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FOBUR originates as part of the UNESCO Chair of Sustainability in collaboration with McGill University, and under the direction of Dr. Nilson Ariel Espino. He has carried out important studies on urban mobility and informal settlements in the metropolitan area of ​​Panama, and thanks to the collaboration with CREHO, CATHALAC, Suma Arquitectos, �鶹��Ƶ and IAI, he is conducting transdisciplinary mapping of community uses and ecosystem-based adaptation on the coast of the Chitré District in Parita Bay.

The objective of FOBUR is to research, monitor, and disseminate information on various aspects of urban growth that impact the sustainability and quality of life in the Panama metropolitan region, and to enrich public debate on these issues.

Fun Facts About Project Cities

Stretching across the U.S.-Mexico border, Los Laureles Canyon, part of the Tijuana River watershed, is a rich ecosystem that supports biodiversity. But increasing pollution, climate change, and biodiversity loss have created binational challenges for the watershed.

The Opportunity

In August 2025, the Universidad Iberoamericana Tijuana project launched through a collaboration among Universidad Iberoamericana Tijuana, Costa Salvaje A.C and the Rancho Las Flores community. The project aimed to strengthen local resilience, reduce environmental vulnerability, and restore lost biodiversity in Los Laureles Canyon.

Since Fall 2025, seven academic programs at the university, including Architecture, Mechatronics Engineering, Psychology, Nursing, Law, Communication, and Bionanotechnology Engineering, have joined the effort as part of an interdisciplinary approach to environmental restoration and the implementation of the �鶹��Ƶ-Model.

Together, the seven departments focused on five primary goals: monitoring water quality and mitigating wastewater pollution through phytoremediation; controlling soil erosion; revegetating green spaces; promoting environmental education and community stewardship; and exploring legal pathways to secure the Right to a Healthy Environment. For the past two semesters, Fall 2025 and Spring 2026, 127 students were involved in 15 courses supervised by 15 professors.

Through continued collaboration, the project incorporated key initiatives such as urban and risk mapping led by the psychology department, as well as environmental monitoring efforts.

Our Partnership

In April 2025, leaders within the Universidad Iberoamericana Tijuana project began collaborating with �鶹��Ƶ to assist with project funding and the implementation of the �鶹��Ƶ Model, combining university- and community-led initiatives with municipal collaboration.

Teachers and students of the Bionanotechnology Engineering undergrad program collected samples of dirt and water along the Los Laureles Canyon for testing. Students, along with local laboratories, proposed a type of bioremediation, an environmental process that uses living organisms to remove hazardous pollutants from water. Other undergraduate students in Tadeo Franco’s architecture class, a professor at Universidad Iberoamericana Tijuana, and the �鶹��Ƶ/EbA project lead designed a community board to facilitate communication between project leaders and the local community. The innovative communication tool included feedback from neighbors in its final design.

Tadeo Franco said community members are heavily involved within the project, and continued collaboration has led to new innovations as the project progresses.

“They’re very much involved in deciding which design they like the most,” he said. “Students with professors had to change the objective of the design because of the petitions with the neighbors.” 

Other project partners and collaborators include Costa Salvaje Conservation, a nonprofit that helped build infrastructure near the community board for collecting and processing trash.

Looking forward, project leaders say they hope members of the Rancho Las Flores community can continue to maintain community interventions created through the Universidad Iberoamericana Tijuana project. In the architecture program at the Universidad Iberoamericana Tijuana, project leaders hope to officially integrate transdisciplinary courses within the department and across the university. 

The Result

Through the Universidad Iberoamericana Tijuana project and its ongoing work, organizers and collaborators have strengthened relationships among university departments, community members, and partners working in Los Laureles Canyon. The project has also strengthened socio-environmental resilience through several key interventions. By August 2026, organizers hope to secure acknowledgment from local authorities of the problems caused by biodiversity destruction and the vulnerability it generates in the community.

