Nature-based solutions (NbS) use ecosystems to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase carbon storage, and build resilience to extreme weather.
They unlock multiple benefits—climate mitigation, flood control, biodiversity recovery, and community well-being—making them among the most cost-effective and scalable climate actions available.
What NbS look like
– Forest and landscape restoration: Reestablishing native forests and managing landscapes to store carbon and reduce erosion.
– Wetland and peatland protection: Conserving and restoring these high-carbon ecosystems prevents emissions and improves water regulation.
– Coastal blue carbon: Restoring mangroves, salt marshes, and seagrasses buffers storm surge while sequestering carbon.
– Urban green infrastructure: Green roofs, street trees, parks, and permeable surfaces cool cities, reduce runoff, and improve air quality.
– Agroecology and regenerative agriculture: Practices like cover cropping, reduced tillage, and agroforestry build soil carbon and improve productivity.
Why they matter
Nature-based approaches deliver climate benefits faster and often at lower cost than some engineered alternatives. They also generate co-benefits that matter to communities and stakeholders: improved water quality, increased food security, jobs in restoration, and greater biodiversity.
For cities, greener neighborhoods reduce heat-related health risks and lower energy demand for cooling.
For coastlines, living shorelines reduce expensive hard infrastructure needs and maintain fisheries and tourism value.
Designing effective NbS
– Start with local ecosystems and priorities: Solutions must reflect local ecology, cultural values, and socioeconomic needs to be durable and equitable.
– Use mixed approaches: Combining restoration with sustainable land management or green infrastructure with engineered systems often yields the best outcomes.
– Set measurable targets: Define clear goals for carbon sequestration, flood reduction, biodiversity gains, or community benefits and track progress using robust monitoring.
– Prioritize permanence and risk management: Address threats like land conversion, invasive species, and fire with management plans and safeguards to ensure long-term benefits.
– Integrate community participation: Co-design with local stakeholders and Indigenous communities to harness local knowledge, distribute benefits fairly, and strengthen stewardship.
Financing and policy levers
Funding for NbS can come from public budgets, carbon markets, impact investors, green bonds, and blended finance that mixes grants with private capital.
Strong policy frameworks—land-use planning, protected area designations, incentives for sustainable farming, and urban green space standards—scale investment and reduce implementation risk. Transparent measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) systems increase credibility and unlock private finance.
Measuring success
MRV combines remote sensing, field surveys, and community-based monitoring to quantify carbon storage, habitat recovery, and ecosystem services.
Standardized protocols and transparent data help turn ecosystem outcomes into bankable assets while ensuring benefits reach local people.
Getting started
Assess local vulnerability and ecosystem assets, map co-benefits, and pilot small projects that can be scaled. Partner with conservation NGOs, academic institutions, local governments, and financing partners to combine technical know-how with community engagement.
Start with high-impact, low-regret actions—protect intact ecosystems, restore degraded wetlands, and expand urban tree cover—to build momentum.
Nature-based solutions are powerful because they address climate, biodiversity, and social goals at once. When implemented well and equitably, they deliver lasting benefits that strengthen communities and landscapes while helping to stabilize the climate.