Collaborative and Resilient Ecosystem Management

Human activities that adversely affect ecosystem resilience such as reduction of biodiversity, exploitation of natural resources, pollution, land use, and anthropogenic climate change are increasingly causing regime shifts in ecosystems, often to less desirable and degraded conditions. ACTED aims to ensure that ecosystems and natural resources are regenerated, consumed and protected in a more sustainable manner so that local populations can responsibly benefit from them to meet their needs while conserving the ecosystems for future generations.

The standard activities under this thematic area include:

• Assessing, monitoring and evaluating natural resources, among others through use of GIS and remote sensing applications;
• Promoting natural resource management strategies that help people to cope with disasters and climate change (Climate Change Adaptation – CCA);
• Reinforcing local knowledge that enables people to sustainably manage resources;
• Promoting and institutionalizing ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction (Eco-DRR);
• Integrated Natural Resource Management, including integrated water resource management (IWRM), integrated coastal zone management (ICZM), integrated watershed or river basin management (IWM), and integrated land management (ILM);
• Protected Areas Management, including stewardship systems;
• Carbon sequestration;
• Implementation of structural mitigation activities (building flood dikes, drainage system improvements, etc.);
• Implementation of non-structural mitigation activities (land-use zoning, formulation of safety regulations, public education and training, etc.);
• Landscape regeneration (e.g. REVIVE);
• Prevention of pollution (e.g. management of solid waste and/or waste water, air pollution);
• National, regional and global advocacy initiatives on climate change, the environment and/or collaborative and resilient ecosystem management, incl. policy-related initiatives.