As a typical coastal city, Xiamen, Fujian Province, China, faces serious societal challenges such as the impact of climate change, overexploitation of natural resources, and loss of biodiversity. Xiamen is implementing Nature-based Solutions (NbS) by strengthening ecological protection, promoting ecosystem restoration, building sponge city, supporting sustainable community development and green transformation of mines, while encouraging funding and diverse public participation. After more than 30 years of exploration and practice, the green development concept of harmonious coexistence between man and nature has been integrated into areas and processes of Xiamen’s economic and social development, making Xiamen’s practice a global example of excellence in NbS and a model for sustainable development of coastal cities.

La baie du Grand Cul-de-Sac Marin est un espace remarquable qui concentre divers enjeux socio économiques, culturels, biogéographiques et écologiques. C’est l’un des sites les plus suivis de Guadeloupe (site Ramsar en 1993, réserve de Biosphère en 1994, une partie classée en réserve naturelle nationale en 1987 puis intégrée dans le coeur marin du parc national de la Guadeloupe en 2009). Malgré ces dispositions, il subit des conflits d’usages, un manque de rigueur dans l’application des règles et une valorisation désordonnée. La charte du territoire du Parc national de la Guadeloupe propose une gouvernance partagée des territoires du parc. C’est pourquoi, les 2 principaux gestionnaires, le Conservatoire du littoral et le Parc national de la Guadeloupe ont élaboré une stratégie de gestion durable de la fréquentation, accompagnée de propositions concrètes d’actions, permettant de mieux répartir les activités en fonction de la sensibilité des milieux et de la potentialité des sites. 

The Building with Nature initiative increases resilience along 10 km eroding coastlines, combining civil engineering with mangrove rehabilitation to build safe and adaptive coastlines. During 2015 and 2016 8 sediment trapping units were built (~1 km) to stop erosion and support mangrove rehabilitation. Technical measures include sediment balance restoration by permeable dams and mud nourishments, alongside mangrove rehabilitation. Socio-economic measures are currently being developed.   

Watershed management is, at its root, a human behavior challenge. But where humans are often the source of such problems, they are also the solution. Rare trains local leaders to implement behavior change campaigns that inspire communities to adopt new norms for how they interact with nature. Rare empowers communities in Colombia’s most water dependent geographies to participate in the management of their watershed ecosystems so that they benefit from higher water quality and flow and reduce the risk of droughts and floods due to extreme weather changes.

Since 2013, Rare has built the capacity of 14 officials of one of the largest regional environmental authorities of Colombia, Corporación Valle del Cauca, to engage local stakeholders in protecting riparian areas and improving land use practices using the Pride for ARA approach. These farmers are inspired by the Pride campaigns and the offer of technical assistance to protect critical ecosystems for watershed resilience.

By promoting Best Management Practices for silvo (mangrove) aquaculture, as well as supporting Farmer Interest Groups along the Mekong Delta coast, the solution aims to raise awareness of mangrove ecosystem conservation benefits and diversify farmers’ incomes. It encourages ecological farming techniques and the integration of mangroves in shrimp ponds.

A pilot was implemented to underpin the incorporation of an EbA approach into the planning tools for natural protected areas. The necessary methodologies and tools were developed, the vulnerability assessment was completed, the specific areas and the measures to be implemented were identified, including the communal management of native grasslands, vicuñas management (a wild relative of the llama), the expansion and conservation of wetlands and the restoration of water infrastructure.

In the face of climate-related challenges, and various socioeconomic pressures in Sian Ka’an, CONANP has created an innovative multi-actor alliance to increase local adaptive capacity through an EbA strategy based on mangrove rehabilitation & income diversification. A key step was to engage farmers using targeted public financial mechanisms. CONANP has supported the fishing sector to diversify its productive activities. The academia has also played a prominent role in planning, and regulation.

Ecosystem services were mapped and valued in a participatory process that included designing spatially-explicit scenarios of future human uses throughout Belize’s coastal zone. To understand the implications of different development scenarios, the team used InVEST models to map future value of coastal protection, recreation, and fisheries services. The resulting Plan can help the people of Belize plot a wiser course for managing the incredibly valuable resources their ocean and coast provide.

