The Maya Mountain North Forest Reserve Concession utilizes climate smart agriculture such as agro-forestry and Inga-alley cropping. Both of these methods combine agriculture with conservation of trees to create a sustainable land-use system, which increases carbon sequestration and crop yield. In addition, Inga-alley cropping uses species such as Inga edulis and Inga fueillei (leguminous, nitrogen-fixing trees) to improve soil health and reduce use of herbicides. With the preservation of permanent shade trees, and the planting of temporary shade trees and fruit trees, the cyclical production of the farm provides a sustainable yield that maximizes all products on the land. Planting Inga trees in rows supports a healthy yield of integrated fruit trees that are nurtured by the improved soil fertility provided from Inga species. This system reduces the amount of land needed for planting and provides valuable secondary uses like firewood, mulch and pest control.

Communities took ownership of the following EbA measures once prioritized and implemented in a participatory manner in the basin:

1. Restoration of riparian forests. Binational reforestation events are held involving local communities and schools. These efforts reduce erosion, mitigate the risk of floods, and reinforce cross-border cooperation and local empowerment, including youth. The sustainability of this action is integrated into a reforestation strategy for the middle basin.
2. Integral farms / agroforestry systems. Practices are incorporated to manage ecosystem services and generate a high diversity of products (agricultural, forestry and energy). Soil conservation practices and a transition to agroforestry systems with crops and tree diversification, tropical orchards, sowing of basic grains and protein banks are promoted.
3. Recovery and valuing of autochthonous seeds and varieties. Agrobiodiversity Fairs are organized to promote the conservation of genetic diversity (criollo seeds) and their traditional knowledge. The impact attributed to the Fair can be seen in the increases in: participation (exhibitors), diversity of species (> 220) and offer of value-added products.

In addition to training and supporting communities to implement EbA measures through their productive practices, the aim is to generate evidence on the benefits of these measures and create conditions for their sustainability and up scaling.

• The socio-environmental vulnerability of 7 communities in the Sixaola River basin is examined in order to then identify and prioritize EbA measures.
• Diagnoses are made (productive, socioeconomic and agro-ecological) to identify families with a commitment to transform their farms and select those with the greatest potential to become integral farms.
• Technical support is provided to communities, complemented with traditional knowledge, to ensure that EbA measures contribute to food and water security.
• Exchanges and training are organized for producers (men and women), indigenous authorities, youth and municipalities on climate change, food security, natural resource management, organic fertilizers and soil conservation.
• Monitoring and evaluation is carried out to understand the benefits of EbA measures, and inform horizontal and vertical up-scaling.
• Activities, such as the Agrobiodiversity Fair and binational reforestation events, are carried out collaboratively with local actors.

For the creation of a new open space where people can get together, the local government coordinated open-air dining spots through a unique two-step management system allowed by the  revised Local Autonomy Act. In the first step, the government built two one-story houses (Photo 1 and 2) to be used for cafes inside the park by special permission from the governor. Meanwhile, the government designated a public interest incorporated association as the permitted operator of the new buildings. In the second step, the association contracted out the café operation to two private companies selected from 15 applicants through a competitive bidding process. Selection criteria of the operating companies included consistency to the park’s basic revitalizing plan as well as profitability and quality of services to be provided to park visitors. Notably, with this two-step management a part of the profit from these two cafes can be efficiently reinvested to maintain and upgrade the park environment.

Ueno Park is flexibly managed to meet its historical background and current needs. To cover part of the expenses to manage urban parks, TMG allowed some private entities to run their businesses such as a restaurant and make a profit inside the park. While the Urban Park Act of 1956 prohibits any kind of private business activities in urban parks to avoid uncontrolled development, the government identified restaurants and small shops as part of the park facility that can be built, operated, and managed by private operators to meet public interest under government controls and allowed them to continue their commercial activities. This actions by TMG follows the Urban Park Act that allowed local governments to grant third party use or occupation of property, and construction and management of facilities. Consequently, several restaurants and small shops exist as park facilities in Ueno Park.

