Mission
To enhance understanding of the value of nature-based solutions to societal challenges and to help ensure they support thriving human societies and ecosystems without compromising efforts to keep fossil fuels in the ground.
Approach
We brought together researchers with practitioners and policymakers from across government and industry to discuss the values, governance, metrics and financing of nature-based solutions to address climate change, biodiversity loss and major socio- economic challenges, locally, regionally and globally. A cross-cutting theme was the need to consider the multiplicity of stakeholders that are involved and/or affected by nature-based solutions, including their diverse values, interests and rights. The NbS Conference 2022 developed a shared understanding across multiple communities as to what constitutes a “legitimate” nature-based solution and how best to overcome barriers to their implementation.
Recordings of all the keynotes and sessions and synopses of key take homes will be provided on the programme page of this website in the near future. Please check back soon.
Themes
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Current state of play of nature-based solutions (NbS) in science and policy, with a focus on their potential for addressing both climate mitigation and adaptation.
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Social power relations, workable governance systems, and the global political economy around NbS, and how to ensure that NbS are not being used in greenwashing and avoidance of fossil fuel divestment.
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How to address the concerns of diverse social actors about the concept of NbS, in particular those of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, and how to ensure that practice and policy respect the plurality of perspectives.
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Exploring how to ensure that ecosystem health and biodiversity are consistently seen as foundational properties of NbS in practice and understanding past mistakes, as well as developing and using metrics and tools for capturing the value of NbS.
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Role of NbS for sustainable development, including economic recovery, food production, water security, and urban sustainability.
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Sustainable finance and investment for NbS, including how to better capture new, additional, and non-conventional investment flows and how to channel biodiversity and climate finance in the most effective, equitable and sustainable manner.
There will be 13 two-hour sessions over three days. Each session will start with an overview followed by a set of case studies and will encompass the global north and south, urban and rural, with plenty of time for Q&A with the audience. Each session will include world-leading experts from across research, practice, and policy, and will clarify what’s most needed from these communities. In addition to the speakers, there will be opportunities for others to share their work during in-person and virtual poster sessions each day and in an exhibition space.
About Nature-based Solutions
Nature-based solutions (NbS) involve working with nature to address societal challenges, providing benefits for both human well-being and biodiversity. Specifically they are actions that involve the protection, restoration or management of natural and semi-natural ecosystems; the sustainable management of aquatic systems and working lands such as croplands or timberlands; or the creation of novel ecosystems in and around cities. They are actions that are underpinned biodiversity and are designed and implemented with the full engagement and consent of local communities and Indigenous Peoples.
Examples of NbS
Human communities have been working with nature for millennia to buffer the impacts of environmental change. We must learn from them and ensure that their knowledge informs policy and practice around the world. Below you will find some real-life examples of when working with nature is helping local people deal with the impacts of climate change, as well as improving ecosystem health and storing carbon.
Search across more than 100 different case studies using our global map
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A volunteer association promotes agroforestry, sustainable farming techniques, and forest restoration through the empowerment of youth and women who are traditionally excluded from land ownership and the benefits of production.
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DECOIN, a locally managed non-profit organisation, facilitates forest restoration and community watershed management and promotes alternative sustainable livelihood options to combat the influence and impacts of copper mining in the area.
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The South Central People’s Development Association (SCPDA) is a federation of 17 indigenous Wapichan communities in Guyana that works to secure indigenous land rights and promote socioecological resilience.
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