The Coalition of Organizations in the Bioregion Jamapa-Antigua (COBIJA for its acronym in Spanish) is an initiative formed by seven grassroots organizations (INANA, A.C., VIDA A.C., SENDAS A.C., Conecta Tierra A.C., ERA A.C., CORECAFECO A.C., Global Water Watch México) with extensive experience in community work and sustainable management of natural resources in the area of the Jamapa and Antigua watershed in the state of Veracruz . While all of them have decades of experience working with communities in the region, by joining in a coalition, these organizations have strengthened their own internal processes, reducing costs and operating times. Furthermore, they have found new friends and colleagues with whom they can work to solve common problems for a common cause: improving the well-being of communities along with the sustainability and adaptability of the local ways of life and ecosystems.

The trigger of the coalition was the joint struggle to attack a coffee rust problem (Hemileia vastatrix), a disease that can have catastrophic effects in coffee growing areas, including those from the Jamapa and Antigua watersheds.  Through an integrated agroecological management, the disease could be controlled. The work from the people and for the people helped to maintain the coffee production  and associated ecosystem services. This first example illustrates the potential of the coalition as a actor that can provide continuous support for adaptation in managing productive practices to conserve ecosystems and livelihoods.

COBIJA's work strategy with the communities has a watershed approach, combining territorial management, supporting  local ways of life, and the conservation of resources and ecosystem services. Among their actions are, i) the organization of participatory workshops to build a management plan for the land use and land cover using the framework of the Comprehensive Watershed Management Plans (https://panorama.solutions/en/solution/dynamic-tool-integrated-land-use-and-water-management); ii) the running of learning communities about meliponiculture (a specific form of beekeeping) and coffee practices iii) the organization of barter markets, etc. COBIJA's permanent support has strengthened social and productive processes within local communities, increasing their adaptive capacity in the face of environmental and social changes.