UCI's Project Management Office has more than 30 years of experience in the formulation, implementation and management of projects at national and international level. Throughout this journey, we have developed initiatives in various thematic areas such as: biodiversity monitoring, regenerative agriculture and livestock, local development, management of protected areas, entrepreneurship and tourism, among others.
The UCI has coordinated initiatives in various parts of the world, such as Latin America, the Caribbean and South America and ecologically important regions such as the Amazon, the Trifinio and the forests of Mesoamerica, as well as in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the Middle East.
This project promotes ecological connectivity and biodiversity restoration in priority territories of the Tortuguero Region of Costa Rica and the Trifinio Region of Honduras through participatory biodiversity monitoring, ecological restoration and regenerative production practices. UCI leads the technical and academic articulation, promoting applied research, local capacity building and community accompaniment to strengthen sustainable landscape management.
The SUREST project seeks to strengthen the capacities of rural communities to promote sustainable development models that are resilient to climate change, promoting the transition of the primary sector towards more sustainable production practices, linked to local markets and oriented towards territorial self-sufficiency. The initiative supports the training of competencies and skills in sustainability, entrepreneurship and management of rural initiatives, accompanying processes of innovation and local economic development.
To increase the competencies of professors and students of Higher Education Institutions in the field of health promotion in Latin America for the prevention of childhood obesity and the promotion of mental health. The project brings together universities from Europe and Latin America to collaboratively develop an online postgraduate training program and a mobile application eToolkit, aimed at strengthening academic and professional capacities for
address these public health challenges. The initiative includes the mapping of competencies, the development of innovative educational content, the piloting of digital tools and actions for dissemination and public policy advocacy, contributing to improving university education and promoting healthy lifestyles in the region.
Capacity building for Amazonian park rangers in South America within the framework of the Amazon Sustainable Landscapes (ASL) program. Through virtual and face-to-face training processes, the program promotes the development of skills in protected area management, field safety, communication and operational coordination, as well as the exchange of experiences among park rangers from different countries. The initiative contributes to improving regional collaboration and the
effective management of Amazonian ecosystems in the face of challenges such as deforestation and climate change
The GANBOS project channels private financing through the generation and sale of carbon credits to support the transition to regenerative and sustainable livestock farming in Costa Rica, while improving the livelihoods of rural communities. UCI, through its Suelos Vivos center, participates in the planning and execution of the project, supporting the formalization of agreements with participating farms, the design of Farm Plans and Grazing Plans oriented towards regenerative practices, technical support to producers during implementation, and the development of a Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) system to monitor impacts on climate, biodiversity and community well-being.
Specialized training for rangers of the King Abdulaziz Royal Reserve (KARNR), aimed at strengthening their capacities in patrolling, field security and biodiversity monitoring. Through practical training modules, the rangers acquire tools to apply best patrolling practices, safety protocols for wildlife encounters, and data collection and management methods that contribute to the protected area's monitoring and management systems.
Strengthen the management of the Al-Ula Protected Areas Network (APAN) by assessing and redesigning the Wildlife and Natural Heritage Department of the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU). The initiative identifies key competencies for the effective management of six protected areas, analyzes institutional gaps and develops training processes to strengthen them. As a result, an operational model was designed for Al-Ula's protected area network, aligned with international conservation standards, including the IUCN Green List, to promote representative, connected, equitable and climate change resilient protected area systems. In addition, a capacity building program was designed for the Network's rangers.
and workshops related to protected area management, control and protection, and biological monitoring were implemented.
This project supports the implementation of the Indigenous Knowledge and Nature-based Solutions Program in Central American Biosphere Reserves, promoted by UNESCO. The initiative seeks to strengthen the capacities of community facilitators and local actors in the Río Plátano (Honduras), Agua y Paz (Costa Rica) and La Amistad (Panama) Biosphere Reserves, promoting the integration of indigenous knowledge and participatory governance in the management of these territories. Through its UNESCO Chair in Biosphere Reserve Management, UCI provided training and technical support to the facilitators of the training program, developing a methodological guide, a training course for facilitators, and supporting the development of monitoring tools and the strengthening of community training processes.
This project develops and implements a global training program in biodiversity monitoring and valuation, aimed at establishing a methodology for measuring, reporting and verification (MRV) of ecosystem functioning at the landscape or bioregional scale. The initiative integrates scientific evidence, data analysis and field validation to build a methodology adaptable to different ecological contexts. From this base, a practical training curriculum will be designed for actors involved in ecological restoration.
Development of three MOOC type courses on SMART, aimed at different user profiles of the platform: Data Collector, Analyst/Administrator and Senior Management. The courses were designed in self-managed mode, with theoretical and practical contents oriented to the use, management and strategic exploitation of the information generated by SMART. Two of the courses were developed in English and one in French.
