VLUAPs were developed in 200 villages through participatory processes involving women, youth, indigenous people, agribusinesses, NGOs, and churches. The plans identified land use priorities and restoration needs and were integrated into district-level annual plans and budgets. This alignment with the District Imihigo performance system ensured local accountability and long-term institutional support.

Land degradation in Sebeya was addressed by restoring 7,700 hectares with terraces (both radical and progressive), afforestation, trenching in forests and tea plantations, gully treatment, and riverbank protection. These interventions stabilized soils, reduced runoff, improved infiltration, and minimized landslide and flood risks. Restoration activities were tailored to agro-ecological zones, and linked to productivity improvements. Afforestation and fruit tree planting contributed to erosion control and diversified incomes.

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.

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.

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.