Public transportation offers in the transboundary (TB) National Park region of Saxon and Bohemian Switzerland were successfully enhanced in a way that conserves natural landscapes while enabling an intensive nature experience for visiting tourists. A broad alliance of representatives from regional politics, tourism, nature conservation, transport and local population created a transportation networking concept whose implementation led to a significant increase in passenger numbers.

Rain-fed farming under the semi-arid climate is risky as rainfall during critical periods of the growth season is not always sufficient to secure the expected yield. Climate change results in increasing aridity in form of higher temperatures and resulting evapo-transpiration and reduced precipitation. Droughts are becoming more frequent and rainfall is less regular, sometimes in form of heavy rainshowers with limited amounts of water being infitrated into the soil and surface runoff causing erosion.

The application of zero tillage technology (also called direct seeding, direct sowing or direct drilling) where the seed of cultivated crops is placed without mechanical treatment of the topsoil is used for adaptation to these risks.  Within one operation the residues from previous crops and weeds are superficially removed, seeds are planted, fertilizer applied and covered by soil. Herbizides are used for weed control. A special drilling machine applies the suitable seed and fertilzer amount.
 

The Amarakaeri Communal Reserve was created by an initiative of 10 indigenous communities to conserve the multitude of ecosystem services like food, shelter, medicine and water. The reserve contributes to the protection of two watersheds. This ensures the stability of lands and forests, maintaining the quality and quantity of water for the development of native communities suffering increasingly from droughts and floods. The communities have included in their plans the use of Brazil nuts as a measure to generate economic resources.

Burkina Faso is experiencing climate change related impacts like droughts, floods, strong winds and high temperatures, which are combined with pressure put on ecosystems by land use change and exploitation of forest resources. This is leading to land degradation, and therefore loss of soil fertility, productivity, income, and food security. Using participatory analysis of causes and effects of climate hazards, commuities chose reforestation, organic gardening and riverbank protection to address these challenges. Training programmes and exchange trips were used to build capacity among project beneficiaries. This solution is published as part of the project on Ecosystem-based approaches to adaptation: strengthening the evidence and informing policy.

GIZ is supporting the Brazilian Federal Ministry of Environment in the implementation of the National Adaptation Plan (NAP) in the project ProAdapta. The project cooperates with the city of Salvador on reducing climate change-related risks.

Through stakeholder meetings and interviews with experts, three different climate change impacts and hazards were selected: Increased risk of landslides and flooding due to more extreme precipitation as well as increasing heatwaves.

Two communities were selected based on criteria such as presence of entry points, several mapped risks and potential of already planned interventions. Next, vulnerability assessments were conducted by interviewing experts especially from academia and leaders of the two communities as well as through focus group discussions with community residents and document analysis.

Based on this, green and hybrid solutions for Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction were identified and compared with grey solutions.

Orchards are very common in Tajikistan’s landscapes and a widely used practice of cultivating fruit trees. Even though a diversified orchard offers multiple benefits, for efficiency reasons, however, many orchards comprise a limited variety of species.

Diversified tree species reduce the risk of pest and diseases outbreaks and ensure a healthy soil structure with an adequate removal and input of nutrients. Furthermore, the different blooming times of tree species provide nectar for pollinators over a longer period of time and hence are beneficial for beekeeping.

When setting up a resilient orchard, it is recommended to conserve natural flora and fauna and to establish the orchard in such a way that disruption of the surrounding environment is kept to a minimum e.g. incorporating existing natural resources into the structure of the orchard. 

The key to designing a resilient orchard is selecting fruit tree species and developing a long-term orchard management plan (10-15 years). 

