Applications now open for Ecology Research Assistant role

This role is based in Oxford, England and we are unable to sponsor visas for short term positions.

This research assistant will join the the Agile Sprint 3 team, which is working on providing tools, evidence and policy guidance to scale up Nature-based Solutions in the UK. Reporting to Emily Warner, the research assistant will work independently to provide research support for the ecological work package. This will include ecological fieldwork: collecting evidence of biodiversity outcomes of forest creation methods at The Carbon Community experiment in Wales , assessing carbon stocks and biodiversity in created habitats at Hogacre Common Eco Park in Oxford and assessing the potential for natural woodland regeneration and designing a tree planting experiment at a Wychwood Forest Trust site in Oxfordshire. Alongside the fieldwork, the research assistant will assist with development of the other ecological outputs of the project. This could include trialling a biodiversity monitoring framework, contributing to the development of methods to ground truth mapping, collating evidence on methods to maximise the ecological outcomes of habitat restoration, and writing up project outputs.

We are seeking a candidate with a grounding in ecology and awareness of UK environmental policy, alongside experience of ecological fieldwork and strong taxonomic skills for plants and invertebrates. You will lead data collection on above and belowground invertebrates and plant communities within The Carbon Community experiment and support the collection of data at Hogacre Common and the Wychwood Forest Trust site, including collection of soil carbon samples and processing the samples. You will be responsible for contributing to the fieldwork design, implementing the fieldwork plan, identification of invertebrate samples, supporting data analysis and contributing to relevant publications. You will also support Master’s students working on the project. You will have an enthusiasm for outdoor fieldwork and be willing to spend some of the fieldwork period camping (with use of field station facilities) at The Carbon Community experiment.

The role runs from 1st May through 31st August 2023 and the deadline to apply is 10th March 2023.

Please read the full application description for details on how to apply.

Apply now to be the NbSI Communications and Outreach Officer

The Nature-based Solutions Initiative (NbSI) in the Department of Biology is seeking a Communications and Outreach Officer. The post holder will promote and share the research and other outputs of the NbSI, e.g. via social media and the NbSI website, translating scientific findings so that they are accessible to decision makers and the general public. They will also coordinate and promote the Executive Education Nature-based Solutions Foundations course and provide other basic admin support for the NbSI when needed. The candidate must have a science background, experience in communicating scientific evidence to diverse audiences and be able to write blogs and briefings, often at short notice. Capacity to work flexibly and complete tasks quickly is essential.

View the application portal and read further job details.

The closing date for the application is 12.00 noon GMT on 28th February 2023.

Nature-based Insetting is working with the TNFD and Global Canopy

Nature-based Insetting Ltd  applies cutting edge research to help businesses implement nature-based solutions with integrity. NbI achieves this by analysing biodiversity and human wellbeing-related impacts and risks, and then identifying opportunities for lowering risk by implementing nature-based solutions that are effective, net-zero aligned, ecologically sound and socially just. We help our corporate clients develop location and commodity-specific roadmaps for setting and achieving evidence-based targets for climate, nature, and its biodiversity. As a spin out of Nature based Solutions Initiative, NbI works at the interface between research and practice. The Executive Director, Dr. Cécile Girardin and non-Executive Director, Prof. Nathalie Seddon, are also the Founding Directors of NbSI, are both actively involved in several other sustainable finance and nature conservation programmes across the University, including  Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery and the Agile Initiative.

We focus on markets with direct impacts on landscapes and seascapes – predominantly fast-moving consumer goods companies and asset management companies. The majority of our work is aimed at providing long term strategy support for businesses in these markets, including research, analysis, quantification, and modelling services. In the longer term, our quantitative model -which sits at the heart of our strategy support- is being developed for a wide range of commodities and landscapes and will ultimately be offered as a monitoring and reporting tool, in line with TNFD disclosure requirements.

The private sector is increasingly engaged in the climate and biodiversity crisis. Yet companies struggle to respond, due to a lack of clear guidance on how to set and achieve transparent, data-driven goals for nature. How these commitments can be implemented, monitored, and regulated in a socially just context remains to be demonstrated, as the mechanisms to ensure accountability and transparency are still being developed.

Over the past 18 months, we have developed a comprehensive analytical framework supported by a quantitative model that allows us to address nature-related risks and opportunities for companies.  We have developed this framework in close consultation with corporates, financial institutions, and academic partners, balancing pragmatism and ecological integrity. This is core to our approach with businesses, which typically consists of key phases in helping build biodiversity strategy: (i) executive education, (ii) roadmapping, (iii) qualitative and quantitative analysis, (iv) implementation, and (v) monitoring and reporting.

Our quantitative model lies at the heart of NbI’s approach. It assesses nature and biodiversity impacts and risk across commodity production landscapes and is built using a combination of nature-related and geographical data, to give the most granular insights into the state of biodiversity possible for a specific area, across multiple factors such as  land use, climate change, habitat fragmentation, disturbance from infrastructure, encroachment and local nitrogen deposition, as well catchment-wide impacts of land use intensity on rivers and wetlands. Overall, this gives our clients a comprehensive and multidimensional perspective on their nature-related risks, ultimately informing strategy on interventions to mitigate and adapt to these risks. We have modularised our modelling workflow and to ensure it can be adapted to multiple supply chains, and are currently testing it on different commodities. The continuing development of our quantitative model has provided strong research insights on available metrics, data and tools – and crucially – on how to apply them pragmatically to build a baseline for impact and inform strategy on mitigating and adapting to nature-related risks.

Working with corporates
Over the past year, we have been working closely with Reckitt, to co-design a biodiversity strategy and roadmaps for five major commodities in their value chain. Throughout this process we have engaged in regular discussions to ensure our methodology has struck the balance between scientific rigour and scalability, so that quantitative insights can be evolved into strategy and action in reasonable timescales. This process has allowed us to develop and pilot our analytical framework and model. We have presented our approach at conferences (NbS conference 2022, UN Climate Action Summit, COP27) and webinars (TNFD, WWF, Accenture, Pinsent Masons, the NbSI Executive Education course, to name a few), allowing us to incorporate feedback from industry, NGOs, and academia to address our stakeholder’s needs.
We are currently in the process of onboarding three new corporations to the NbI programme.

A TNFD pilot
We are currently piloting our analytical framework and the NbI model with TNFD for one of Reckitt’s key commodities – Latex, where we work with Earthworm Foundation. And are developing a similar pilot on Palm Oil for 2023, where we will be working with the Sumatran Orangutan Society and Earthworm Foundation. This process ensures that our approach is aligned with and informs the evolution of the TNFD LEAP process. For the Latex pilot, we have progressed in all aspects of the LEAP framework and are working on refining our estimates to provide quantitative estimates for Reckitt’s disclosures on risks, dependencies, and opportunities associated with biodiversity impacts at the landscape scale.

Partnering with Global Canopy
For many market participants the assessment of nature-related impacts, dependencies, risks and opportunities within their operations and value chains is nascent. Expert technical support can prove invaluable to aid these corporations in both understanding and implementing elements of the TNFD beta framework. Nature based Insetting will work with Global Canopy to provide Analytical support for two in-depth corporate pilots within Global Canopy’s TNFD-Supported piloting program.

Learn more on the Nature-based Insetting website.

NbSI take part in COP27 panel event ‘Blending People’s Participation & Nature-based Approaches for Enhancing Community Resilience’

In week two of COP27 a variety of COP side events were hosted alongside the build in momentum as negotiations ran on what terms, issues and language would make it into the final cover decision text.

The event ‘Blending People’s Participation and Nature-based Approaches for Enhancing Community Resilience’ was hosted by ICCCAD and the Center for Natural Resources Studies (CNRS), led by NbS Bangladesh team member Tasfia Tasnim. Community and ecosystem resilience happens where there is mix of locally led adaptation actions as well as nature-based approaches. This Locally Led Adaptation Pavilion panel discussion led by ICCCAD, CNRS and the Centre for Climate Justice-Bangladesh (CCJ-B), with support from the Climate Justice Resilience Fund, explored how local communities’ participation is crucial to implement nature-based solutions and strengthen socio-ecological resilience in the climate-disaster prone areas of Bangladesh.

NbSI’s Audrey Wagner and Tasfia Tasnim, and ICCCAD Director Professor Saleemul Huq discussed the importance of community participation and NbS for resilience to climate change.  Audrey outlined how NbS can increase resilience to climate change by reducing exposure and sensitivity to climate impacts and increasing adaptive capacity: “Participatory NbS can strengthen the social fabric and contribute to enhancing resilience”.

