The mechanism of retribution for ecosystem services Quiroz-Chira Water Fund (FAQCH) has been created with the purpose of channeling economic resources from the users of the lower basin of the Quiroz, Macará and Chira system to implement conservation and sustainable development actions in the upper basin, being the community of Samanga one of the beneficiaries of the Fund since 2014.

For this, the community must annually prioritize up to two activities and develop a proposal that is reviewed and approved by the FAQCH, for which an agreement is signed with the community for the implementation of the proposal.

The FAQCH brings together five public institutions (municipalities of Ayabaca and Pacaipampa), irrigation boards (San Lorenzo and Chira) and NGOs (Naturaleza y Cultura Internacional), who contribute on an ongoing basis, in cash or in value, to finance the proposals from the communities of the upper watershed. The good governance characteristics of the fund give it the confidence of its members (participatory, transparent and accountable). This process has matured with the support of public and private organizations and successive cooperation contributions, and is now in a scaling-up phase.

One of the focus points for the development of the Treverton Wildlife Area was to create opportunities for Outdoor Education. More and more research is pointing to the requirements to create opportunities for children, youth and adults to experience the outdoors. Focusing on the benefits to the people improves the motivation for the participation. Understanding the psychological, social, education and physical benefits of outdoor education to individuals allows for greater involvement and increased utilization by educators and the educational institution. The outdoor education facility allowed for the outdoor activities to be conducted (camping, hiking, picnicking, action based projects, exercising, educational projects, solitaire, etc.).   These outdoor educational opportunities, activities and projects were and are not the only outcomes achieved.  The outdoor education projects are planned with the specific intension of either improving the biodiversity or at the least not impacting on the biodiversity.

The Treverton Wildlife Area was developed as an educational facility.  Action Learning, Learning by Doing, Outdoor Education and Capacity Building educational processes where implemented to develop a biodiversity improved and enriched area. The facility allowed/allows learners to participate directly with the environmental projects ‘at home’ with projects for biodiversity. 

Learners actively conduct action learning projects which are either teacher driven (lower grades) or learner driven (higher grades) or a combination thereof to perform specific outcomes related to biodiversity rehabilitation. The projects are conducted under guidance with the emphasis being on education processes, youth empowerment and capacity building.  The improved biodiversity is not the primary motivation for the activities but rather an outcomes.

Outdoor Education programmes are conducted in the TWA with the purpose of individual growth, environmental interaction, mental health, outdoor skills, improve communication and decrease stress levels.

Capacity Building projects are conducted with educators in the region.  The teachers participate in activities within skills development courses related to biodiversity.  Teachers are then able to implement these activities with their own learners and in their areas.

A food forest is designed to be resilient towards environmental change in order to fulfill the goal of being sustainable. Resilience stresses the ability to 1) sustain the community when no external resource is accessible and 2) recover from disturbances such as climate change, destruction or vandalism.

The way resilience works is to a) maximize autonomy in water, nutrients, energy, and food and b) keep the environment and people healthy. The Beacon Food Forest is equipped with a rainwater collector and compost bins to store water and generate nutrients from onsite organic matters such as leaf litter, branches, and green manures. Although we do not have solar panels or wind turbines, our energy lies within the community who contributes their manpower. With the above, we can slowly accomplish food autonomy and sustain the local community.

Keeping the environment and people healthy is the key to allow for quick recovery. The Beacon Food Forest practices permaculture gardening to keep chemicals out of the land and the land productive at any time so that when faced with destructive events, plants may grow back within the shortest time frame.

Ecologically, diversity allows for a balanced ecosystem where different species help to accelerate or inhibit the growth of one another. Socially, diversity allows for integrative consideration and equal participation in a public food forest. In either setting, diversity creates conflicts and a dynamic equilibrium to make sure that no species or a specific group of people occupy all the benefits by excluding the others.

Diversity may be in terms of sex, age, race, occupation, financial status and many more. As the Beacon Food Forest is located on a public land in Seattle, one of the most culturally diverse cities in the United States, we are advised by the City government at the initial stage of the project to showcase our design map of the Beacon Food Forest in communities of different cultures. It was a necessary step to gain diverse support and proof that this project is not only in the interest of one group but many different groups of people. By valuing these diverse cultures, we ended up getting vast emails of interest and even seeds and plants that are unique to these people’s homeland (foreign but not invasive), and of course the City government’s approval to proceed the project.

