This Joint Programme's goal was to support the conservation and management of the Yasuní Biosphere Reserve (YBR), one of the world’s greatest areas of biodiversity, and a national priority for Ecuador. The programme focused on implementing community-based economic alternatives for the most vulnerable populations, and on initiatives to deal with climate change through adaptation and the non-emission of greenhouse gases.

Over the past decade, Morocco has made significant strides in improving women's rights, including the ground-breaking passage of the 2004 Family Code, giving women greater protection and equality, and the 2008 ban on discrimination against women. But the country still struggles with high levels of gender-based violence: fully 60% of Moroccan women have experienced some form of violence and a quarter of them sexual violence in their lifetime. The Joint Programme was conceived to reduce gender-based violence against Morocco's women and girls by addressing the linkages between their poverty and their vulnerability.

Environmental degradation and climate change have the strongest impact on the poorest sectors of Colombian society. This Joint Programme's aim was to strengthen the coordination and integration of environmental issues within the national development agenda, with a focus on reducing the vulnerability of those groups most affected by climate change.

Turkey is highly vulnerable to climate change. As part of the southern belt of Mediterranean Europe, the country is already facing increased temperature and decreased precipitation trends. The Joint Programme's goal was to develop national capacity for managing climate change risks for rural and coastal development in Turkey by mainstreaming climate change in development frameworks and promoting pilot adaptation projects.