Georgina Muñoz Reyes, architecture professor at Universidad Iberoamericana Tijuana and �鶹��Ƶ/EbA project organizer, said that although the project has overcome some challenges, it has achieved its goal of showcasing the possibilities of transdisciplinary approaches and ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA).

“It’s been a learning process,” she said. “But overall, the goals of introducing this transdisciplinary approach of learning about nature-based solutions and how to implement them have been really wonderful, seeing how everything has been developing and growing.”

Juan Pablo Ramírez Flores, a student from Universidad Iberoamericana, campus León (central Mexico), as part of the collaboration within the network of Jesuit universities, recently earned 2nd place in the Scientific Poster Design Competition at the 3rd Engineering Congress of the Jesuit University System for his work on this project. This recognition reflects the impact of applied research and science-driven solutions for sustainable development. 

This project is funded by the Global EbA Fund, supported by the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) of Germany, and co-managed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and its partners.

The project is also part of five projects under the program “Catalyzing Unconventional Collaborations in the Global South for Urban Ecosystem-Based Adaptation (EbA).”

La Universidad Iberoamericana de Tijuana se asocia con la comunidad para restaurar el Cañón de Los Laureles

El problema

El Cañón de Los Laureles, que se extiende a ambos lados de la frontera entre Estados Unidos y México y forma parte de la cuenca del río Tijuana, es un ecosistema rico en biodiversidad. Sin embargo, la creciente contaminación, el cambio climático y la pérdida de biodiversidad han generado desafíos binacionales para la cuenca.

La oportunidad

En agosto de 2025, se puso en marcha el proyecto de la Universidad Iberoamericana de Tijuana mediante una colaboración entre la Universidad Iberoamericana de Tijuana, Costa Salvaje A.C. y la comunidad de Rancho Las Flores. El proyecto busca fortalecer la resiliencia local, reducir la vulnerabilidad ambiental y restaurar la biodiversidad perdida en el Cañón de Los Laureles.

Desde el otoño de 2025, siete programas académicos de la universidad, entre ellos Arquitectura, Ingeniería Mecatrónica, Psicología, Enfermería, Derecho, Comunicación e Ingeniería en Bionanotecnología, se han sumado al esfuerzo como parte de un enfoque interdisciplinario para la restauración ambiental y la implementación del Modelo �鶹��Ƶ.

En conjunto, los siete departamentos se centraron en cinco objetivos principales: monitorear la calidad del agua y mitigar la contaminación por aguas residuales mediante fitorremediación; controlar la erosión del suelo; revegetar espacios verdes; promover la educación ambiental y la participación comunitaria; y explorar vías legales para garantizar el derecho a un medio ambiente saludable. Durante los dos últimos semestres, otoño de 2025 y primavera de 2026, 127 estudiantes participaron en 15 cursos supervisados por 15 profesores.

Mediante la colaboración continua, el proyecto incorporó iniciativas clave como el mapeo urbano y de riesgos, liderado por el departamento de psicología, así como esfuerzos de monitoreo ambiental.

Nuestra Alianza

En abril de 2025, los líderes del proyecto de la Universidad Iberoamericana Tijuana comenzaron a colaborar con �鶹��Ƶ para apoyar la financiación del proyecto y la implementación del Modelo �鶹��Ƶ, combinando iniciativas universitarias y comunitarias con la colaboración municipal.

Docentes y estudiantes del programa de pregrado de Ingeniería en Bionanotecnología recolectaron muestras de tierra y agua a lo largo del Cañón de Los Laureles para su análisis. Estudiantes, junto con laboratorios locales, propusieron un tipo de biorremediación, un proceso ambiental que utiliza organismos vivos para eliminar contaminantes peligrosos del agua. Otros estudiantes de la clase de arquitectura de Tadeo Franco, un profesor de la Universidad Iberoamericana de Tijuana y el líder del proyecto �鶹��Ƶ/AbE diseñaron una pizarra comunitaria para facilitar la comunicación entre los líderes del proyecto y la comunidad local. Esta innovadora herramienta de comunicación incluyó la retroalimentación de los vecinos en su diseño final.

