This article originally was published in\u00a0World Resources Institute<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n In Indonesia, climate change is already a pernicious threat.\u00a0More than 30 million people<\/a>\u00a0across northern Java suffer from coastal flooding and erosion related to more severe storms and sea level rise. In some places, entire villages and more than a mile of coastline have been lost to the sea.<\/p>\n The flooding and erosion are exacerbated by the destruction of natural mangrove forests. These forests absorb the brunt of waves\u2019 impact, significantly reducing both the height and speed of waves reaching shore. And mature mangroves can store\u00a0nearly 1,000 tons<\/a>\u00a0of carbon per hectare, thus mitigating climate change while also helping communities adapt.<\/p>\n Without mangroves,\u00a018 million more people<\/a>\u00a0worldwide would suffer from coastal flooding each year (an increase of 39 percent). That\u2019s why in Demak, Java, a diverse group of residents, NGOs, universities and the Indonesian government are working together on the “Building with Nature” project to\u00a0restore a 12-mile belt of mangroves<\/a>. The project, managed by Wetlands International, already has improved the district\u2019s climate resilience, protecting communities from coastal flooding and absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.<\/p>\n Java isn\u2019t the only place where nature-based solutions can make a difference. Countries around the world can harness the power of nature to adapt to climate impacts. Coastal wetlands can defend communities from storm surge and sea level rise. Well-managed forests can protect water supplies, reduce wildfire risk and prevent landslides. Green space in cities can alleviate heat stress and reduce flooding.<\/p>\n While we don\u2019t yet have a full accounting of this potential, we do know that, for instance, wetland ecosystems cover about\u00a08 percent of the planet\u2019s land surface<\/a>\u00a0and the ecosystem services they provide \u2014 including flood protection, fisheries habitat and water purification \u2014 are worth\u00a0up to $15 trillion<\/a>. For example, offshore fisheries in areas with mangroves provide fishermen with an average of\u00a0271 pounds of fish<\/a>\u00a0(worth about $44) per hour, compared to an average of 40 pounds (only $2 to $3 per hour in places without mangroves).<\/p>\n Yet despite nature\u2019s ability to provide vast economic and climate resilience benefits, many countries are not fully using nature-based solutions for adaptation, according to research by the U.N. Environment Program World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) produced for the Global Commission on Adaptation. Of 167 Nationally Determined Contributions submitted under the Paris Agreement, just 70 include nature-based adaptation actions; the majority of those are in low-income countries.<\/p>\n The Global Commission on Adaptation is working with leading organizations and countries, including the governments of Canada, Mexico and Peru, the Global Environment Facility and the U.N. Environment Program, to scale these approaches globally through its\u00a0Nature-Based Solutions Action Track<\/a>. According to the Commission\u2019s\u00a0Adapt Now report<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 which builds on UNEP-WCMC\u2019s research \u2014\u00a0three crucial steps are needed to make this happen:<\/p>\n Policymakers need to better understand the value of natural capital such as mangroves and other ecosystems that provide important benefits for communities. For example, it can be\u00a02 to 5 times cheaper<\/a>\u00a0to restore coastal wetlands than to construct breakwaters \u00ad\u2014 artificial barriers typically made out of granite \u2014 yet both protect coasts from the impact of waves. The median cost for mangrove restoration is about 1 cent per square foot. This is far less than the\u00a0often prohibitive cost<\/a>\u00a0of most built infrastructure. Mangrove areas yield other benefits, too, as illustrated by the effect on fisheries. In fact, the commission found the total net benefits of protecting mangroves globally is $1 trillion by 2030.<\/p>\n While some research of this kind exists, countries often need place-specific assessments to identify the best opportunities to use nature-based solutions for adaptation. Governments also should consider that local and indigenous communities often have ample understanding of nature\u2019s value for people, and should seek out and include this knowledge in plans and policies. The success of the “Building with Nature” project, for example, relied on the full involvement of local residents.<\/p>\n Nature-based solutions often work best when people use them at larger scales \u2014 across whole landscapes, ecosystems or cities. Governments are often best placed to plan climate adaptation at this scale given their access to resources and ability to make policy and coordinate among multiple actors. To be successful, they should include nature-based solutions in their adaptation planning from the start.<\/p>\n Mexico\u2019s approach to water management highlights how one way this can be achieved. Water supplies are especially vulnerable to climate change, as shifting rainfall patterns cause droughts in some places and floods in others. Mexico is proactively protecting its water on a national scale by designating water reserves in more than one-third of the country\u2019s river basins. These protected areas and wetlands cover nearly 124 million acres and ensure a secure water supply for some 45 million people downstream.<\/p>\n This approach can work in many other places.\u00a0Research on cities\u2019 water supplies<\/a>\u00a0shows that by conserving and restoring upstream forests, water utilities in the world\u2019s 534 largest cities could better regulate water flows and collectively save $890 million in treatment costs each year.