• Strategic Planning: A comprehensive 5-year strategic plan (now at SEMFOP 4, 2022-2026). The plan is developed with participatory consultations with the Committee, management, staff, inhabitants, and Implementing Agency staff. The SEMFOP is the strategic framework for NP management, defining its vision, goals, objectives, and strategies for conservation and development. The vision is to protect biodiversity, enhance ecosystems, protect rivers and soils, and improve inhabitants' livelihoods.
• Iterative Development: A SEMFOP is developed every 5 years through extensive consultations with stakeholders to ensure plans are contextually relevant to needs and widely supported.
• Adaptability: A feature is the mechanism for adjusting the SEMFOP or annual Operational Plans in response to unforeseen circumstances or new priorities. Such proposed changes are reviewed by the Independent Monitoring Agency (IMA) and subsequently approved by the Managing Committee. This ensures flexibility and responsiveness to changing ecological and social conditions.
• Integration of Objectives: The SEMFOP integrates various objectives, from protecting riparian forests and water quality for the NT2 Reservoir to preserving biodiversity, fostering research, strengthening management capacity, improving multi-ethnic livelihoods, and prudently managing finances.

• Legal Basis: The NNT NP's governance is structured through a hierarchy of legal instruments, starting with the Concession Agreement (CA), which established fundamental commitments for environmental and social management. This is reinforced by Prime Ministerial Decrees, including PM122 which have refined the legal status, roles, duties, and organizational structure of the NP. The evolution of these decrees facilitated the transition from a NPA to a National Park, and proposed changes to PM122, aim to align governance with Green List and World Heritage requirements. 
• Governing Body: The Nakai-Nam Theun National Park Authority is the responsible entity. It is governed by a Managing Committee, chaired by the Minister of Agriculture and Environment and including representatives from central and local government agencies, and NTPC.
• Operational Management: Day-to-day operations are carried out by the NNT NP Management Division.
• CA: The entire framework operates under the CA of the Nam Theun 2 Power Project. This agreement provides consistent annual funding for the NP.
• Decentralization and Collaboration: The structure facilitates decentralization of management to local authorities and emphasizes collaboration with Implementing Partners. This multi-level engagement ensures coherence and effective implementation.

In 2028, two further surveys are to be carried out in the stream where the crayfish were released to determine whether the release campaigns of 2024-2026 were successful and a stable population of crayfish was able to establish itself in the stream.

Not only the involvement of the local population in the release event of the crayfish (as described in building block 3) is an important part of education and awareness-raising.

At the same time, the employees of the Wildnispark Zurich Foundation were comprehensively trained, on the one hand to be able to pass on the information to the park's visitors, and on the other hand to keep and breed the crayfish in the aquarium.

In the immediate vicinity of the Wildnispark Zurich visitor center, the underwater life of the river Sihl is explained on information boards and illustrated in an aquarium. The aquarium is home to 7 native fish species and, more recently, a native crayfish species.

Work is currently underway on a comprehensive exhibition on the topic of water as a biocenosis, which is intended to inform children and adults about the native aquatic inhabitants and raise their awareness of their protection. Interactive elements on crayfish will be an important part of this exhibition, which is due to open in summer 2026.

After completion of the preparations (as described in building blocks 1 & 2), the reintroduction of the crayfish into a stream in the forest reserve Sihlwald began with the release event on 21/09/2024. A total of 40 adult stone crayfish (Austropotamobius torrentium) were released with the participation of the local population, the Friends of Wildnispark Zurich (Förderverein Wildnispark Zürich) and the Sihltal Nature Conservation Association (Naturschutzverein Sihltal).

The reintroduction will continue in 2025 and 2026 and further crayfish will be released into the streams in Sihlwald, totaling 150 individuals. 

All animals come from donor streams in the region and from local breeding.

Firstly, an implementation concept was developed, consisting of the following parts:

• Reintroduction (see building block 3)
• Accompanying educational measures (see building block 4)
• Monitoring success (see building block 5)

One of the prerequisites for the reintroduction of crayfish in the Sihlwald is the authorization granted by the Fisheries and Hunting Administration of the Canton of Zurich.

In order to raise the money required for the reintroduction and the educational measures, the association launched a fundraising campaign, which is still ongoing.

Further funding was provided by the Federal Office for the Environment and the Canton of Zurich's Nature Conservation Agency.

In the Sihlwald forest, field names such as ‘Chrebsächerli’ indicate that there must have once been a crayfish population. 

In 2022, as part of his bachelor's thesis at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences, environmental engineer Marc Furrer investigated:

• what is known about the historical populations of crayfish in the Sihlwald, 
• whether crayfish currently live in the streams in the Sihlwald and 
• whether the streams in the Sihlwald would be suitable as a potential habitat for crayfish.

He investigated six streams in the northern part of the transition zone of the Sihlwald Nature Discovery Park. Two of the streams analyzed were ruled out because they went dry in summer. Of the remaining four streams, one stream was found to have very good habitat conditions for stone crayfish and white-clawed crayfish: all water parameters have optimal values, the watercourse offers countless hiding places due to the high proportion of dead wood and the nature of the stream bed. Stream obstructions in the lower section prevent the migration of invasive crayfish species and thus offer protection against crayfish plague.

Based on the length of the stream and the habitat quality, a possible population of 647 crayfish was estimated.

The results of this study now served as the basis for the reintroduction of crayfish in the Sihlwald.

Providing entrepreneurs with technical tools is essential for integrating adaptation measures into their business models and increasing their climate resilience. This building block combines financial mechanisms in building block 2 with non-financial services—including coaching programs and specialized technical assistance—to support entrepreneurs from the pre-incubation through incubation stages. A special aspect is that this coaching is not only provided after the successful application of entrepreneurs but also during the application phase. Thus supporting good ideas to become successful, climate-resilient businesses that incorporating EbA measures into their business models.  

The training builds foundational knowledge of climate change, territorial vulnerability, and sector-specific adaptation measures and the individualized support strengthens entrepreneurs' abilities to develop financing proposals, create sustainable business plans, and identify context-appropriate marketing strategies.

The coaching program also facilitates networking among entrepreneurs to integrate their ventures into local and national value chains and markets. Business fairs and exchange events are key components of the program design.

This comprehensive approach strengthens entrepreneurial competencies while ensuring investments and financing create meaningful impact on climate resilience and local development

Strengthening and consolidating climate-resilient rural ventures requires financing products that support these initiatives from inception. Rural entrepreneurs often encounter barriers to accessing traditional credit financing, particularly during the startup phase of their business models.

In this context, non-repayable funds—also known as seed capital—serve as a vital tool. This financing enables entrepreneurs to prototype promising ideas that can become dynamic ventures, fosters an entrepreneurial culture in rural territories, and provides crucial support during the early "valley of death" phase of business development.

This building block focuses on developing open public calls for seed capital funds that incorporate climate change adaptation criteria across business models. The design of these calls must include clear eligibility requirements for climate resilience, adaptation practices, and profitable business models with measurable socio-environmental impact. This financing can particularly benefit ventures led by youth, women, and vulnerable rural populations—making it essential to consider these demographics in the eligibility criteria

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.