Tadeo Franco afirmó que los miembros de la comunidad participan activamente en el proyecto, y la colaboración continua ha dado lugar a nuevas innovaciones a medida que avanza el proyecto.

“Participan mucho en la decisión sobre qué diseño les gusta más”, dijo. “Los estudiantes, junto con los profesores, tuvieron que modificar el objetivo del diseño debido a las peticiones de los vecinos.”

Otros socios y colaboradores del proyecto incluyen a Costa Salvaje Conservation, una organización sin fines de lucro que ayudó a construir infraestructura cerca de la pizarra comunitaria para la recolección y el procesamiento de basura.

De cara al futuro, los líderes del proyecto esperan que los miembros de la comunidad de Rancho Las Flores puedan seguir manteniendo las intervenciones comunitarias creadas a través del proyecto de la Universidad Iberoamericana de Tijuana. En el programa de arquitectura de la Universidad Iberoamericana Tijuana, los líderes del proyecto esperan integrar oficialmente cursos transdisciplinarios tanto dentro del departamento como en toda la universidad.

Resultados

A través del proyecto de la Universidad Iberoamericana Tijuana y de su trabajo continuo, los organizadores y colaboradores han fortalecido las relaciones entre los departamentos universitarios, los miembros de la comunidad y los socios que trabajan en el Cañón de Los Laureles. El proyecto también ha fortalecido la resiliencia socioambiental mediante diversas intervenciones clave. Para agosto de 2026, los organizadores esperan obtener el reconocimiento de las autoridades locales respecto de los problemas causados por la destrucción de la biodiversidad y la vulnerabilidad que esta genera en la comunidad.

Georgina Muñoz Reyes, profesora de arquitectura en la Universidad Iberoamericana Tijuana y organizadora del proyecto �鶹��Ƶ/AbE, afirmó que, si bien el proyecto ha superado algunos desafíos, ha logrado su objetivo de mostrar las posibilidades de los enfoques transdisciplinarios y de la adaptación basada en ecosistemas (AbE).

“Ha sido un proceso de aprendizaje”, concluyó. “En general, los objetivos de introducir este enfoque transdisciplinario para aprender sobre soluciones basadas en la naturaleza y cómo implementarlas han sido realmente maravillosos, al ver cómo todo se ha ido desarrollando y creciendo”.

Juan Pablo Ramírez Flores, estudiante de la Universidad Iberoamericana, campus León (centro de México), obtuvo recientemente, como parte de la colaboración dentro de la red de universidades jesuitas, el segundo lugar en el Concurso de Diseño de Pósteres Científicos del III Congreso de Ingeniería del Sistema Universitario Jesuita por su trabajo.

Este proyecto está financiado por el Global EbA Fund, cuenta con el apoyo de la Iniciativa Climática Internacional (IKI) del Ministerio Federal de Medio Ambiente, Conservación de la Naturaleza, Seguridad Nuclear y Protección al Consumidor (BMUV) de Alemania, y es cogestionado por la Unión Internacional para la Conservación de la Naturaleza (UICN) y sus socios.

Asimismo, el proyecto forma parte de un conjunto de cinco iniciativas en el marco del programa «Catalizar colaboraciones no convencionales en el Sur Global para la adaptación basada en ecosistemas (AbE) urbana».

The mission of this program is to advance and improve research and education at the Universidad Mayor de San Andrés. The program is hosted within the Institute of Geographical Research (IIGEO). The IIGEO is a geographical research center created within the Geography Department.

The IIGEO has been working primarily in Bolivia for 20 years, in places like the Amazon, the Chaco, and the Altiplano.

