A pilot devA pilot project developed by the Gran Chaco Foundation and Argentina 1.5° assessed the application of the Belém Adaptation Indicators in the Chaco region.eloped by Fundación Gran Chaco of Argentina and 1.5° evaluated the application of the Indicators of Adaptation of Belém in the territory of the Chaco.
The Gran Chaco Foundation and Argentina 1.5° have launched a joint initiative to help test the 59 Belém Adaptation Indicators (BAI) approved at COP30, adopting a multi-level and multi-scale approach to climate change adaptation. This work, carried out in the Chaco province within the livestock sector, was presented at the Bonn Climate Change Conference (SB 64) in June 2026, as part of the 64th session of the Subsidiary Bodies of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
“Currently, the entire Gran Chaco region is experiencing a sustained trend of global warming, reflected in rising average, minimum and maximum temperatures, as well as a higher frequency of heatwaves and tropical nights, accompanied by a decrease in the number of days with frost”, according to the guidelines of the Integrated Crops, Livestock and Forests (ICLF) system.
In this context, the regenerative livestock farming initiative in Chaco, promoted by the Gran Chaco Foundation, was selected as a productive activity for testing indicators due to the region’s high vulnerability to droughts and the loss of tree cover. This situation leaves the sector exposed to extreme levels of solar radiation. The water infrastructure, consisting mainly of surface reservoirs and shallow wells, is also sensitive to these effects, leading to critical water shortages during periods when animals have a greater biological demand for this resource.
Through this work, the Gran Chaco region is positioning itself as a pioneer in the development of new systems for measuring and governing climate adaptation. This pilot project not only provides technical evidence but also opens up a strategic discussion on how climate resilience is designed, measured and funded at a global level.
The exercise proposes a paradigm shift in the way global climate reporting systems are constructed; the study demonstrates that international adaptation frameworks must be enriched through sub-national and territorial validation, where data and evidence emerge from communities with strategic adaptation models.
With this work, the region of the Gran Chaco is positioned as a territory pioneer in the construction of new systems of measurement and governance of climate adaptation. This pilot not only provides technical evidence, but that opens a strategic discussion on how to design, measures, and funds the climate resiliency on a global level.
The exercise proposes a paradigm shift in the way they are constructed systems report on global climate, the study demonstrates that the international frameworks of adaptation must be enriched by the validation sub-national and territorial, where the data and the evidence emerging from communities with strategic models of adaptation.
One of the measures under consideration aims to incorporate 500,000 hectares into MBGI – integrated livestock and forestry systems – creating 4,000 new jobs, with specific inclusion targets for women, indigenous peoples and young people, as well as the sustainable management of grasslands and wetlands, transforming 2.3 million hectares, and supporting 2 million head of cattle.
This progress not only represents indicators from a territorial perspective, but also marks a pioneering global pilot project, positioning Argentina as a testing ground for the practical implementation of the Belém Adaptation Indicators (BAI). “Adaptation to climate change cannot be measured solely through global commitments. It must also be put to the test where climate change is already transforming livelihoods,” explains Agustin Noriega, director of the Gran Chaco Foundation.
This highlights at a global level that without a territorial focus, there can be no real measurement of adaptation; we need local knowledge, indigenous governance, gender equality and community participation.
To achieve and make progress towards compliance with the Paris Agreement, this methodology set out six structured objectives: impact, vulnerability and risk assessment; planning; implementation; and monitoring, evaluation and learning systems, covering sectors such as water, health, food and agriculture, cultural heritage, poverty and livelihoods, infrastructure and human settlements, and ecosystems and biodiversity.
In this regard, the study reveals, for example, that the proposed adaptation measure to address the increase in the frequency of extreme and prolonged dry spells—which have reached critical thresholds of 60, 100 and even 150 consecutive days without rain— is the development of a water harvesting system to supply 26.9 million cubic metres of safe water to 2,250,000 people across the region by 2030.
Furthermore, the land tenure regularisation strategy aims to formalise 4,000 rural properties, tackling one of the main structural barriers to climate adaptation. This proposal, put forward as part of the provincial REDD+ approach, will protect 2.5 million hectares of native forest and create 500 green jobs.
With over 25 years of work on the ground, the Gran Chaco Foundation continues to promote and support the establishment of local organisations of producers – both indigenous and non-indigenous – with a particular focus on women and young people, strengthening their capacity to generate economic, cultural, social and environmental value. Today, alongside Argentina 1.5°, this collaborative research and activism initiative centred on the climate emergency has been working on the “Testing of the Belém Adaptation Indicators in the province of Chaco, Argentina. Lessons learnt from a multi-scale exercise.”