Knowledge exchange isn’t just about passing files or sharing folders. At its core, it is a meeting of realities and decisions, where the most valuable element is honesty about what worked, what didn’t, and what would have been worth adjusting if we had a time travel machine.

Under the IW:LEARN framework, the Sustainable Pacific project initiated a twinning program with the Humboldt II project (Chile and Peru). The goal of the twinning program is a practical one: strengthen capacities, accelerate learning, and bridge experiences that can be applied to GEF’s International Waters projects, working in different regions but facing similar challenges.

What made this twinning experience particularly meaningful was the contrast in both projects’ timelines. Humboldt II shared the perspective from a project already in its second phase, bringing with it lessons on institutional ownership, stakeholder coordination, and ensuring continuity beyond the project’s first phase. For Sustainable Pacific, which is currently building the foundations for regional strategies for the Pacific Central American Coastal Large Marine Ecosystem, peeking into those realities a second-phase project encounters served as a guide for better decision-making today, while keeping an eye on tomorrow.

In September 2025, we travelled to Chile as part of the Sustainable Pacific project to learn firsthand from the Emprendedoras del Mar (Sea Entrepreneurs) programme in the coastal community of Caldera. During the visit, we saw how focusing on capacity-building can support better livelihoods, without oversimplifying the complex challenges coastal communities face.

We also saw how the Registry of Fisheries-Related Activities, a public policy tool of the Chilean government, has been vital in legally recognising work that women have always done but that has often remained invisible. By formally recognising roles such as processing and other supporting tasks in small-scale fisheries, the registry has opened pathways to recognition, labour rights, and formalisation. This lesson is already resonating in Peru, where the model is helping spark new organising efforts among women.

From a communication perspective, the takeaway was clear for us. It is not about “romanticising” community efforts, but about telling real stories responsibly. To build a consistent narrative, we need to listen directly to communities, avoid generalisations, and highlight them not as passive beneficiaries, but as active protagonists in their economies and in the sustainability of their territories.

In November, our twinning experience focused on Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E). This M&E exchange activity left us with a fundamental lesson: the importance of incorporating participatory evaluation in GEF’s International Water projects. By including the perspectives of the project’s beneficiaries, M&E becomes a tool that enables real-time adjustments during project implementation.

We also discussed how to turn beneficiaries’ feedback into transferable learning, identifying milestones, recognising the factors made enabled progress, and documenting it so other teams can adapt those successes to other contexts. This way, M&E doesn’t just measure results; it turns evidence into practical knowledge. We also identified a vital recommendation: keeping the project’s Theory of Change as a visible guide helps ensure coherence between what we do, what we achieve, and what we communicate.

Finally, the twinning process addressed Marine Spatial Planning (MSP). During a workshop in La Serena, it became clear that there is no one-size-fits-all recipe. Methods must be adapted to the stakeholders involved, their interests, and the information available in each site.

The twinning exchange helped us identify opportunities to strengthen coordination between institutions and sectors and to reach viable agreements. The conversation highlighted the importance of sustaining participation levels, regardless of funding or data availability across sites.

The twinning process also led to an agreement among our projects to share outcomes and to explore opportunities to continue knowledge exchange between the two.

This twinning exercise was made possible thanks to the openness of SUBPESCA, SERNAPESCA, and UNDP Chile teams. Thanks to this twinning, Sustainable Pacific will incorporate useful recommendations into its day-to-day implementation. That is the true heart of IW:LEARN: transforming collective experience into applied knowledge, to accelerate the sustainable use of our oceans’ resources.

Sustainable Pacific is a regional initiative implemented by UNDP, executed by WWF, and funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF). It supports participating countries—Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Colombia, and Panama—in strengthening the management of the Pacific Central American Coastal Large Marine Ecosystem (PACA LME) and promoting resilient and sustainable use of shared ocean resources.

For more information, please contact Karla Pérez atkperez@wwfca.org. Learn more about the project at pacificosostenible.org.

Proyectos de Aguas Internacionales en Grandes Ecosistemas Marinos comparten lecciones sobre género y comunicación - Pacífico Sostenible

Words by Karla Pérez. Photos by PNUD Proyecto Humboldt II.