Fun Facts About the �鶹��Ƶ Program

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Our project aims to support the Campo La Cruz Mapuche Community—located on the outskirts of Junín
(Buenos Aires, Argentina)—in the collaborative development of ecosystem-based climate change adaptation strategies. We seek to balance respect for their traditional production methods and cultural heritage with the urgent need to address the environmental impacts caused by artisanal brickmaking. Through a transdisciplinary approach involving researchers from the University of Buenos Aires, faculty from the National University of the Northwest of Buenos Aires Province, and members of the community itself, we aim to assess climate risks within the urban and peri-urban ecosystem, restore the Pampas grasslands ecosystem degraded by soil extraction, and foster a transition toward eco-friendly production alternatives that reduce social and environmental vulnerability without undermining the community’s cultural identity. In doing so, we aspire to strengthen the climate resilience of both the community and the city of Junín while promoting environmental justice, livelihood security, and the preservation of cultural heritage passed down through generations.

We proposed this project in response to the call for proposals “Catalyzing non-traditional partnerships in the Global South for urban ecosystem-based adaptation,” which focuses on mitigating the three main barriers hindering the adoption and scaling up of Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA). These three identified barriers are: finance (funding opportunities), governance (collaboration mechanisms), and knowledge gaps. Our project—funded by the Global EbA Fund (a mechanism co-managed by the IUCN and its partners)—seeks to support initiatives that help overcome these barriers to scaling up EbA by fostering innovative partnerships and participatory, transdisciplinary approaches. Having completed the diagnostic phase—which involved assessing climate risks (floods, droughts, heatwaves, biodiversity loss) in the urban and peri-urban ecosystem of Junín, mapping areas exposed to hydro-climatic hazards, analyzing the environmental impacts of the community’s traditional brick-making activities, and conducting social perception surveys with the Campo La Cruz Mapuche Community—we are now focusing on the co-design and sustainable production stage. This stage includes advancing land-use planning for Campo La Cruz through the regularization of the community’s land tenure with the support of the Junín municipality, as well as developing a process to enhance cultural and environmental value, ultimately leading to an initiative to integrate the Ñuque Mapu Community of Campo La Cruz into the local tourism circuit.

Fun Facts About the Program

A truly transdisciplinary team: integrating anthropology, climatology, biology, and geography, alongside a lawyer who is also a member of the Campo La Cruz Mapuche Community itself—ensuring the community’s voice is present from the project’s very design, rather than merely as a “beneficiary.”

Over 15 years of prior fieldwork: researchers who have been working with the community since 2008 and 2013, respectively, providing a foundation of trust and accumulated knowledge rarely found in projects of this type.

Links to local public policy: enabling the development of long-term, environmentally and economically sustainable productive projects.

Academic outreach: through an undergraduate seminar to be taught at the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters (UBA) during the first semester of 2026, bringing the project’s lessons into the university classroom.

Institutional collaboration: bringing together CONICET, the University of Buenos Aires (UBA), and local educational institutions—such as the *Instituto Superior del Profesorado*—to build bridges between the national scientific system and a university deeply rooted in the local territory.

The Food Sovereignty and Sustainability Partnership was created to address the flooding of a biodiverse garden called Food Park. On March 19th, 2025, a stakeholder meeting was held to create a public/ private/ academic partnership for Food Sovereignty and Sustainable Development. The Food Park was the ecological product of the “Adopt a Community for Food Security Initiative”; a multiple workshop series (17 March -8 June 2024) on home gardening developed for a UWI community stakeholder. For this workshop, Dr Patricia Jaggasar, facilitated by the Dean of the Faculty of Food and Agriculture (Professor Mark Wuddivira), brought together university, private sector, government, and community stakeholders.

The current focus of the partnership is to create a living laboratory, a demonstration site and community innovation hub for food sovereignty and sustainable development; while simultaneously addressing predial larceny, youth unemployment, and related social challenges through education, livelihood creation, community engagement, and sustainable development initiatives.

