The participation of all relevant stakeholders, including at the local level, has helped to improve the use not only of natural resources but of the ecosystem as a whole. This is considered an important determinant of the sustainability of the entire agricultural and food system. In the city of Manizales in Colombia, for instance, national and regional authorities worked together with local communities and leaders to discourage settlements on slopes characterized by instability, which posed a threaten to people’s lives and livelihoods.