As a result of climate change, the northern Pacific region of Costa Rica will experience a significant decrease in precipitations and increase in temperatures, leading to more frequent and severe droughts. This will cause water shortages for residential, commercial and agricultural users, with negative socioeconomic effects. The Government of Costa Rica has built its capacity in identifying and studying aquifers and watersheds, however there is limited understanding of climate change impacts on the available water resource and therefore, a lack of climate-informed watershed planning and management.

Building on a successful baseline project implemented by UNDP Costa Rica, the project will install the technical and technological capacities in the national Government and local watershed planning and management authorities to understand current and future climate risks in hydrological dynamics in order to design and implement watershed protection and water use efficiency measures. The most climate vulnerable communities will be prioritized, public co-finance will be mobilized and national banks will be involved as finance catalyzers for the proposed activities.