Irrigated agriculture is often limited by the availability of irrigation water. In many irrigated areas the distribution canals and on-farm irrigation systems are in poor shape, which causes substantial water losses. These problems are increasingly exacerbated by the impact of climate change causing a reduction of available irrigation water with higher temperatures and expansion of irrigated agriculture leading to higher irrigation water demand. Increasing frequency and intensity of flashfloods and debris flows pose risks to the functioning of irrigation canals and thus to the livelihoods of farmers and food security.
The solution reduced the substantial losses of irrigation water caused by seepage from canals, structural problems in irrigation systems and on-farm irrigation. It also addresses risks caused by flashfloods and debris flows. The solution is based on a technical and financial support to the local communities in collaboration with  district water management authorities.

About 95 percent of the staple crop production in Tajikistan comes from irrigated land which underlines the importance of irrigation in cultivating annual agricultural crops.

The productivity of irrigated annual crops depends largely on the provision of ecosystem services, e.g. pollination, water, and soil fertility.       

Irrigated annual crops are usually intensive cultures that make for efficient use of land resources and constitute artificial ecosystems that cannot make contributions to the maintenance and improvement of biodiversity and ecosystems services. To the contrary, they mostly focus on applying huge amounts of chemical inputs and in many cases use water ineffectively.

The sustainably managed irrigated annual crops focus on reducing hybrid seeds, chemical fertilizer, and synthetic pesticides.

The Public Use and Recreation Program (PURP) addresses the problem of destructive recreational activities in Cabo Pulmo National Park. The Program provides guidelines to local tour operators to reduce negative impacts of tourism activities on the Parks’ habitats and ensures their economic sustainability. As a result limits on water sports practiced in the Park are set, which dramatically reduces the impacts on the reefs resulting from these activities.

This solution promotes the integrated management of coastal watersheds that drain into the Gulf of Mexico and the Gulf of California by aligning the investments of public and private agencies to address climate change impacts and coastal and marine conservation. It is the foundation for enduring cross-sectorial coordination and local participation to maintain and recover watershed functions that deliver ecosystem services, which benefit cities and rural communities.

Mangroves and beach forests provide coastal greenbelts that act as a protective buffer to sea level rise and storms. Moreover, they are particularly effective in mitigating global warming and rising carbon dioxide levels by capturing and storing carbon in both above- and below-ground biomass. On Panay Island, protection of remaining mangroves and rehabilitation of degraded areas is carried out by local communities and supported by local governments.

The solution recovered natural conditions and protects 3,900 ha of unique peat swamp forest ecosystem. The conservation of Melaleuca trees found in this forest type is a national priority because they buffer floods, recharge aquifers and provide habitat for endangered wetland species. About 25,000 people living in the park’s buffer zone benefit through the provision of clean water and small cultivated fish.

Local communities in coastal areas were supported to face to erosion and coastal pollution through:
– Awareness raising on vulnerability to these threats;
– Reduction of the effects of coastal erosion on the city of Aného to ensure the integrity of the area and enable sustainable socio-economic development: refection of the west bank of the mouth of the Lake Togo, rehabilitation of the road along the shore and protection of threatened homes and riverside hotel infrastructure.

The project targeted disaster and climate risk reduction as an integral part of an Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) process conjunctly taking place in DRC. Pilot ecosystem-based measures aimed to reduce soil/gulley erosion and flood risk in two sites (upstream and downstream) in the Lukaya Basin, while improving livelihoods and income. Capacity was developed locally and nationally on ecosystem-based measures and national advocacy on EbA/Eco-DRR was supported through IWRM. 

The project took an Eco-DRR approach addressing hazards and vulnerability to reduce disaster risk. However, the project activities also addressed climate change adaptation through working with climate change impacts and people’s vulnerability to change through the ecosystem-based measures involved in IWRM. Thus these measures can be seen as both Eco-DRR and EbA, while the implementation framework was Eco-DRR.

This pilot project aimed to demonstrate how ecosystem-based measures could mitigate climate hazards and reduce vulnerabilities in Haiti through a ridge to reef approach. It implemented revegetation and sustainable vetiver farming to reduce risk of erosion and inland flooding, revegetation of coastal forest to buffer against storm surges and coastal flooding and created sustainable and resilient fisheries to increase local resilience; it also improved capacity and supported national advocacy.

