympian Martin Helseth led a powerful environmental initiative through the World Rowing – WWF Healthy Waters Alliance to inspire action across Norway’s rowing community. The project demonstrated how athletes can effectively engage the public and protect nature by addressing water pollution in the Oslo Fjord. The initiative includes two key phases: 

• Phase 1: Clean-Up Week (3–8 June 2025) – Timed with World Ocean Day, rowing clubs in Oslo conducted seabed dives, shoreline clean-ups, and environmental education to tackle local pollution. 
• Phase 2: Oslo Fjord Restoration Day (23 August 2025) – This phase will focus on habitat restoration and youth involvement, supported by the local NGO Marea.

Helseth’s leadership exemplifies how athlete ambassadors can lead grassroots environmental efforts with global impact, aiming to foster a new generation of nature protectors in rowing and beyond. 

The Healthy Waters Alliance connects the Rowing community with WWF communities worldwide to foster collaboration. Together, they co-create and jointly deliver local projects and initatives that protect and restore healthy waters through awareness and hands-on action, benefiting rowing, communities, and ecosystems. Working with WWF ensures that actions implemented by rowing communities are relevant from a nature conservation perspective. 

 Projects can be initiated by National Rowing Federations, clubs, athletes, event organisers, or WWF local offices. After contacting the Healthy Waters Alliance, through submitting their interest via an online form partners agree on a locally impactful project recognized by the Alliance. These projects focus on community engagement, nature restoration, waste reduction and other areas.  

  The rowing community benefits from the platform through access to educational workshops, working groups, global visibility of local projects, and healthier waters for rowing. In turn, WWF offices gain partners who help raise awareness on the freshwater & coastal ecosystems' crisis and promote solutions, while engaging with event organisers to drive visibility at major rowing events with wide media coverage. 

A strategic and participatory planning process is conducted with the Local Committee to integrate Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) into management tools. This process includes working sessions, workshops, and technical advice aimed at enhancing self-reflection among committee members about their actions within the territory. 

In this context, incorporating a climate perspective into the strategic planning of a biological corridor means analyzing and redefining the mission and vision to focus on climate change responses. This involves recognizing the vulnerabilities and threats in the territory, as well as their implications for the most vulnerable groups and sectors. The goal is to establish targeted, sustained actions that positively affect the lives of individuals and communities while ensuring ecological connectivity and the provision of ecosystem services in line with productive and sustainable development in the region.

In 2011, World Rowing formed a strategic alliance with WWF International, recognising a shared objective: protecting and restoring freshwater and coastal ecosystems. This objective was part of WWF's mission and aligned with World Rowing's strategic objectives. Both organisations understood that rivers, lakes, and coastal areas are increasingly at risk around the world. Knowing that healthy waters are essential not only for life on Earth but also for the sport of rowing, they chose to strengthen their partnership. Their ambition went beyond raising awareness; they aimed to drive tangible, on-the-ground action. This led to the creation of the Healthy Waters Alliance in late 2024. This alliance is dedicated to placing healthy waters at the heart of all rowing. It provides a platform to facilitate collaboration between sport and nature conservation, encouraging co-created and jointly delivered projects involving National Rowing Federations, event organisers, rowing clubs, and environmental professionals. "It is a unique opportunity to bring the rowing and conservation communities together around a common goal (...)." Stuart Orr, Global Freshwater Lead, WWF International.

With the results from the organizational development analysis , a contextualized capacity development program is created and implemented for each biological corridor according to its strengthening needs. This program is carried out through workshops, seminars, coaching sessions, peer-to-peer exchanges, etc. 

The analysis of the organizational capacities of biological corridors as multisectoral governance mechanisms allows for the identification of opportunities for improvement and strengthening needs to enhance the scaling-up of EbA. Existing competencies and capacities in technical and soft skills are assessed to facilitate multi-stakeholder dialogue, raise awareness, train and negotiate with decision-makers, conduct political advocacy, and establish alliances. Internally, organizational processes are analyzed to identify and prioritize gaps and bottlenecks in project management and financial sustainability.

Biological corridors play a crucial role in promoting dialogue and participation among multiple stakeholders. Until now, their main focus has been on conservation activities. However, they have significant potential for scaling up Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA). They are integrated into the national strategy for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. This strategy is supported by a Local Committee, which serves as a forum for consultation and collaborative sustainability initiatives. This committee comprises civil society organizations (CSOs), non-governmental organizations (NGOs), government institutions, and municipalities.
To maximize the effectiveness of biological corridors in scaling up EbA measures, it is essential to establish a shared understanding and agreement among stakeholders regarding their role. This involves making explicit the role of biological corridors - and each stakeholder who participates - in sustainability and climate change adaptation strategies, but also also their specific contribution to social and economic local development. The road to this common understanding requires analyzing sectorial vulnerabilities, needs, and interests, but also oportunities, competencies and capacities with potencial to tackle common issues. In addition, clarifying basic concepts of climate change, adaptation, biodiversity conservation (EbA) with a people-centered approach, using sectorial specific language and active stakeholder participation, is key for reaching a common understanding.

To promote sustainability and incentivize adoption of restoration practices, the project aligned its interventions with Guatemala’s national forestry incentive schemes—PINPEP (targeting smallholders) and PROBOSQUE (supporting forest management and agroforestry). This approach answered “what” (financial support available for conservation), “why” (incentives reduce the cost barrier for farmers), and “how” (linking project actions with formal application support). Farmers engaged in agroforestry, reforestation, or conservation activities were guided through the process of registering for these programs, ensuring long-term continuity and co-financing. This institutional alignment also ensured that restoration efforts complied with national environmental priorities.

To understand how different land uses affect ecosystem functions, the project applied InVEST modelling tools to map and quantify carbon storage, sediment retention, and habitat quality in three micro-watersheds. This allowed the project team and local stakeholders to see the “what” (the ecological state of the landscape), “why” (which land uses provided more benefits), and “how” (where interventions were needed). For instance, forest and shrubland areas were found to store significantly more carbon and reduce erosion compared to basic grain croplands. This modelling helped prioritize areas for restoration and agroforestry. The visual outputs and metrics supported evidence-based discussions with communities and decision-makers, integrating ecological science into watershed-level planning.