A system of decentral supervision and control through local forest authorities and enforcement patrols in the villages has been set up. Awareness raising against illegal practices was strengthened. Public controls of transport routes to consumption hotspots and markets ensure that charcoalers, transporters and retailers are motivated to use sustainably sourced wood.

The strategic orientation on green charcoal value chains has been laid down in a Regional Modernisation Strategy (Vision 2020) for the DIANA region. The strategy was the outcome of a negotiation process with main actors of civil society. Key elements include improved forest management, reforestation & introduction of efficient technologies and the development of local wood energy markets.

Proposals for regulatory measures were made to curb unregulated and widespread production of wood energy in remaining natural forests. An environmental coordination platform (OSC-E/DIANA) reuniting all relevant actors of the civil society of the DIANA region has been created. The members of the platform gather regularly to discuss the progress of the modernisation process and to negotiate how to overcome upcoming barriers.

A village based participatory approval process allocates individual reforestation sites to households, along with defined use-rights & obligations using the following steps:

1. Application to local forest authorities by smallholders through voluntary user groups
2. Consultation on village level to exclude disputed land upfront & for taking unanimous decision on the future reforestation sites allocation. Results: minutes & sketch plan
3. Verification by communal decision makers & endorsement by a communal decree
4. Assigning land to the village afforestation body based on a specification document
5. Mapping of individual wood lots; plot owners receive individual map with GPS coordinates signed by the mayor of the community
6. Registration of sites by the land office; official verification of the reforestation site based on sketch plan, the communal decree and the enrolment into the local tenure plan.

Forest authorities register the transfer of use rights for an indefinite period, including equal access and benefit sharing for the participants. Smallholder households involved in the afforestation scheme own ~3 ha. This enables them to produce about 2.6 t charcoal per year for 27 years without further investment.

The long-term plan of OMY is embodied not merely by one private developer but jointly initiated by a group of public-private stakeholders across the local business districts. Indeed, the Council for Area Development and Management of OMY, being comprised of 68 landowners, 12 observers, and 8 special members in 2016, established the Advisory Committee on OMY Area Development in 1996 together with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Chiyoda Ward, and East Japan Railway Company. As the first area management initiative in the country, the Committee regularly updates the guidelines for redevelopment activities since 1998. These guidelines set out 8 development goals, key functions of zones, axes, and hubs, district design standards, and local operation rules for coordinating cityscape, networking public open spaces, and transferring FARs. Furthermore, the committee has introduced a variety of area management and place-making initiatives such as free loop bus service, car-free public spaces, establishment of a district-level association, and various city events.

Accompanied by private redevelopment projects, the national government decided to restore the old redbrick building of Tokyo Station, initially built in 1912 and damaged by firebombing during World War II. While the symbolic building restoration was expected to have broader social and cultural benefits for the neighboring business districts, its project cost was estimated around JPY50 billion. In order to meet both social and commercial objectives, the site of Tokyo Station was extensively designated as a zone for the special FAR exemption and allowed to transfer the unused FARs from the historic redbrick building to the neighboring lots for new commercial tower developments. The station building restoration, partially financed by the FAR transfer revenues, was successfully completed in 2013 by a railway company, which also developed two 205-meter tall skyscrapers among the towers with extra FARs, and reinvested the increase in land value of the densified grade-A office buildings to cover the railway finance. To improve the district further, the current provision of a multimodal transportation square for regular bus and taxi services plans is to be completed by East Japan Railway Company in partnership with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government in 2017.

Once the creative process has started, ideas have turned into plans, and there are high expectations about what can be achieved, the Association faced the dilemma of fast profiting, by catching all product available (altought at lower price per unit), or long term profiting, establishing a catch-limit in order to ensure the availability of high quality product (better valued, and allowing black shell population to meet its life cycle).
Since the second alternative seemed more rational for members, the had to design the tool to manage the catch limit. The solution was to set the catch-size 2 millimeters above the legal limit to catch, and to adopt some several regulations into their rules of procedure. That is, to pass from some crazy ideas to a disciplinated implementation with strong sanctions ( monetary and suspension of the fishing rights of the members) aprooved by the total of the members.