A successful solution requires a strong community where all are given enough knowledge (aka. power) and trust to fully engage themselves. Beacon Food Forest is co-founded by two local residents but the active engagement from the wider community is the true reason why it is still growing and prospering after 6 years. Hence, building a strong community that is empowered with knowledge, skills, and trust is the key for the Beacon Food Forest to sustain.

Community empowerment allows each individual in the community to acquire knowledge and skills needed to participate in the decision-making process of Beacon Food Forest. By providing educational opportunities and by offering leadership opportunities whenever possible (e.g. during workshops, work parties, maintenance events, discussions, and meetings), we allow participants to gain confidence and trust, and then develop a passion and a sense of responsibility towards the land and people which Beacon Food Forest stewards. It is so essential that we do this because for any solution to be carried on, the solution has to be something in which everyone can and is willing to engage themselves in.

An essential factor in the integration of key aspects of climate change and biodiversity into territorial planning at the municipal level was the strengthening of local capacities in territorial planning, ecosystem services and adaptation to climate change. This was done at the level of municipal administrations, personnel from Colombia's National Natural Parks and protected areas, and local communities. Equally important was knowledge management to provide inputs that facilitate the development of public policy proposals in this area. Such is the case of the preparation of diagnoses of the Basic Land Management Plans in the two municipalities, to analyze the degree of inclusion of PAs and generate recommendations for greater integration; the preparation of diagnoses and identification of ecosystem services, to make visible the importance of PAs in territorial development and in the quality of life of the surrounding population; and the identification of risks associated with climate change and adaptation strategies, based on local experiences, in order to contribute to the resilience of ecosystems in the context of land use planning.

In compliance with the goals established in the National Parks System's Institutional Action Plan and the SNAP Action Plan, Parks began the process of integrating PAs into national, regional and local technical instruments and public policy. With the issuance of Colombia's Organic Law of Territorial Planning by the Congress of the Republic and the creation of the Territorial Planning Commission (COT), made up of seven institutions, including the National Planning Department, which serves as Technical Secretary, the process of forming the Special Interinstitutional Committee (CEI) of the COT began. National Parks was included as one of the 6 institutions permanently invited to participate in the CEI, due to its efforts in public policy, the preparation of technical documents, and the development of 8 pilot cases in different regions of the country, with the aim of providing inputs for the formulation of the General Land Use Planning Policy, from a multilevel, interinstitutional and participatory approach. IUCN-South America proposes to be part of this national process by supporting the implementation of 2 of the pilot cases through the global project "Integrated Land Use Planning for Biodiversity".

Competence development of forest tenants and of State Forest Enterprises (SFE) is likewise an important element of integrative forest management.

On the one hand, training on forest management techniques is required either directly for the forest tenants, who are often new to forest management, or for the local forester and other employees of the SFE. The training includes silvio-cultural techniques, such as grafting and pruning, and management of fruit tree species. On the other hand, training on the rights and responsibilities of the two contract parties, the forest tenant, and the SFE is needed.

Additionally, a modular training for forest tenants and foresters to encourage a landscape perspective when planning forest management activities has been developed. Within these training modules, the tenants identify threats and vulnerabilities of their communities and learn how re-and afforestation can be a suitable disaster risk reduction strategy. Further, land use conflicts on forest land are addressed and the training provides a platform to exchange and identify solutions, e.g. regulating if, when and how much livestock can graze on forest plots. Moreover, forest tenants learn about the benefits of diverse forest areas and the benefits of planting and grafting local tree species.

By applying a landscape perspective to forest management, the ecosystem as a whole is considered. For this solution, a special focus has been given to biodiversity, climate change adaptation, and pasture management.

A diverse forest plot has multiple benefits for the forest tenant. Firstly, the tenant has a diverse harvest which contributes to food and nutation security. Secondly, species diversity reduces the risk of pests and increases the soil fertility. Thirdly, diverse forests provide a habitat for pollinators, which are crucial for fruit and nut trees.

Tajikistan is prone to disasters, further reinforced by overharvested natural resources and climate change having fierce impacts. Landslides and droughts are common phenomena but the frequency and intensity have increased significantly. Forest cover on slopes and along river banks are an important adaptation and disaster risk reduction strategy.

Further, livestock is frequently grazing on forest areas, as pastures are scarce and the limited land available overused and degraded. Forest grazing reduces ground cover, impedes the root system, and hinders natural forest regeneration. Therefore, grazing must be addressed together with the forest tenants and solutions identified that go beyond the prohibition of grazing in forests.