Adapting to a world in which extreme weather events caused by climate change are increasingly frequent. Simultaneously seeking to mitigate global warming. Working to save ecosystems upended by the loss of biodiversity and to protect those that are still in good health. These are challenges that humanity will inevitably have to confront. Even if actions to limit the rise in average global temperature and protect biological diversity were to be multiplied overnight, the impacts of these dynamics would by now be, at least in part, unavoidable. In some cases, however, certain solutions are more within reach than one might think. And it is nature itself that provides them.

How nature-based solutions are defined

They are called nature-based solutions (NbS, the acronym by which they are often abbreviated): solutions based, precisely, on nature. Capable of providing support to communities, preventing excessive damage, and limiting economic losses and health problems. According to the definition provided by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), these are "actions that aim to protect, sustainably manage and restore ecosystems — natural or modified — to effectively address social challenges related to adaptation, while ensuring the maintenance of human wellbeing and producing benefits for biodiversity."

UN Land and Drought @UNCCD

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An economy that respects natural systems instead of undermining them could generate up to US$10.1 trillion annually in business value and create up to 395 million jobs by 2030. Tripling investment in Nature-based Solutions. #UNited4Land

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The same international organisation identifies three different types of nature-based solutions: the preservation of functional, healthy ecosystems, the improvement of ecosystem management for sustainable use through human activities, and finally the restoration of degraded ecosystems or the creation of new ones. This definition, put forward by the IUCN, was subsequently adopted in large part by the fifth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-5.2), held in March 2022, which recognised the value of nature-based solutions for their beneficial effects from social, economic and environmental perspectives.

According to data from UNCCD, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, nature-based solutions could enable the creation of 395 million jobs — solely through projects aimed at combating drought — by 2030. They could also generate 27 dollars in returns for every dollar invested. And overall, they can give rise to an economy capable of creating value of up to 10 trillion dollars per year.

An alternative that is often less costly than investment in technology

The concept, however, had emerged some years earlier: at the fifteenth United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15), held in Copenhagen in 2009. On that occasion, in order to mitigate climate change, it was proposed to harness in particular the beneficial effects of reforestation, within the framework of the REDD programme. It was precisely in this spirit that the IUCN promoted the concept as one of the pillars of its actions, from 2013 onwards.

Nature-based solutions also represent an economically advantageous alternative, as they are often less costly in the long term than investment in technology or the construction of infrastructure.

The importance of involving local communities in nature-based solutions: the case of Belize

Some concrete examples of nature-based solutions have been collected by IISD (International Institute for Sustainable Development), which argues that "for one of these actions to be truly useful, inclusive and sustainable, it is important to support ideas that originate at the local level. Because no one understands the challenges posed by climate change and biodiversity loss better than those who experience them first-hand." Residents and indigenous peoples are therefore crucial to this approach.

This is demonstrated, for example, by a project born from the Association of fishermen in the village of Hopkins, in Belize. The group took action to remove debris from waterways and, drawing on traditional knowledge, restored mangroves, which are essential for protecting land from coastal erosion. In this way it was possible to reduce the risk of flooding and restore natural fish habitats, ensuring sustainable resource management and, consequently, delivering social and environmental benefits.

In Uganda, rainwater harvesting; in Zambia, herbs instead of pesticides

Also in Belize, the Association of women seaweed farmers has decided to create a seaweed seed bank. Thus safeguarding the viability of their economic activity despite the impacts of climate change, starting with the rise in sea temperature, which is slowing the growth of the seaweed itself and reducing profitability for the farmers. The project was launched near the marine reserves of Glover's Reef and is based on regenerative cultivation, which also improves the health of ecosystems for wildlife. A tour of the seaweed farms has also been launched, providing a means to harness the tourist potential of the region in an alternative way, diversifying sources of income for the local population.

In Uganda, a group of farmers has devised a method for collecting rainwater using locally sourced materials: bricks and river sand to build reservoirs inside Queen Elizabeth National Park. A system capable of avoiding land consumption while sustainably conserving precious water resources. In Zambia, the Kalobolelwa community is working to create two demonstration plots: one to trial forest management techniques, also aimed at reducing the risk of fires; another to use natural herbs to fertilise the soil and combat pests without resorting to chemical pesticides.

Addressing the climate crisis requires funding

Naturally, for nature-based solutions to become not merely isolated examples but truly effective tools for mitigating the effects of climate change and enabling communities to adapt to them, they would need to be rolled out broadly across territories.

To this end, financing, knowledge transfers and on-the-ground organisation are essential: once again, the decisions made by governments around the world in the near future will be crucial. Starting with the ongoing discussions on the New collective quantified goal (New collective quantified goal, Ncqg), which is needed to finally allocate the capital required to tackle the climate crisis and compensate the poorest nations — those least responsible for global warming — for the losses and damages (loss and damage) they are suffering.