Climate Adaptation and Protected Areas (CAPA) Initiative
The Climate Adaptation and Protected Areas (CAPA) Initiative is a 3-year project that aims to use nature-based solutions (NbS) to strengthen climate resilience and protect biodiversity in and around protected areas in the Kavango-Zambezi and Greater Virunga landscapes in sub-Saharan Africa, Belize, and Fiji.
Our Approach
The CAPA Initiative is working with local communities, traditionally underrepresented groups, women, and national and local authorities to design and implement tangible gender-responsive, conflict-sensitive NbS for adaptation in and around protected areas and critical landscapes.
The initiative is being implemented by the International Institute for Sustainable Development in collaboration with the Wildlife Conservation Society and the World Wide Fund for Nature, with funding support from Global Affairs Canada.
The CAPA Initiative seeks to
- tap into the potential of NbS to support local communities in adapting to climate change while safeguarding critical ecosystems and biodiversity in and around protected areas,
- better integrate climate adaptation considerations into the management of protected areas, and
- Increase the agency of women and underrepresented groups to participate in the design and implementation of NbS for adaptation and in climate-resilient management plans for protected areas.
Through Their Eyes: Stories of climate adaptation and resilience in Belize
Across Belize, women, young people, and other underrepresented groups are documenting how climate change is affecting their communities and how they are responding. Through mobile photography and storytelling, participants in the Climate Adaptation and Protected Areas (CAPA) Initiative’s storytelling project are sharing their experiences in their own words, offering a personal look at resilience and adaptation in action.
Read the full storyProject Sites
Belize
In Belize, the Climate Adaptation and Protected Areas (CAPA) Initiative will address water security concerns; protect biodiversity; improve hydrological functions; stabilize and enhance degraded soil; and support ecosystem services for local communities.
Fiji
In Fiji, the Climate Adaptation and Protected Areas (CAPA) Initiative will promote sustainable fisheries; support reforestation; safeguard locally managed marine areas; train local communities; preserve functional and healthy ecosystems; and improve flood mitigation.
The Greater Virunga Landscape
In the Greater Virunga Landscape (GVL), the Climate Adaptation and Protected Areas (CAPA) Initiative will focus on nature-positive livelihood interventions and the restoration of degraded lands in and around protected areas. Working with local civil society and community members, CAPA Initiative activities will be carried out in southwest Uganda.
The Kavango-Zambezi Landscape
In the Kavango-Zambezi (KAZA) Transfrontier Conservation Area landscape, the Climate Adaptation and Protected Areas (CAPA) Initiative will promote the restoration of forest cover; restocking wildlife; supporting nature-positive livelihoods; and stabilizing headwater, riverine, and lagoon wetlands to enhance ecosystem integrity and biodiversity.
What's New
From Theory to Practice
This briefing note presents two practical ways that conservation practitioners and managers of implementing nature-based solutions interventions can strengthen their monitoring, evaluation, and learning systems, with a focus on qualitative data to measure social outcomes.
Climate Risk Profile: Greater Virunga Landscape
A climate risk profile for the Greater Virunga Landscape examining the observed and projected climate hazards, impacts on ecosystems, biodiversity, and livelihoods, and potential nature-based solutions for adaptation.
Climate Risk Profile: Kavango-Zambezi Landscape
A climate risk profile for the Kavango-Zambezi (KAZA) Landscape examining the observed and projected climate hazards, impacts on ecosystems, biodiversity, and livelihoods, and potential nature-based solutions for adaptation.
Contact us
If you’d like to reach out to us, please contact us at [email protected].
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