Communities and the environments in which they depend on are often where trade-offs are most acutely felt. Controversies arise with uncertainties (scientific -e.g. climate change, or societal - e.g. institutional change) and when stakes are high (access to water, inequalities, etc..), which require (or trigger) greater involvement of civil society. This session will explore state-of-theart approaches at the science-civil society interface for mediating amongst a range of community interests (and alliances and pressures from external actors) in order to arrive at synergistic outcomes. Contributions are invited from five FP7-ENV 2011 research projects funded (9,5M? total) to address community based management of environmental challenges in Latin America. These projects share a common characteristics: research is done for the benefit of civil society organizations, to jointly define and analyze solutions to prevent climate-related tensions and support adaptation processes using ecosystem-based approaches. However each project has developed its own approach independently, which results in a diversity of viewpoints and findings -but also some striking similarities- about community based management. We investigate trade-offs at community level such as resistance or adaptability; participation or coercion; localization or globalization; assistance or independence; behavioral change or technological innovation, development and sustainability, resilience or transformation, scientific and local knowledge, local or transferable solutions. We will show examples of innovative community engagement approaches, including participatory video, theatre forum, hybrid forums, participatory scenario analysis and modeling, social media and e-democracy. (Texte integral)