Professor Huq highlighted that “the locally led adaptation community of practice needs to link up with the NbS community of practice. And I hope that those of us who are here at COP27 can take this forward to next year”.

First Nature-based Solutions Foundation Course run completed

The 8-week online Nature-based Solutions to Global Challenges Foundation Course is an introduction to nature-based solutions (NbS) for professionals working in a range of sectors – aiming to improve awareness and understanding of the science, policy, practice, financing, and governance of NbS. Each week covers a critical theme around NbS, with sessions and workshops led by world-leading experts from University of Oxford and beyond, utilising a global range of ecological, socioeconomic and political contexts.

The first course run commenced in September 2022, attended by 29 participants from a wide range of sectors, disciplines and countries, enabling stimulating discussions by course-leaders and attendees alike. Participants joined from all over the globe, including but not limited to Rwanda, Kenya, Hong Kong, Australia, the USA, UK, France, Germany and Turkey.

“Taking part in the course was a fascinating interdisciplinary experience that brought together expertise from fields as diverse as biology, policy, finance, and economics.”
Yvonne Mitschka, Germany

Applications are now open for January 2023, September 2023, and January 2024, with two fully-funded scholarships for the course for those working in the public sector in a Development Assistance Committee (DAC)-listed country, and who would otherwise not be able to attend the course without funding. There are also discounted prices available for those working in the public sector in a DAC-listed country whose organisation has difficulty funding your place on the course.

Find out more on course and how to apply on the course webpage. If you wish to be considered for a scholarship or a discounted price, state this in your application.

Delivered by the Nature-based Solutions Initiative, in partnership with the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment.

NbSI visit Carbon Community field site

The Carbon Community is running a large-scale tree planting experiment designed in partnership with scientists, to learn more about how to accelerate and enhance carbon sequestration using Nature-based Solutions.

The NbSI team recently visited their field study site of 25,600 trees in Glandwr Forest near Llandovery, Wales. The study has around 80 plots with different treatments, designed to compare a NbS approach of mixed native broadleaf planting with an alternative monoculture of non-native conifers (Sitka Spruce). Two methods designed to boost carbon drawdown are being tested, both separately and in combination: soil microbiome inoculation (using donor soils from nearby native or conifer woodlands) and addition of crushed basalt rock from nearby quarry waste (‘enhanced weathering’ which absorbs carbon dioxide from the air, forming carbonate minerals, as the basalt oxidises).

The experimental design at the site provides a great opportunity to improve our understanding of key biodiversity-carbon trade-offs with different woodland creation approaches. Native broadleaf woodland is anticipated to provide greater benefits for biodiversity than non-native conifer woodland, whereas non-native conifer woodlands are typically anticipated to store carbon at faster rates. We plan to investigate aboveground and belowground invertebrate communities across the experimental treatments, allowing us to understand whether biodiversity responses differ among the forest types. We will also be able to assess whether the enhanced weathering and soil microbiome inoculation treatments impact soil ecological communities. Forest creation projects often focus on carbon drawdown, but as forest expansion accelerates in the UK maximising synergies with nature recovery is crucial. As the project develops it will also address key questions such as the resilience of the mixed native forest vs monoculture conifers to pests/pathogens or climatic extremes. More biodiverse forests are expected to be more resilient, which is critical to the longevity of carbon stocks.

 

The Carbon Community works to connect trees, science, and people. The project aims to involve communities to promote behaviour change to reduce CO2 emissions by knowledge sharing and helping to educate people (including students and volunteers) about environmental issues, enabling people to get involved in tree planting, and running citizen science programmes where people can contribute to scientific research into carbon sequestration. The NbSI team participated in ‘The Big Tree Measure 2022’ which brought together around 100 people to measure 6,400 trees as part of their carbon sequestration study. This volunteering effort is a great example of how people can contribute to scientific research into tackling pressing environmental issues.

 

Learn more about the  field trials on the Carbon Community website.

Improved NbSI global interactive case study platform launched at COP27

Our updated interactive global map of best practice examples of nature-based solutions, funded by the British Academy, relaunched on 17 November at COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, with expanded cases launching at CBD COP 15 in Montreal, Canada. Following yesterday’s impactful discussions on biodiversity day, we hope the relaunch of the global map can be utilized as a key tool in furthering conversations about the importance of nature-based solutions in combating the climate crisis.

