1) El Salvador is highly vulnerable to climate change impacts like extreme rainfall and drought due to its location and topography. Over 88% of its land is at risk of hazards like landslides and flooding. 2) El Salvador's National Landscape and Ecosystem Restoration Program aims to restore degraded lands through establishing climate-resilient agroforestry systems and recovering critical ecosystems to regain ecosystem services. 3) The program has identified restoration opportunities across 400,000 hectares to be implemented between 2018-2022, transitioning landscapes from activities like maize and bean crops to agroforestry systems and improving mangrove and riparian forest restoration.

1. GLF Bonn 2017, December 19th
Overview of El Salvador restoration progress
Lina Pohl - Minister

2. Vulnerability of the region
“Central America (CA) has traditionally been characterized as a region with high
exposure to geo-climatic hazards derived from its location and topography and with high
vulnerability of its human settlements. It has also been identified as the most
responsive tropical region to climate change”. IPCC
Global Climate Risk Index1996-2015
Germanwatch and Munich Re
NatCatSERVICE 2016
The Central American region is
particularly vulnerable to the
effects of climate change, and
has experienced in recent
decades hydro- meteorological
events, including both extreme
rainfall and droughts, with
substantial implications for
sustainable development.

3. Percentage of Land under risk 88.7%
High vulnerability to landslides 38.0%
Under risk to flooding 10.0%
Population that lives in risk zones 95.4%
GDP generated in risk zones 96.5%
El Salvador in brief
•High population density (Population
6.251.495)
•Severe land degradation
(91% farmers with unsustainable
practices)
• Forest & tree cover – 38%)
•1st place for 2009 and 4th for 2011 in
Germanwatch´s Global Climate Risk
Index
45% GEI emissions in agriculture and
Land Use Change.
Before eighties all storms were originated in the Atlantic Ocean, at
present the storms also have formed in the Pacific Ocean
El Salvador passes from one extreme weather event per decade to 8
per decade

4. Climate Change Scenarios: Are we there yet?
0
200
400
600
ENE FEB MAR ABR MAY JUN JUL AGO SEP OCT NOV DIC
Rainfall(mm)
Monthly rainfall in San Miguel with respect to other dry years.
1977 1997 2015 2014
Climate Change scenarios conducted by CEPAL, reflected
a gradual decrease in rainfall in the 1st trimester of the
rainy season , tending toward the disappearance of the
bimodal curve that has been characteristic in the country.
In 2015 this scenario was observed, more critically than any
other dry year in record.
*Most realistic scenario of greenhouse gas emissions (A2)

5. National Landscape and Ecosystem Restoration Program
Restore highly degraded lands, through
establishing a climate resilient and biodiversity-
friendly agro-forestry system
Restore critical ecosystems through socially
inclusive processes to recover key ecosystem
services
Establish a more synergic integration of physical
and natural infrastructure.

6. Land Use Map
Updated nationwide topographic information
from LIDAR and high-resolution aerial
photography to improve mapping threats, key
infrastructure and environmental variables as
land cover and biomass.

7. Surface water, groundwater
and adaptation to drought
Soil Conservation and agriculture Adaptation: floods and storms
Biodiversity Climate regulation by urban cities Firewood
Restoration Opportunities Assessment Methodology – MARN/UICN

8. Information at municipality level

9. Kind of transition on Restoration Program
1. Maize and Beans crops to Agroforestry Systems
(Intercropping beans/maize)
2. Pasture to silvopastoral system
3. Mosaic of crops and pasture to agro-silvopastoral system
4. Mosaic of crops, pastures and vegetation <900 m.s.n.m. to
Agroforestry systems of cocoa (1)
5. Sugarcane with burning practice towards the green harvest
(Zafra)
6. Coffee Growing <800 m.a.s.l. towards Cocoa agroforestry
systems
7. Coffee Growing <800 m.a.s.l. towards a low height coffee
renovation
8. Coffee Growing 800 - 1200 m.a.s.l. towards renovate Coffee
medium height plantation
9. Coffee Growing > 1200 m.a.s.l. towards renovate Coffee
height plantation
10. Mosaic of Crops towards Riparian Forest
11. Degraded Mangrove towards Restored Mangrove
Interventions in Landscape

10. Technical Sheet and specific
restoration cost
 Name of technique
 Stages for the implementation of the
technique
 Special notes on the implementation of
the technique
 Visualization of the technique
 Establishment Costs
 Maintenance Costs
 Investment Amounts
 Counterpart Amounts
 Required Inputs Detail
PRIORIZATION OF
RESTORATION
TECHNIQUES

11. Action Plan for Ecosystem and
Landscape Restoration
Period 2018 – 2022 with a target 400,000 ha

12. Intervention Area. Year 1 Restoration of Productive Landscapes
in El Salvador

13. Intervention Area. Year 2 Restoration of Productive
Landscapes in El Salvador
Intervention Area. Year 3 Restoration of Productive
Landscapes in El Salvador
Intervention Area. Year 4 Restoration of Productive
Landscapes in El Salvador
Intervention Area. Year 5 Restoration of Productive
Landscapes in El Salvador

14. Conserve & Restore Mangroves
- hydrological restoration -
1. Improve local livelihoods
2. Bolster ¨natural infrastructure¨
to reduce flooding and coastal
erosion
3. Positive impact on fishing
4. Conserve biodiversity

15. Modeling enhanced Carbon Stocks related with
restoration activities in the Conservation Area
“Imposible- Barra de Santiago”
Riparian ecosystems
restoration
Degraded areas recovery
Mangroves restoration

16. http://apps2.marn.gob.sv/geocumplimiento/restauracion/mapa.php
Restoration actions Monitoring System
National Landscape and Ecosystem Restoration Program

17. Forest Monitoring System
Interagency technical team led by
Ministry of Environment and Natural
Resources, Ministry of Agriculture and
the University of El Salvador, which
coordinates 25 representatives of civil
society and public institutions to work in
the national monitoring system.
Community Forest Monitoring and
Network of Local Environmental
Observers
Co-Benefit Monitoring System

18. Thanks for your attention
Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources
El Salvador