The mission of the Food Sovereignty and Sustainability Partnership is to advance food sovereignty and sustainable development by mobilizing the knowledge, resources, and capacities of universities, communities, government agencies, and private-sector partners to address community-defined opportunities and challenges.

Through collaborative research, student engagement, sustainable agriculture, ecological restoration, biodiversity conservation, entrepreneurship, and the preservation and application of traditional knowledge, they seek to strengthen community well-being, create sustainable livelihoods, enhance environmental stewardship, and contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

The program is committed to building resilient socioecological systems that connect people, institutions, and natural resources while creating opportunities for present and future generations

Fun Facts About the Food Sovereignty and Sustainability Partnership

The partnership with Carifarms offers students a rare opportunity to engage with a living laboratory that challenges conventional assumptions about shared resources by exploring how commons-based approaches can advance sustainability, food sovereignty, and community development.

The program is developing a living laboratory for food sovereignty, sustainability, biodiversity conservation, and rural development in Trinidad and Tobago. This is built on the Food Park Model, an innovative socioecological approach that integrates food production, environmental stewardship, education, and community development.

CARIFARMS serves as a bridge between academia, communities, government agencies, and the private sector through public-private-academic partnerships. The site includes initiatives in sustainable agriculture, agroforestry, pollinator conservation, medicinal and culinary spices, and climate resilient food systems. Students have opportunities to work on real-world challenges affecting Caribbean communities, including youth unemployment, food insecurity, biodiversity loss, and rural development.

In La Estrella, a nearby town of Medellín, Colombia, rapid urban development and ecological change have put local agroecosystems at risk, including those bordering designated urban-growth zones. In response, students and local municipalities are working together to preserve valuable ecosystems and integrate balanced development throughout the region.

The Opportunity

In 2025, the Pontifical Bolivarian University (UPB) built upon its partnership with ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability (Colombia) and the Secretariat of the Environment, the Mayor’s Office of La Estrella, to establish the SERES project, to promote sustainable agricultural practices and ecological restoration, while raising awareness of climate change in La Estrella. By engaging schools and residents, the initiative empowers communities to adopt cleaner, more resilient ways of living. Within the UPB, the project integrates a transdisciplinary framework while training students in sustainability, urban ecology, and nature-based solutions to support local communities.

Through the program’s courses, educators and students worked to address community challenges, respond to climate change, and strengthen sustainable agricultural practices to reduce food insecurity in the region. 

 Educators and community partners at the UPB School of Architecture hosted workshops and activities to address environmental and social issues in the region. The project proposed methods to address three Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Reduced Inequalities (10), Zero Hunger (2), and Sustainable Cities and Communities (11). 

Our Partnership

The SERES: Sustainability and Ecology for the Restoration of Social Ecosystems project is a 12-month project. One of the activities included in the project was an online module certificate portion of the program, which hosted up to 50 participants (in-person and online) and covered 20 hours of programming starting at the end of January and into February 2026. �鶹��Ƶ participated in the first module’s in-person training, which was hosted by the UPB from January 28th to January 30th, 2026. 

 The overall project initiative was organized around four project components: Co-creation of Information, Ecosystem Restoration, Generation of Social Ecosystems (rainwater harvesting, irrigation, urban gardens, and food security), and Transdisciplinary and Scientific Dissemination. 

Through the implementation of the �鶹��Ƶ Model, courses such as Habits and Actions of the Place, Civil Service Research Architecture, and Coastal Landscapes and Climate Change equipped students with the training to work alongside municipal administrations and nongovernmental organizations to implement sustainable initiatives within the community. The project also incorporated collaborative design laboratories, participatory mapping, and community co-creation workshops to develop and validate nature-based solutions.

Allisson Stephens began her work within these projects as a student at the UPB School of Architecture. Stephens attended multiple workshops alongside partners and faculty members to learn more about the collaborators and their values guiding the initiative, while also exploring potential solutions to climate-related challenges. That led her, last year, to join the SERES project, which is a continuation of previous projects that resulted in the ECHOES handbook.

