Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) is the use of ecosystem services and biodiversity as part of an overall adaptation strategy to reduce the adverse impacts of climate change. It includes conserving, restoring and sustainably managing ecosystems to ensure the continued provision of services to people. The concept of EbA, by definition, includes both a focus on ecosystem services and a social component due to the emphasis on helping people to adapt to climate change. Recent studies indicate that ecosystem-based adaptation could be an important option for helping smallholder farmers adapt to climate change. In Central America, for example, EbA practices such as the use of shade coffee and other agroforestry systems, windbreaks, live fences, cover crops and conservation of on-farm riparian forests can help improve the resiliency of agricultural systems to climate change, while also ensuring the continued provision of key ecosystem services such as water provision, pollination and carbon sequestration. However, despite the potential of EbA to help farmers adapt to climate change, EbA options are often overlooked in adaptation planning. One key factor affecting the adoption of EbA practices is the knowledge held by local and national experts (including researchers, technicians, farm managers, and extensionists), who can provide recommendations about the options available to smallholder farmers. In order to better understand the extent to which local experts are familiar with EbA practices and are knowledgeable about the adaptation and other benefits they provide and to determine how their knowledge compares to the existing scientific literature, we conducted detailed interviews with over 100 local and national agricultural experts across the Central American region on the EbA options available for smallholder coffee and maize/bean farmers. At the same time, we conducted an extensive literature review (>300 publications) of all known agricultural practices that have been