In a Mapuche neighborhood on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, artisans are trading traditional adobe bricks for experimental eco-friendly alternatives. In a canyon that straddles the U.S.\u2013Mexico border, families are planting vegetation to stem polluted runoff. And in Panama\u2019s Parita Bay, grassroots leaders are defending wetlands that shelter thousands of migratory shorebirds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These are just three of five community-driven projects launched this week across Latin America under a new initiative to accelerate ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) in cities. The program, led by the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) Transdisciplinary Academy and the EPIC Network, seeks to show how unusual partnerships between universities and communities can drive climate resilience in the Global South.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Funded through the Global EbA Fund \u2014financed by International Climate Initiative (IKI) of theGerman Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN) and co-managed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and partners\u2014 the projects aim to support innovative approaches to EbA to create enabling environments<\/a> for its mainstreaming and scaling up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cUrban communities in Latin America are often on the frontline of climate risks, but rarely in the driver\u2019s seat of adaptation,\u201d said Kim Portmess, STeP Program Lead at the IAI. \u201cThis initiative flips that dynamic by giving communities the tools, knowledge, and partnerships to shape their own futures.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Balancing Tradition and Innovation in Argentina<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In Campo La Cruz, a Mapuche community in Jun\u00edn, adobe brickmaking has been central to both livelihoods and cultural identity. But the practice contributes to deforestation and land degradation. Through the project CheCiencia, community members are working with researchers from the National University of the Northwest of the Province of Buenos Aires to co-design solutions: ecological bricks made from recycled plastics, remediation of degraded areas, and assessments of urban climate risks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe want to keep our traditions alive, but also protect the land that sustains us,\u201d said a community leader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Food Security and Education in Colombia<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In the hills outside Medell\u00edn, the SERES Project is transforming schools into climate hubs. Children tend urban gardens while families restore nearby forests, learning about rainwater harvesting, composting, and water conservation. The goal is not just environmental recovery but building resilience into everyday life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n