The research project aims to enhance the sustainable development of rural and dispersed communities in Colombia's tropical dry areas. Given the complexity of climate-water-biodiversity interactions and the urgency of the response, we expect that collective action is a real challenge for planning and addressing sustainable solutions. The project addresses the deficits in knowledge through social cartography, survey tools, field-framed experiments on water distribution rules, and economic history. 

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The project is highly relevant to several stakeholders: local community associations, including households and individuals; farmers and hunters, and micro-entrepreneurs (change of activities); landowners and private firms (changes in land use); local environmental authorities (research and knowledge about the governance of the commons across communities); universities (prioritization of research needs and demand for local knowledge); international development organizations, including Swedish agencies, (research to guide their interventions) and national, sub-national, and municipal governments (quality of policymaking and regulation).

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Colombia´s water resources are important for the world as it provides 5% of the world's surface water resources. Given the interaction between surface and groundwater resources, aquifers and their ecosystems must be managed and protected. In this line, the project´s objectives are to generate data and knowledge for decision making, strengthen local capacity building within and outside rural communities, and stimulate their policy and societal engagement through education.