The latest edition of the map debuts multiple new features, including 4 new information categories for each case, a new type of case study called “model case studies” to highlight information-rich projects with successful ecological and social outcomes, development outcomes, improved and added platform functionalities, and a methodologies and definitions document . Together these new features work to increase the depth of information available for each case study and improve the utility of case studies for users.

Our 10 new model case studies are now viewable on the platform. These information-rich and diverse studies act as a great starting point for those new to the global map, or can help expand long-time users’ understanding of different intervention types. These 10 studies include more information than our traditional case study format and more detailed referencing to allow for users to do further research. We hope that this new type of case study can help users better answer the question of what successful NbS looks like and how these projects come to be.

The 4 additional categories (governance, finance, trade offs and limitations, and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) will allow for global map users to get a more holistic picture of it means to successfully implement NbS and what challenges may arise along the way.

Below are examples of the 4 new sections implemented in one of our 10 Model NbS studies, the Medmerry project for intertidal habitat restoration.

GOVERNANCE
The UK Environment Agency worked in collaboration with the RSPB to establish the Medmerry site as a mechanism of both coastal infrastructure and biodiversity importance. While the Environment Agency has transferred site management to the RSPB (4), the Medmerry Stakeholder Advisory Group (MStAG) was created in 2009 to allow for local community participation in the governance process (5).

FINANCE
The main sources of finance in this scheme mirror the governance structures with the UK Environment Agency and the RSPB being central to the financing of the project. The environment agency is supported by the government of the UK through the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs which supports the medmerry project. Early strategic land purchases which made the project possible were financed by the Sussex Ornithological Society and the Peacock Trust (3).

MONITORING AND EVALUATION
The RSPB partakes in monitoring of species populations at the site. Monitoring of Birds, mammals, amphibians, insects, and reptiles are all undertaken by the RSPB. The RSPB also works in collaboration with the Inshore Fisheries & Conservation Authority to monitor local fish stocks (3). This is a combined effort by the RSPB to monitor the ecological progression of the site since its restoration.

TRADE-OFFS AND LIMITATIONS
In the face of rising sea levels further research is needed to evaluate the continued effectiveness of managed realignment projects in relation to storm defense which is a core objective of the Medmerry project (5).

Visit the interactive global NbS map landing page with a link to the Urban Nature Atlas or the BA hub for both platforms, and explore the variety of global NbS case studies. If you would like to add your project to the database and you believe it meets the four guidelines for successful NbS, please get in touch.

NbSI Director speaks at the UK’s first People’s Assembly for Nature

NbSI Director Professor Nathalie Seddon is taking part in the first People’s Assembly for Nature (PAN), being held 11-13 November in Birmingham, as one of two academic advisors, speaking on the issue “What is nature and why do we need it?”. Watch a recording of the talk on YouTube.

The PAN is a citizens’ assembly that brings together a broadly representative group of people from across the country, as part of the People’s Plan for Nature, to look at the question “What should we do to protect and restore nature in the UK?”. 100 people from across the UK have been selected to develop a plan and a set of recommendations to help protect and restore nature in the UK.

Speakers on this first PAN weekend include Sir David Attenborough, and Tony Juniper CBE, Chair of Natural England. NbSI Director Prof Seddon will provide an overview of nature and biodiversity (as a property of nature) and why they are important from a scientific perspective. Seddon will also highlight that how nature is perceived and valued varies in space and time, and among different cultures. Equally, although some see nature as that which isn’t human, from a biological (and in many cases, cultural) perspective, humanity is part of nature. These talks will contribute to honest conversations, finding common ground and making recommendations for the protection and restoration of nature in the UK.

The People’s Plan for Nature is a UK-wide initiative run by Involve, UK’s public participation charity, powered by WWF, the National Trust and the RSPB. Prof Seddon is one of two academic advisors, working alongside Professor Pete Smith, University of Aberdeen. Academic Leads are specialists in the topic area that the citizens’ assembly is considering, with leads working with the Assembly on the core topic areas that have been identified for the assembly to focus on. These topics are the Path to Net Zero, Food & Farming Reform, and Reversing Biodiversity Loss. As an academic advisor, Prof Seddon helps develop the content for the citizens’ assembly and in particular the evidence that participants hear.