The project undertook an Eco-DRR approach by targeting hazards (flooding, storm surges and erosion) and vulnerability (due to unsustatinable management) and increasing disaster prepardeness (e.g. early warning) to reduce disaster risk. However, these hazards are climatic hazards and impacts that are increasing due to climate change and increasing peoples vulnerability to climate change. Therefore, the ecosystem-based measures in this project undertaken are also EbA.

The páramo – the typical moorland of the high Andes – is an important ecosystem as it provides key ecosystem services to local communities, especially regarding water regulation. Nevertheless, this ecosystem is under severe threat mainly due to overuse and climate change. With a projected reduction in annual precipitation in Tungurahua, it is ever more important to conserve the páramo ecosystem. The solution integrated climate change into planning and strengthened local management structures.

Chiapas is mega-diverse and highly vulnerable to climate change. It is among Mexico’s lowest income States and with a mayority of population living in rural areas. In this context, local communities are implementing conservation and EbA measures, but further financial and improved participation and multilevel governance mechanisms are needed. 

This solution builds a multidimensional governance and participatory model (BB1) and uses an ecosystem approach (BB2). It strengthens the Climate Change Advisory Council of Chiapas (CCAD) which is the platform for public participation and consultative body of the Climate Change Inter-Secretariat Coordination Commission. The solution focused on reactivating this Council to become a bridge between policy-making and local adaptation action.

In Stuttgart, important green belts and green divides stretch between the built-up settlement areas, mitigating the climate heat stress. Greenery now covers more than 60% of the area. Furthermore, over 39% of Stuttgart’s surface area has been put under the protection of nature conservation orders. Incorporating these as important features in a Land Use Plan along with green belt policy are the most promising areas of municipal influence in respect of their impact on urban climatology and climate protection.

Despite their great potential and strategic importance the watersheds of the Tacaná volcano are vulnerable both ecologically and politically. IUCN (through the Water and Nature Initiative, WANI) and partners therefore set up a demonstration project in these watersheds, which combined pilot livelihood projects (water, soil and environmental conservation) and bottom-up integrated governance of water resources management (freshwater ecosystem management). 

The project group “Isar-Plan” was initiated in 1995 to restore the Isar river in Munich from its artificial canal bed to a more natural shape and function in order to improve flood control, biodiversity and recreational opportunities. Construction started in 2000 and was finished in 2011 having restored 8km of river and costing 35 million euros.

Pastures in the South Caucasus region are under pressure through unsustainable use and climate change processes. The GIZ Programme “Integrated Biodiversity Management, South Caucasus” inter alia implements and tests affordable solutions together with local communities, preventing erosion and managing the mountainous ecosystems in a sustainable way. Piloted measures include: stabilization of slopes and river beds, setup of hay-meadows, afforestation, orchard management and construction of a tree nursery.

The Conservation International (CI) – BHP Billiton Alliance supports the delivery of enduring benefits to biodiversity, ecosystems and other environmental resources around the world. This strategic long-term alliance was formed in 2011 to support the delivery of their conservation target, and to improve BHP Billiton’s approach to biodiversity management more broadly. To date, two conservation projects are underway in Australia and Chile.

The Kumamoto region has benefited from abundant groundwater, which covers almost 100% of the total water supply. This was made possible mainly by the three following factors: 1) a large groundwater basin of approximately 600 km2,  2) easy infiltration and huge storage of rainwater due to unique soils layers developed by volcanic activities, and 3) relatively higher annual rainfall. However, the amount of groundwater has decreased in recent years due large part to increasing water consumption and lowering rainfall infiltration caused by urbanization. To manage and conserve groundwater resources in a sustainable manner, the group of more than ten municipalities in the basin developed a comprehensive plan to control groundwater. Also, a foundation sponsored by governments, companies, and residents financially supports various projects and research activities for groundwater conservation.

