Scientific and empirical evidence demonstrates that climatic risks to people, including from flood, drought, fire, and over-heating, can be addressed by a range of Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) options in urban and rural areas (IPBES, 2018; IPCC 2022). Globally, investments in EbA are increasing in number, and experience to date suggests that EbA holds immense potential to build local resilience and adaptive capacity, while also contributing to biodiversity conservation, climate mitigation and sustainable development efforts (UNEP 2022). EbA forms part of a wider range Nature-based Solutions (NbS) actions, and confer multiple sustainable development and mitigation co-benefits, including the protection and restoration of forests and other high-carbon ecosystems, and agroecological farming practices. National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) intend to provide an evidence-based, coordinated, and systematic approach to adaptation initiatives, inclusive of implementing EbA approaches that can adapt vulnerable people and ecosystems. However, implementation of EbA and other NbS are falls far short of its potential due to barriers and there are limits of nature-based solutions to climate change impacts at higher warming levels (Seddon et al., 2020; UNEP 2022).
The Fifth Session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-5) adopted a resolution on adopting a multilaterally agreed definition of NbS; recognizing the significant role they play in the global response to climate change and its social, economic, and environmental effects[1]. The UNEA-5 resolution formally adopted the definition of NbS as ‘actions to protect, conserve, restore, sustainably use, and manage natural or modified terrestrial, freshwater, coastal and marine ecosystems, which address social, economic, and environmental challenges effectively and adaptively, while simultaneously providing human well-being, ecosystem services and resilience and biodiversity benefits.
This session of the NAP Expo will explore ways to nurture and advance EbA though NAPs in human, natural and built systems. Country experiences from developing and implementing NAPs through exchange of approaches such as rehabilitating or restoring critical ecosystems (e.g., wetlands or mangroves), enhancing ecosystem connectivity through corridors and hybrid combinations of green and grey infrastructure will be exchanged. Workshop participants will share and exchange specific opportunities for and challenges to applying EbA as well as relevant tools and approaches.
Organizers: UNEP, UNDP, IUCN.
[1] https://wedocs.unep.org/handle/20.500.11822/39752
Presentations: