Nature-based Solutions (NbS)

Nature-based Solutions (NbS) use ecosystems and the services they provide to address societal challenges such as climate change, food security or natural disasters.

NbS usually defined as: “Actions to protect, sustainably manage and restore natural or modified ecosystems that address societal challenges effectively and adaptively, simultaneously providing human well-being and biodiversity benefits.”

NbS has been applied in a wide variety of sectors and to address a plethora of societal issues. The interventions can take many forms including, for example:

• Restoring and sustainably managing wetlands and rivers to maintain or boost fish stocks and fisheries-based livelihoods, reduce the risk of flooding, and provide recreational and tourism benefits,

• Conserving forests to support food and energy security, local incomes, climate change adaption and mitigation, and biodiversity,

• Restoring drylands to strengthen water security, local livelihoods and resilience to climate change impacts,

• Developing green infrastructure in urban environments.

Nowadays, there is a growing awareness toward restoration and protection of nature that cannot only safeguard biodiversity but also help people adopt the effects of Climate Change. In other words, addressing the climate crisis means expanding our toolkit. We already know that to mitigate the impacts of climate change, we must urgently reduce our emissions on a global scale. But it’s becoming clearer that nature must be at the heart of these efforts. And nature-based solutions—incorporated in a thoughtful way alongside traditional solutions and science-based targets—could be key to unleashing our potential for protecting people and wildlife.

Nature-based solutions for climate harness the power of nature to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and also help us adapt to the impacts of climate change. They are win-win solutions that involve protecting, restoring and sustainably managing ecosystems to address society’s challenges and promote human well-being.

References:

World Wildlife Fund. (2020, November 10). What are nature-based solutions and how can they help us address the Climate Crisis? WWF. Retrieved April 14, 2022, from https://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/what-are-nature-based-solutions-and-how-can-they-help-us-address-the-climate-crisis#:~:text=Keeping%20forests%20standing,removing%20carbon%20from%20the%20atmosphere.

Nature-based solutions. IUCN. (2022, March 27). Retrieved April 14, 2022, from https://www.iucn.org/commissions/commission-ecosystem-management/our-work/nature-based-solutions