What are nature-based solutions?
Nature-based Solutions tackle societal challenges by safeguarding, responsibly managing, and revitalizing natural and altered ecosystems, with positive outcomes for biodiversity and human welfare alike.
Reduce water waste
Limit the rise in temperatures
Contain food waste
Support the Solidarity Economy
Promote societal and personal well-being
Secure housing rights
Unleashing the power
of nature
Climate change is here, and we are already feeling its impacts around the world, from soaring temperatures to rising sea levels, and heightened extreme events. This upheaval disproportionately affects the most vulnerable, with over 3.3 billion people residing in highly susceptible areas. Even in the most optimistic emissions scenarios, society must adapt to climate shifts.
Acknowledging the pivotal role of ecosystems, leaders in government, communities, and businesses recognize that preserving and nurturing these systems underpin effective climate adaptation and community well-being. Over the last 15 years, Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) have gained momentum and scientific credibility since their initial mention in 2008.
NBS entails protecting, managing, and restoring natural and modified ecosystems, offering adaptable and effective solutions to societal challenges while benefiting both people and nature. They address critical issues like climate change, disaster risk reduction, food and water security, biodiversity loss, and human health, fostering sustainable economic development.
These solutions encompass diverse actions, from safeguarding landscapes, seascapes, watersheds, to urban area management, tackling challenges like food and water security, disaster risks, and climate change impacts. Examples include wetland restoration for flood protection and green-blue infrastructure in urban centers to enhance citizens’ quality of life and combat rising temperatures.The potential of NBS remains vast and largely untapped. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), they could fulfill one-third of the Paris Agreement’s climate mitigation targets and yield approximately USD 170 billion in global ecosystem service benefits.
Leveraging traditional and local knowledge, inclusive and community-led NBS, respecting land rights and ensuring equitable distribution of benefits, is crucial for their success. Indigenous practices, utilized for centuries, underscore the necessity of community-centered, inclusive NBS approaches.