<\/p>\n Communities and countries often cite access to funding as a barrier to implementing nature-based solutions, and to climate adaptation efforts overall. But, as UNEP-WCMC highlights, governments can spur investment in these approaches by reorienting their policies, subsidies and public investments. They can also better incentivize private investors to finance adaptation projects.<\/p>\n Many governments, private sector and philanthropic actors have funds that could be used for nature-based adaptation solutions \u2014 but a lack of awareness has hindered their widespread use. Part of the solution is helping communities and countries better understand what funding opportunities exist, learn from successful financing models and identify gaps that could be filled by interested donor countries, development institutions and private investors \u2014 an effort the commission is undertaking.<\/p>\n Canada\u2019s $1.6 billion\u00a0Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund<\/a>\u00a0is one example of a public financing approach. This fund helps communities manage risks from floods, wildfires, droughts and other natural hazards by providing investments in both green (nature-based) and gray (built) infrastructure. Much like the mangroves in Indonesia, Canada has its own coastal wetlands that protect its coasts from sea level rise. The fund recently invested $20 million into a project that is restoring salt marshes and improving levees along the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia. Once complete, the Bay of Fundy project will reduce coastal flooding that affects tens of thousands of residents, including indigenous communities, as well as World Heritage sites and more than 49,000 acres of farmland.<\/p>\n The benefits of nature-based solutions go far beyond climate adaptation. From the heart of the city to vast forests and coastal wetlands, healthy ecosystems underpin societies and economies. They provide food, fuel and livelihoods; sustain cultural traditions; and offer health and recreation benefits. Many of these solutions actively remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, serving as climate\u00a0mitigation strategies as well<\/a>. They also provide critical habitat for biodiversity.<\/p>\n The Global Commission on Adaptation is establishing a group of front runner countries, cities and communities to highlight successes, stimulate greater commitments and increase attention to nature\u2019s underappreciated role in climate adaptation. By taking these steps to scale up nature-based solutions, we can realize the potential of nature to advance climate adaptation and protect those most likely to be affected by climate change.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Jonathan Cook, June 17, 2020 CLICK HERE FOR ORIGINAL POST Scenic path on mangrove forest at Bama Beach in the Baluran National Park, a forest preservation area on the north coast of East Java, Indonesia This article originally was published in\u00a0World Resources Institute. In Indonesia, climate change is already a pernicious threat.\u00a0More than 30 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[145],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2774","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nouvelles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.naturalinfrastructurenb.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2774","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.naturalinfrastructurenb.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.naturalinfrastructurenb.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.naturalinfrastructurenb.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.naturalinfrastructurenb.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2774"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/staging.naturalinfrastructurenb.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2774\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.naturalinfrastructurenb.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2774"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.naturalinfrastructurenb.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2774"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.naturalinfrastructurenb.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2774"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
Nature-based solutions are an underused climate adaptation strategy<\/h3>\n
1. Raise understanding of the value of nature<\/h3>\n
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2. Embed nature-based solutions into climate adaptation planning<\/h3>\n
3. Encourage investment in nature-based solutions<\/h3>\n
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Protecting nature protects people<\/h3>\n
\n![\"Scenic](\"https:\/\/www.greenbiz.com\/sites\/default\/files\/2020-06\/mangroveforest_shutterstock_IvanEffendyHalim.jpg\")
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Scenic path on mangrove forest at Bama Beach in the Baluran National Park, a forest preservation area on the north coast of East Java, Indonesia<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
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Countries around the world can harness the power of nature to adapt to climate impacts.<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Policymakers need to better understand the value of natural capital such as mangroves and other ecosystems that provide important benefits for communities.<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
The benefits of nature-based solutions go far beyond climate adaptation. From the heart of the city to vast forests and coastal wetlands, healthy ecosystems underpin societies and economies.<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n