{"id":5246,"date":"2023-01-11T13:15:03","date_gmt":"2023-01-11T10:15:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/?page_id=5246"},"modified":"2023-01-11T13:15:57","modified_gmt":"2023-01-11T10:15:57","slug":"nature-based-solutions","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/nature-based-solutions","title":{"rendered":"Nature-based solutions"},"content":{"rendered":"

The term Nature-based solutions (NBS) refers to the sustainable management and use of natural features and processes to tackle socio-environmental challenges. These challenges include issues such as climate change (mitigation and adaptation), water security, water pollution, food security, human health, biodiversity loss, and disaster risk management. The European Commission’s definition of NBS states that these solutions are “inspired and supported by nature, which are cost-effective, simultaneously provide environmental, social and economic benefits and help build resilience. Such solutions bring more, and more diverse, nature and natural features and processes into cities, landscapes, and seascapes, through locally adapted<\/a>, resource-efficient and systemic interventions”. In 2020, the EC definition was updated to further emphasise that \u201cNature-based solutions must benefit biodiversity and support the delivery of a range of ecosystem services.\u201d Through the use of NBS healthy, resilient, and diverse ecosystems<\/a> (whether natural, managed, or newly created) can provide solutions for the benefit of both societies and overall biodiversity.<\/p>\n

For instance, the restoration and\/or protection of mangroves along coastlines utilizes a Nature-based solution to accomplish several goals. Mangroves moderate the impact of waves and wind on coastal settlements or cities and sequester CO2. They also provide nursery zones for marine life that can be the basis for sustaining fisheries on which local populations may depend. Additionally, mangrove forests can help to control coastal erosion resulting from sea level rise. Similarly, green roofs or walls are Nature-based solutions that can be implemented in cities to moderate the impact of high temperatures, capture stormwater, abate pollution, and act as carbon sinks, while simultaneously enhancing biodiversity<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Conservation approaches and environmental<\/a> management initiatives have been carried out for decades. More recently, progress has been made in better articulating the benefits Nature-based solutions can provide for human well-being. Even if the framing of the term itself continues to evolve, examples of Nature-based solutions can already be found all over the world.<\/p>\n

Recent studies have proposed ways of planning and implementing Nature-based solutions in urban areas, while NBS are increasingly being incorporated into mainstream national and international policies and programs<\/a> (e.g. climate change<\/a> policy, law, infrastructure investment, and financing mechanisms), with increasing attention being given to NBS by the European Commission since 2013, as an integral part of the EU’s Research & Innovation policy. The UN has also tried to promote a shift in perspective towards NBS: the theme for World Water<\/a> Day 2018 was “Nature for Water”, while UN-Water’s accompanying UN World Water Development Report was titled “Nature-based Solutions for Water”. The 2019 UN Climate Action<\/a> Summit, meanwhile, highlighted Nature-based solutions as an effective method to combat climate change, and a “Nature Based Solution Coalition” was created, including dozens of countries, led by China and New Zealand.<\/p>\n

Societies increasingly face challenges such as climate change<\/a>, urbanization, jeopardized food security and water resource provision, and disaster risk. One approach to answer these challenges is to singularly rely on technological<\/a> strategies. An alternative approach is to holistically manage (socio-)ecological systems in order to sustain and potentially increase the delivery of ecosystem services<\/a> to human populations. In this context, nature-based solutions (NBS) have recently been put forward by practitioners and quickly thereafter by policymakers. These solutions stress the sustainable use of nature<\/a> in solving coupled environmental-social-economic challenges.<\/p>\n

While ecosystem services<\/a> are often valued in terms of immediate benefits to human well-being and the economy, NBS focus on the benefits to people and the environment itself, to allow for sustainable solutions that are able to respond to environmental change and hazards in the long term. NBS goes beyond traditional biodiversity conservation<\/a> and management principles by “re-focusing” the debate on humans and specifically integrating societal factors such as human well-being and poverty reduction, socio-economic development, and governance principles.<\/p>\n

With respect to water issues, NBS can, according to the World Water<\/a> Development Report 2018 by UN-Water, achieve the following:<\/p>\n