Sanzara parish is located in the lower region of Kapchorwa district, bordering the dry Karamoja region. The parish lies in the rain shadow of Mt. Elgon, exposing it to both prolonged drought and increased flooding due to changing precipitation patterns. These conditions, coupled with a growing population, have affected the agricultural potential of the area, causing chronic food insecurity and abject poverty. In many cases, communities struggle for basic survival, as demonstrated by the high rate of ecosystem degradation and the slow uptake of ecosystem restoration interventions. This solution is about incentivizing adoption of EbA measures in Sanzara Parish. It is based on a case study from the Flagship Mountain EbA project, which was implemented on Mt. Elgon from 2011 to 2015. Lessons from this project are the basis for work done under the follow-on project, “Scaling up Mountain EbA project; building evidence, replication of success and informing policy” within the same landscape.

“Coastal Capital: Belize” addresses threats to Belize’s coastal ecosystems such as unchecked coastal and tourism development and overfishing – by assessing the contribution of reef- and mangrove-associated tourism, fisheries, and shoreline protection services to Belize’s economy. Our results were used to justify new fishing regulations, a successful damage claim against a ship that ran aground on the Belize Barrier Reef, and a ban on offshore oil drilling.

In response to increased coastal flood events and resulting damages, the Environment Agency of the United Kingdom delivered a GBP 27 million project to realign the defences inland, providing significantly improved flood defences to allow for managed flooding. With the help of IUCN, a full assessment against the criteria and indicators of the IUCN Global Standard for Nature-based Solutionsᵀᴹ was conducted. The Medmerry managed coastal realignment is considered a strong Nature-based Solution. The building blocks of this solution highlight insights from some of the assessed criteria.

The project addresses the dilemma of finding an economically viable grain crop that would not sacrifice food production for wildlife/biodiversity benefits. With the use of the non-GMO grain crop, spelt (Triticum aestivum subsp. Spelta), an alternative vegetation type on land can aid and maximize habitat value for rare grassland species and increase biodiversity on the landscape while also providing the producer with an economical food crop. The project results indicate that biodiversity increased and from an agricultural standpoint spelt was a more economical crop than hay.

Solution is undertaken using scientific fruit plant propagation and conducting innovative top-wedge grafting of (tree tomato) tamarillo (Solanum betaceum) terminal bud stick scion into its poisonous wild relative  bug weed rootstock tolerant to drought and resistant to soil borne diseases and pests as well as having longer roots  than tamarillo and stronger ones. Both plants belong to Solanaceae plant family, hence grafting the two plants is compatible and methodology transforms bug weed (Solanum mauritianum) as required. This innovation has therefore created food, agriculture and economic opportunities by using grafting methodology to transform the poisonous bug weed into agro biodiversity resources problem globally. Innovation is expected to contribute to feeding the ever growing world population that is expected to be nine billion by 2050.

The concept of food and nutritional security refers to the ability of all people at all times to have physical and income access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs for an active healthy life. It requires food being available enough, stable and accessible; without which inevitably leads to malnourishment that hinders individual performance.  

Any enhancement of the food security calls for farmers’ sensitization and encouragement to adopt strategic methods that will not only cater to food and nutritional security but also income at a household level and sound management of the environment.

Climate change will affect availability, stability, utilization, and access to food security …(UN-ESCAP: Agriculture and Food Security, Asia)

When we farm in a way that maximizes the amount of carbon captured in our crops, and we return as much of that carbon as possible to the soil, we can effectively remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it in the soil.

Groasis Ecological Water Saving Technology consists of 5 steps that can be taken together or each step individually. It works according to the ‘Triple 90 benefits‘: 90% less water use, 90% cheaper and +90% survival rate. The steps are 1) Stimulating rainwater infiltration in the soil through making 15 kms of mini-terraces per hour with the Terracedixx / 2) Digging planting holes with the Capillary drill that keeps the soil capillary system intact / 3) Using Growmaxx mycorrhizae to help improve the function of or replace fertilizers / 4) Using the intelligent bucket Growboxx® plant cocoon and 5) Using the Growsafe plant protector against goats/ sheep. The technology allows to plant productive trees (orchards, timber, medicines, fodder) in combination with vegetables. They produce food and create short term revenues that allow to finance the technology through microcredit. The technology can be used by literate and illiterate, is gender neutral and does not require cultural adaptation.