Increasing the Resilience of Tropical Hillside Communities through Forest Landscape Restoration

This fact sheet describes the vulnerability of tropical hillside communities to environmental degradation and climate change, focusing on the PASOLAC program in Central America. PASOLAC implements Sustainable Soil and Water Management (SSWM) techniques to increase agricultural productivity and resilience against droughts and floods in Nicaragua, Honduras, and El Salvador.

• Tropical hillsides, covering 13 million km2 (9% of the world's landmass), are critical ecosystems holding 20% of the world's fresh water and half of the world's tropical forests, but they are highly fragile and prone to erosion.
• Environmental degradation on tropical hillsides is severe, with an annual loss of nearly 25,898 km2 of tropical forests to deforestation and 13 billion tons of topsoil to erosion.
• The PASOLAC program, financed by the Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC) since 1992, supports over 50 member organizations in Nicaragua, Honduras, and El Salvador to implement Sustainable Soil and Water Management (SSWM) techniques.
• PASOLAC utilizes three innovative methodological approaches: "Invertir la Mirada" (IM) for farmer-led training demands, "Pago por Servicios Ambientales" (PSA) for compensating farmers for natural resource management, and "Mercados para Agricultores de Laderas" (MERCASEL) to integrate rural production into markets.
• SSWM techniques have demonstrated measurable success in reducing vulnerability to climate hazards, including a 3% average improvement in water retention in the top 20 cm of soil (approximately 60,000 litres per hectare) between 1993 and 1997.
• Comparative studies after Hurricane Mitch in Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua showed that plots using SSWM had a fertile soil layer 1.1–2.6 cm thicker and 34% less topsoil loss due to erosion compared to traditional management plots.
• The document identifies key lessons for climate change adaptation, emphasizing the need for an integrated approach combining human/social capital, locally-adapted resource management, financial instruments, and a supportive legal and institutional framework.

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (2003). Increasing the Resilience of Tropical Hillside Communities through Forest Landscape Restoration. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/envsec_livelihoods_2.pdf

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. Increasing the Resilience of Tropical Hillside Communities through Forest Landscape Restoration. 2003. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/envsec_livelihoods_2.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=Increasing the Resilience of Tropical Hillside Communities through Forest Landscape Restoration |date=2 December 2003 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/envsec_livelihoods_2.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopment2003increasing, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{Increasing the Resilience of Tropical Hillside Communities through Forest Landscape Restoration}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2003}, month = dec, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/envsec_livelihoods_2.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }