Entry Points for Mainstreaming Ecosystem-based Adaptation - The Case of Peru

This case study, Entry Points for Mainstreaming Ecosystem-based Adaptation - The Case of Peru, analyses the enabling and hindering factors with regards to the institutional setting, policy and legal framework as well as capacity and awareness, and shares lessons learned on Ecosystem-based Adaptation mainstreaming in Peru.

• Institutional framework: the Peruvian experience demonstrates that delivering policy change for EbA requires collaboration across governance scales and procedures, both with a top-down and bottom-up approach. It also concludes that the firm articulation of national agencies with existing local structures and policies enables EbA ownership and sustainability on the long run.
• Policy and legal processes: integrating EbA into national investment processes enables its mainstreaming across sectors and at multiple scales, from local to regional and national budgets. The case studies illustrated that another financing opportunity for EbA comes from the potential of the mechanisms for compensation for ecosystem services.
• Awareness and capacity building: it illustrates that effective communication has the potential to mobilize capacity and resources for EbA, while technical capacity building is vital to strengthen the role of local actors to plan and implement EbA measures.
• To unlock the potentials of EbA, it is vital to foster interventions in policy-making and planning across scales. It is also essential to provide incentives for EbA implementation on the ground, promote enabling framework conditions at the national level and support global common agendas. The formulation of an EbA roadmap as an integral part of the National Adaptation Plan process and NDCs in Peru presents the potential to become a central component of climate adaptation efforts. In addition, the need for innovative financing mechanisms in collaboration with the private sector is critical for EbA and will provide an incentive for mainstreaming. Planning and implementing EbA works best at a landscape or ecosystem scale, which means that making the case for scaling up EbA at the regional level is especially relevant for the Amazon and the Andean regions. Peru can share experiences, technology, and lessons learned at a regional scale.