 Some of the most notable proposed solutions included developing supplies with a structural system and a rainwater drainage system, installing a filter for partial water purification, planting, and assembling four prototypes. Stephens said students worked with local communities to test solutions. One key improvement included making the water filtration system mobile to better fit community needs.

She said some of her favorite parts of the project included collaboration with local community members to develop proposed solutions, improve their functionality, and participate in planting sessions where project members helped plant trees in the area.

“We got to connect with the community and also learn a little bit about historical practices to continue reforesting,” she said, “but also not giving up to urban expansion.”

Stephens has since continued her work and advocacy with SERES, now serving as an educator on the university.

The Result

Through the SERES project, community members and collaborators made contributions in three distinct areas: academic, research, and partnerships. Students gained hands-on experience working with rural communities and local municipalities while researching advancements in urban planning and improved rainwater catchment designs. The project also strengthened food-security strategies, environmental education, and ecosystem restoration in peri-urban areas through nature-based solutions.

The initiative also strengthened collaboration between the university and municipalities, creating a model for implementing nature-based solutions beyond the project’s initial scope. ICLEI’s collaboration was crucial in this regard, strengthening the trust-building process between academia and local governments. 

This project is funded by the Global EbA Fund, supported by the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) of Germany, and co-managed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and its partners.

The project is also part of five projects under the program “Catalyzing Unconventional Collaborations in the Global South for Urban Ecosystem-Based Adaptation (EbA).”

Estudiantes y líderes locales trabajan para restaurar los ecosistemas sociales en Colombia

El Problema

En La Estrella, una localidad cercana de Medellín, Colombia, el rápido desarrollo urbano y el cambio ecológico han puesto en riesgo los agroecosistemas locales, incluidos aquellos que limitan con zonas designadas como crecimiento urbano. En respuesta, estudiantes y municipios locales trabajan juntos para preservar ecosistemas valiosos e integrar un desarrollo equilibrado en toda la región.

La Oportunidad

En 2025, la Pontificia Universidad Bolivariana (UPB) consolidó su colaboración con ICLEI – Gobiernos Locales para la Sostenibilidad (Colombia) y la Secretaría de Medio Ambiente, la Alcaldía de La Estrella, para establecer el proyecto SERES, promover prácticas agrícolas sostenibles y la restauración ecológica, al tiempo que sensibilizaba sobre el cambio climático en La Estrella. Al involucrar a las escuelas y a los residentes, la iniciativa empodera a las comunidades para adoptar formas de vida más limpias y resilientes. Dentro de la UPB, el proyecto integra un marco transdisciplinar mientras forma a los estudiantes en sostenibilidad, ecología urbana y soluciones basadas en la naturaleza para apoyar a las comunidades locales.

A través de los cursos del programa, educadores y estudiantes trabajaron para abordar los desafíos comunitarios, responder al cambio climático y fortalecer las prácticas agrícolas sostenibles para reducir la inseguridad alimentaria en la región. 

Educadores y socios comunitarios de la Escuela de Arquitectura de la UPB organizaron talleres y actividades para abordar cuestiones medioambientales y sociales en la región. El proyecto propuso métodos para abordar tres Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible (ODS): Reducción de Desigualdades (10), Hambre Cero (2) y Ciudades y Comunidades Sostenibles (11).

Nuestra Colaboración

El proyecto SERES: Sostenibilidad y Ecología para la Restauración de Ecosistemas Sociales es un proyecto de 12 meses. Una de las actividades incluidas en el proyecto fue una parte de certificado de módulo en línea, que acogió hasta 50 participantes (presenciales y online) y cubrió 20 horas de programación desde finales de enero hasta febrero de 2026. �鶹��Ƶ participó en la formación presencial del primer módulo, que fue organizada por la UPB del 28 al 30 de enero de 2026. 

