Bibliography
Welcome to our interactive bibliography. Here you can explore publications relating to Nature-based Solutions and their potential to address societal challenges, including climate change adaptation & mitigation, disaster risk reduction, ecosystem health, food & water security, and human wellbeing & development. For papers and other outputs directly produced by the Nature-based Solutions Initiative please visit our outputs page.
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711 publications found
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Integrated ecological, economic and social impact assessment of alternative flood control policies in the Netherlands
Ecological Economics (2004). Original Research.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800904001119Abstract
The main objective of this paper is to combine and integrate environmental, economic and social impact assessment procedures in order to support decision-making in the context of flood control policy in the Netherlands. The hydraulic, hydrological, ecological, economic and social effects of alternative flood control policies, such as land use change and floodplain restoration, are evaluated using a combination of advanced quantitative modelling techniques and qualitative expert judgement. The results from the ecological, economic and social impact assessment are evaluated in an integrated way through cost – benefit analysis (CBA) and multi-criteria analysis (MCA). As expected, these methods produce different outcomes. Although traditional flood control policy-building higher and stronger dikes-is a cost-effective option, investment in alternative flood control policy-land use changes and floodplain restoration-can be justified on the basis of both CBA and MCA when including the additional ecological and socio-economic benefits in the long run. The outcome of the MCA appears to be especially sensitive to the inclusion of the qualitative scores for the expected social impacts of land use change and floodplain restoration. An important research question remains how to assess, integrate and trade-off (1) significantly different types of impacts in a methodologically sound way in both cost – benefit and multi-criteria analysis, and (2) significantly different types and quality of available knowledge and information about these impacts.
Ecosystem-based disaster risk reductionEcological engineeringClimate change adaptationDisaster risk reductionCoastlineWetlandSoil carbon sequestration to mitigate climate change
Geoderma (2004). Meta-Analysis.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016706104000266Abstract
The increase in atmospheric concentration of CO2 by 31% since 1750 from fossil fuel combustion and land use change necessitates identification of strategies for mitigating the threat of the attendant global warming. Since the industrial revolution, global emissions of carbon (C) are estimated at 270 F 30 Pg (Pg = petagram = 1015 g = 1 billion ton) due to fossil fuel combustion and 136 F 55 Pg due to land use change and soil cultivation. Emissions due to land use change include those by deforestation, biomass burning, conversion of natural to agricultural ecosystems, drainage of wetlands and soil cultivation. Depletion of soil organic C (SOC) pool have contributed 78 F 12 Pg of C to the atmosphere. Some cultivated soils have lost one-half to two-thirds of the original SOC pool with a cumulative loss of 30 – 40 Mg C/ha (Mg = megagram = 106 g = 1 ton). The depletion of soil C is accentuated by soil degradation and exacerbated by land misuse and soil mismanagement. Thus, adoption of a restorative land use and recommended management practices (RMPs) on agricultural soils can reduce the rate of enrichment of atmospheric CO2 while having positive impacts on food security, agro-industries, water quality and the environment. A considerable part of the depleted SOC pool can be restored through conversion of marginal lands into restorative land uses, adoption of conservation tillage with cover crops and crop residue mulch, nutrient cycling including the use of compost and manure, and other systems of sustainable management of soil and water resources. Measured rates of soil C sequestration through adoption of RMPs range from 50 to 1000 kg/ha/year. The global potential of SOC sequestration through these practices is 0.9 F 0.3 Pg C/year, which may offset one-fourth to one-third of the annual increase in atmospheric CO2 estimated at 3.3 Pg C/year. The cumulative potential of soil C sequestration over 25 – 50 years is 30 – 60 Pg. The soil C sequestration is a truly win –win strategy. It restores degraded soils, enhances biomass production, purifies surface and ground waters, and reduces the rate of enrichment of atmospheric CO2 by offsetting emissions due to fossil fuel.
Ecological restorationEcosystem-based mitigationNature-based agricultural systemsClimate change mitigationArtificial Landscapes - TerrestrialLocal Management Practices for Dealing with Change and Uncertainty: A Cross-scale Comparison of Cases in Sweden and Tanzania
Ecology and Society (2004). Original Research.
http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol9/iss3/art4/Abstract
We investigated and compared management practices for dealing with uncertainty in agroecosystem dynamics in two cases of smallholder farming in different parts of the world: northeast Tanzania and east-central Sweden. Qualitative research methods were applied to map farmers’ practices related to agroecosystem management. The practices are clustered according to a framework of ecosystem services relevant for agricultural production and discussed using a theoretical model of ecosystem dynamics. Almost half of the identified practices were found to be similar in both cases, with similar approaches for adjusting to and dealing with local variability and disturbance. Practices that embraced the ecological roles of wild as well as domesticated flora and fauna and the use of qualitative biological indicators are identified as tools that built insurance capital for change and enhanced the capacity to respond to changing agroecosystem dynamics. Diversification in time and space, as well as more specific practices for mitigating pest outbreaks and temporary droughts, can limit the effects of disturbance. In both Sweden and Tanzania, we identified social mechanisms for the protection of species that served important functions in the agroecosystem. We also found examples of how old practices served as a source of adaptations for dealing with new conditions and that new knowledge was adjusted to local conditions. The study shows that comparing management practices across scales and in different cultural settings can reveal insights into the capacity of farmers to adjust, respond to, and shape ecosystem dynamics. We emphasize the importance of continuous learning for developing the sustainable management of complex agroecosystems and securing agricultural production for the future.
