Tackling vulnerability to climate change in Bangladesh and the rural Global South with nature-based solutions

Tackling vulnerability to climate change in Bangladesh and the rural Global South with nature-based solutions
Read the full briefings for key findings, and policymaker recommendations.

Today at COP26 we launch two briefings, based on new studies, on the role of nature-based solutions (NbS) in addressing climate vulnerability in Bangladesh and rural Global South in general.

Bangladesh

This briefing ‘Tackling climate change with nature-based solutions in Bangladesh’ summarises a review by Smith et al. (in press) that found robust evidence that NbS can provide resilient and effective protection from climate risks while also supporting sustainable development and enhancing biodiversity.

The briefing includes recommendations for policymakers that focus on integrating support for NbS into government policy, focusing on four key success factors:

  1. Participatory delivery of NbS involving all stakeholders.
  2. Strong and transparent governance.
  3. Provision of secure finance and land tenure.
  4. Systematic monitoring of outcomes for people and biodiversity, in line with good practice guidelines.

Understanding the benefits of NbS can help to make the case for protecting Bangladesh’s remaining high-value natural assets, including the Sundarbans mangroves and Chittagong hill forests, as well as implementing more sustainable agricultural practices such as agroecology and agroforestry in the farmed landscape.

Read the full briefing for key findings, enabling factors, and evidence gaps for addressing climate vulnerability with nature-based solutions in Bangladesh.

Global South

This briefing ‘Reducing people’s vulnerability to climate change in the rural Global South using Nature-based Solutions’ synthesizes the findings of a recently published assessment of the effectiveness of nature-based interventions at reducing social and ecological vulnerability through different pathways, with findings that suggest that NbS (such as ecosystem-based adaptation), can help reduce people’s vulnerability to climate change impacts across a diversity of social and environmental contexts.

The briefing includes four recommendations for policymakers:

  1. Make explicit, in policy, that NbS can be implemented across a wide range of ecosystems and socioeconomic contexts.
  2. Recognize that the effectiveness of NbS and enabling factors are context-dependent.
  3. Engage the full range of affected stakeholders and rights holders to understand what makes NbS effective, address people’s adaptation priorities and needs, and how they link to wider development processes.
  4. Adapt policy response considering enabling factors and barriers that impact NbS effectiveness: political, technical, social, or economic.

Increasing insight into whether and how NbS reduce vulnerability to climate change in the Global South is key, given that this region is home to the majority of the world’s most climate-vulnerable people.

Read the full briefing for key findings, enabling factors, and an illustrative example of NbS effectiveness in reducing people’s vulnerability to climate change in the rural Global South.

The Bangladesh Briefing is based on the findings of:
Smith, A., Tasnim, T., Irfanullah, H.M., Turner, B., Chausson, A. and Seddon, N. (2021) Nature-based Solutions in Bangladesh: evidence of effectiveness for addressing climate change and other sustainable development goals. Frontiers in Environmental Science (in press).
For queries, please contact: Tasfia Tasnim, Lead researcher.
email: tasfia.tasnim@icccad.org
Twitter: @NbSBangladesh
For more information on NbS in Bangladesh please visit nbsbangladesh.info.

The Global South briefing is based on the findings of:
Woroniecki, S.; Spiegelenberg, F.A.; Chausson, A.; Turner, B.; Key, I.; Irfanullah, H.; Seddon, N. Contributions of Nature-Based Solutions to Reduce Peoples’ Vulnerabilities to Climate Change across the Rural Global South. Preprints 2021, 2021100403 (doi: 10.20944/preprints202110.0403.v1).
For queries, please contact: Stephen Woroniecki, PhD, Lead researcher.
email: stephen.woroniecki@liu.se   twitter: @stephenworoniec

A further briefing will also be launched at COP26 on Nature Day, November 6th:

  • Ensuring Nature-based Solutions support both biodiversity and climate change adaptation.

Keep updated by following @NaturebasedSols for the latest NbSI news and COP26 updates.