La iniciativa global del proyecto se organizó en torno a cuatro componentes: Co-creación de Información, Restauración de Ecosistemas, Generación de Ecosistemas Sociales (captación de agua de lluvia, riego, huertos urbanos y seguridad alimentaria) y Difusión Transdisciplinar y Científica. 

A través de la implementación del Modelo �鶹��Ƶ, cursos como Hábitos y Acciones del Lugar, Arquitectura de Investigación del Servicio Civil y Paisajes Costeros y Cambio Climático dotaron a los estudiantes de la formación necesaria para trabajar junto a administraciones municipales y organizaciones no gubernamentales para implementar iniciativas sostenibles dentro de la comunidad. El proyecto también incorporó laboratorios de diseño colaborativos, mapeo participativo y talleres de co-creación comunitaria para desarrollar y validar soluciones basadas en la naturaleza.

Allisson Stephens comenzó su trabajo en estos proyectos como estudiante en la Escuela de Arquitectura de la UPB. Stephens asistió a múltiples talleres junto a socios y profesores para conocer mejor a los colaboradores y sus valores que guían la iniciativa, al tiempo que exploraba posibles soluciones a los desafíos relacionados con el clima. Eso la llevó el año pasado a unirse al proyecto SERES, que es una continuación de proyectos anteriores que dieron lugar al manual ECHOES. 

Algunas de las soluciones propuestas más destacadas incluyeron el desarrollo de suministros con un sistema estructural y un sistema de drenaje de aguas pluviales, la instalación de un filtro para la purificación parcial del agua, la plantación y el ensamblaje de cuatro prototipos. 

Stephens dijo que los estudiantes trabajaron con las comunidades locales para probar soluciones. Una mejora clave fue hacer que el sistema de filtración de agua fuera móvil para adaptarse mejor a las necesidades de la comunidad. Dijo que algunas de sus partes favoritas del proyecto incluyeron la colaboración con miembros de la comunidad local para desarrollar soluciones propuestas, mejorar su funcionalidad y participar en sesiones de plantación en las que los miembros del proyecto ayudaron a plantar árboles en la zona. “Pudimos conectar con la comunidad y también aprender un poco sobre prácticas históricas para seguir reforestando”, dijo, “pero también sin rendirnos ante la expansión urbana”.

Desde entonces, Stephens ha continuado su trabajo y defensa con SERES, ejerciendo ahora como docente en la universidad.

El Resultado

A través del proyecto SERES, miembros de la comunidad y colaboradores hicieron contribuciones en tres áreas distintas: académica, de investigación y de colaboraciones. Los estudiantes adquirieron experiencia práctica trabajando con comunidades rurales y municipios locales mientras investigaban avances en planificación urbana y mejoras en el diseño de captaciones de agua de lluvia. El proyecto también fortaleció las estrategias de seguridad alimentaria, la educación ambiental y la restauración de ecosistemas en áreas periurbanas mediante soluciones basadas en la naturaleza.

La iniciativa también fortaleció la colaboración entre la universidad y los municipios, creando un modelo para implementar soluciones basadas en la naturaleza más allá del alcance inicial del proyecto. La colaboración de ICLEI fue crucial en este sentido, fortaleciendo el proceso de construcción de confianza entre el ámbito académico y los gobiernos locales.

Este proyecto está financiado por el Fondo Global EbA, con el apoyo de la Iniciativa Internacional sobre el Clima (IKI) del Ministerio Federal de Medio Ambiente, Conservación de la Naturaleza, Seguridad Nuclear y Protección del Consumidor (BMUV) de Alemania, y coadministrado por la Unión Internacional para la Conservación de la Naturaleza (UICN) y sus socios. El proyecto forma parte de cinco proyectos en el marco del programa “Catalizar colaboraciones no convencionales en el Sur Global para la adaptación basada en los ecosistemas urbanos (EbA)”.