RECLIMA: A legacy of resilience, water conservation and landscape restoration in El Salvador’s Dry Corridor

Judith grew up in a family of farmers. For as long as she can remember, her parents, grandparents, and uncles worked on the land, mostly producing corn. She inherited the land, along with the ideas, values, and farming practices of her forefathers and continues farming in rural Palo Pique Canton, in Ahuachapán, northwestern El Salvador.

El Salvador is part of the Central American Dry Corridor, known for the irregular frequency and intensity of its rainfall, and extended droughts. This makes it one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change and variability with the most challenging farming systems.

The evidence of a changing climate is seen and felt every day in El Salvador. Judith compared the past two rainy seasons with this year’s. “By this time last year, we had already received much more rain than we are getting now.”

Most of El Salvador’s rain comes in intense, short-lived downpours with longer dry spells, locally known as canicula, in between. 

“We know it’s time to plant when the rain starts, but just when our crop needs the water most, the dry spell comes and kills most of the maize,” explains Judith.

For the past seven years, the RECLIMA project funded by the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the Government of El Salvador has empowered small-scale farmers like Judith with practical adaptation techniques that help capture, store and use rainwater more efficiently, reducing vulnerability to drought and erratic rainfall.

Implemented by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), RECLIMA has helped 51,000 farmers to adapt to climate change by improving climate-resilient farming, securing water, and restoring the natural landscapes that support agriculture and continuously diversify their livelihoods and farming systems.

Judith now plants her crops along with fruit and timber trees which she received under the RECLIMA project. The trees absorb carbon dioxide while providing additional income and protecting her farm from extreme weather.  Such agroforestry practices are designed to strengthen the linkages between crops and trees in a given landscape, creating microclimates and conserving water. 

“I make rows of grass and shrubs to prevent soil erosion and conserve water. I have also learnt to make Bocashi organic fertilizer from natural organic materials to improve soil fertility,” she explains.

Judith teaches other farmers all these techniques, and together, they are reducing greenhouse gas emissions, increasing carbon storage in soils and trees, and promoting more sustainable and productive farming systems.

“The first thing my father did when preparing the field was to burn the maize field,” recalls Christina, a farmer in La Paz, just 60 km south of San Salvador. Burning is used in many farming systems as a means to reduce pest and disease outbreaks.

Like thousands of small-scale farming families participating in the RECLIMA project, Christina has had to unlearn practices passed down across generations. Farmers used to burn crop residue in their fields, not fully understanding the long-term implications for soil fertility. Now they no longer burn. Instead, they are doing something better for the soil, and for the environment. They cover the soil with mulch to retain moisture in the summer, to help rainwater to penetrate the soil in winter and to prevent weeds from growing.

Christina received tree seedlings under the RECLIMA project and has planted mango, lime, orange, Madre de Cacao and avocado trees on her farm. In addition to corn, which is El Salvador’s staple food, Christina plants sorghum, beans, yuka, tomatoes, and baby marrow.  The irrigation ditches she has made on her farm catch the rainwater and keeps it in the soil. She also uses a homemade drip irrigation system that saves water and time. All these techniques are bearing fruit; Christina used to harvest 50 bags of corn per acre, now she gets 80 bags. She has enough corn to make pupusas for her family and to sell too. In addition, she has more diversity of production throughout the year.

“I am proud of the work we are doing here. We have learnt so much from the RECLIMA project. I hope my children continue to take care of the land the way I have taught them.

Forests are key to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and enhancing climate change adaptation. Through RECLIMA, GCF has supported reforestation by providing tree seedlings to farmers like Judith and Christina. Today, 5.1 million trees have been planted across the 100 districts where the project was implemented, restoring about 51,000 hectares of degraded land to build up the flow of ecosystem services again.

RECLIMA has also expanded opportunities for social inclusion, enabling more women to take leadership roles in climate adaptation. In Usulután, Magdalena leads a group of fellow women; neighbours, mothers and friends. They manage a thriving tree nursery helping to reach their district’s goal of reforesting 2,600 hectares.

“The work is hard, and the heat slows us down during the day. Sometimes we work at night when it is cooler, with lamps strapped to our heads,” explained Magdalena. 

Armed with training, a water tank and a start-up pack of seeds, the women have already produced 43,000 forest and fruit trees, to drive restoration work in their community.

Supported by USD 35 million in GCF financing and USD 92.8 million co-financing from the Government of El Salvador, RECLIMA demonstrates the power of country ownership in driving climate action. 

With 5.1 million trees planted,51,000 hectares of degraded land restored, 51,000 farmers empowered, rainwater harvesting and purification systems in 12 schools; the impact is clear.

“As the RECLIMA project ends, its impact shows us what is possible when national institutions and partners work together. Together with the Government of El Salvador and FAO, the Green Climate Fund has empowered about 1.3 million people to strengthen their livelihoods, promote water conservation and restore critical ecosystems. RECLIMA has demonstrated how climate adaptation can deliver lasting impact for communities while protecting the natural resources they depend on,” said Kristin Lang, GCF Director for Latin America and the Caribbean region.

RECLIMA is part of GCF’s broader strategy to finance climate-smart agriculture, water conservation, and ecosystem-based adaptation where farming livelihoods are increasingly threatened by drought, erratic rainfall and water insecurity across the developing world. GCF is supporting similar approaches in Viet Nam helping smallholder farmers secure water, adopt climate-resilient agriculture, and access agro-climate information, credit and markets; in Pakistan transforming agriculture in the Indus Basin through climate-resilient farming and water management; in India combining groundwater recharge with solar micro-irrigation; in Morocco improving water conservation and efficient irrigation and in Niger supporting hydro-agricultural development and smart agriculture practices.

While the RECLIMA project has ended in El Salvador, there is hope in farmers like Judith, Christina and Magdalena that its impact will continue to be felt. From healthier watersheds, restored landscapes to stronger livelihoods and more resilient communities.