Nature-based agricultural systemsClimate change adaptationFood and water securityArtificial Landscapes - TerrestrialSustainable Development, Climate Change, and Tropical Rain Forest Landscape
Springer (1998). Book (chapter).
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1005398606125Abstract
A potential impact of climate change in the south Asian context in general and the Indian subcontinent in particular is an increase in rainfall, in some areas up to 50%. Using an extensive information base available on the dynamics of landscape structure and function of the northeastern hill areas of India, scenarios on landscape changes, as an adaptation to climate change, have been constructed. Climate change would impose a variety of stresses on sustainable livelihood of the inhabitants of the rain-forested areas through stresses on ecosystem function. It is concluded that appropriate management strategies for natural forests and plantation forestry should go hand in hand with a comprehensive rural Ecosystem restoration plan.
Ecological restorationNatural resource managementNature-based agricultural systemsClimate change adaptationHuman well-being & developmentForestNatural resource management in mitigating climate impacts: the example of mangrove restoration in Vietnam
Global Environmental Change (1998). Original Research.
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0959-3780(97)00023-XAbstract
The risk that tropical storm occurrence may alter as a result of global warming presents coastal managers, particularly in vulnerable areas, with a serious challenge. Many countries are hard-pressed to protect their coastal resources against present-day hazards, let alone any increased threat in the future. Moreover, the threat posed by climate change is uncertain making the increased costs of protection difficult to justify. Here, we examine one management strategy, based on the rehabilitation of the mangrove ecosystem, which may provide a dual, ‘winwin’ benefit in improving the livelihood of local resource users as well as enhancing sea defences. The strategy, therefore, represents a precautionary approach to climate impact mitigation. This paper quantifies the economic benefits of mangrove rehabilitation undertaken, inter alia, to enhance sea defence systems in three coastal Districts of northern Vietnam. The results of the analysis show that mangrove rehabilitation can be desirable from an economic perspective based solely on the direct use benefits by local communities. Such activities have even higher benefit cost ratios with the inclusion of the indirect benefits resulting from the avoided maintenance cost for the sea dike system which the mangrove stands protect from coastal storm surges.
Ecosystem-based disaster risk reductionEcosystem-based adaptationClimate change adaptationDisaster risk reductionHuman well-being & developmentCoastlineEcological and Economic Analysis of Watershed Protection in Eastern Madagascar
Journal of Environmental Management (1997). Original Research.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301479785700850Abstract
Watershed protection is one of the many goods and services provided by the world’s fast disappearing tropical forests. Among the variety of watershed protection benefits, flood damage alleviation is crucial, particularly in upland watersheds. This study is a rare attempt to estimate flooding alleviation benefits, resulting from the protection of upland forests in Eastern Madagascar. A three stage model is used to examine the relationship between the economic concept of value and the bio-physical dimensions of the protected area. This approach combines techniques from remote sensing, soil and hydrologic sciences and economics. In stage one, the relationship between changes in land use practices and the extent of flooding in immediate downstream is established by using remotely sensed and hydrologic-runoff data. Stage two relates the impact of increased flooding to crop production by comparing the hydrologic data with the agronomic flood damage reports for the same time period. In stage three, a productivity analysis approach is adopted to evaluate flood damage in terms of lost producer surplus. The presence of the Mantadia National Park, in eastern Madagascar, is designed to prevent land conversions and changes in hydrologic patterns, thereby alleviating flood damage. This averted flood damage is a measure of the watershed protection benefits to society. Given that natural systems are subject to considerable stochastic shocks, sensitivity analysis is used to examine the uncertainty associated with the key random variables. The results of this analysis should help policy makers assess trade-offs between the costs and benefits of protecting tropical rainforest.
Area-based approachesEcosystem-based disaster risk reductionDisaster risk reductionHuman well-being & developmentForestConservation and sequestration of carbon: The potential of forest and agroforest management practices
Global Environmental Change (1993). Meta-Analysis.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0959378093900045Abstract
Forests play a major role In Earth’s carbon cycle through assimilation, storage, and emission of CO2. Establishment and management of boreal, temperate, and tropical forest and agroforest systems could potentially enhance sequestration of carbon in the terrestrial biosphere. A biological and economic analysis of forest establishment and management options from 94 nations revealed that forestation, agroforestry, and silviculture could be employed to conserve and sequester one Petagram (Pg) of carbon annually over a 50-year period. The marginal cost of implementing these options to sequester 55 Pg of carbon would be approximately $10/Mg.
Ecosystem-based mitigationClimate change mitigationArtificial Landscapes - TerrestrialForest