Learn more about the Plan and Assembly on the People’s Plan for Nature website, and watch Prof Seddon’s talk on Youtube.

PhD Researcher Alifa Haque awarded best student presentation at Sharks International 2022

Congratulations to NbSI PhD researcher Alifa Haque, who was recently awarded the best student presentation at Sharks International 2022, out of several hundred abstracts submitted and presented both online and in-person.

Alifa Haque is a marine biologist focusing on conserving sharks and rays in the global south context, supervised by Prof Nathalie Seddon and Dr Rachel Cavanagh. Alifa’s talk “Can fishers be the conservation heroes we need them to be?” explored the barriers of fishers to adhere to regulations and marine conservation efforts, taking a case study of sawfish and guitarfishes (both Critically Endangered) in the global south. Through a large number of interviews with fishers of the Bay of Bengal, an array of barriers were revealed as impeding fishers’ abilities to adhere to marine fisheries regulations & pro-conservation acts. Alifa emphasised how behavioural change is a two-way street where policymakers & managers need to change as well as those fishing in those regions with endangered fish under threat. A paper based on these findings is soon to be submitted.

Alifa was presented with a signed book at Sharks International 2022, held in Valencia, Spain in October 2022. Learn more about Alifa’s work on her research profile page.

Can sustainability certification enhance the climate resilience of smallholder farmers? The case of Ghanaian cocoa

Thompson et al., 2022

A recent Journal of Land Use Science paper Can sustainability certification enhance the climate resilience of smallholder farmers? The case of Ghanaian cocoa, led by NbSI’s Dr William Thompson, explores the Ghanaian cocoa value chain, the world’s second largest industry supplier. Threatened by drought and heatwaves that are increasing under climate change, the paper asks if certification can deliver for cocoa farmers.

The authors co-designed a climate resilience indicator framework with farmers & industry,  to assess the effectiveness of sustainability certifications for smallholder cocoa production in Ghana. Certified and non-certified systems were compared, namely: UTZ, Rainforest Alliance (RA) and Organic; chosen as they are prominent both globally as well as in Ghana.

Household surveys, biophysical on-farm measurements and satellite data from across two regions and five districts were integrated. This found that certification has a strong effect on adoption of basic farm management e.g. fertilization, but a weak influence on more complex resilience enhancing strategies such as agroforestry or income diversification. Beyond certification, the study identifies strong regional patterns in resilience.

Together these findings suggest that sustainability certification has some potential to enhance climate resilience but greater focus on facilitating diversification and adapting to sub-national contexts is required for improved effectiveness.

Read the full Journal of Land Use Science paper, Can sustainability certification enhance the climate resilience of smallholder farmers?

Making sure greenhouse gas removal works for people and the planet

As part of the CO2RE greenhouse gas removal hub, NbSI Postdoctoral Researcher Dr John Lynch has been contributing to an evaluation framework for different greenhouse gas (GHG) removal methods.

CO2RE conducts research, co-ordinates demonstration projects around the UK, connects to other relevant national and international programmes and commissions grants through a flexible fund.

The CO2RE evaluation framework is a tool to assess GHG removal projects. The framework uses a set of harmonised, science-based criteria to evaluate how much CO2 projects remove, for how long, and whether these projects are sustainable in the longer term. The sustainability indicators test for:

  • impacts or benefits for the natural environment
  • interactions with society
  • the viability and sustainability of business models
  • how the GHG removal project interacts with technical and legal systems.

Lynch’s work focuses on the carbon sequestration potential of different land-uses, and associated environmental and socioeconomic co-benefits or trade-offs. The evaluation framework will ensure that the full implications of deploying GHG removal methods – whether they might support ecological recovery or risk wider environmental impacts, for example – can be assessed alongside their climate change mitigation potential. The approach will be trialled with emerging carbon removal techniques, and will become increasingly important as we consider whether they can be sustainably scaled up to meet our climate targets.

Read more on the CO2RE evaluation framework webpage.

Net Zero Pathways for Brazil

A recent Oxford Net Zero webinar ‘Net Zero Pathways for Brazil’ discussed how nature-based solutions are critical for putting Brazil on track towards its net zero pledge based on the research led by NbSI and Oxford Net Zero Research Fellow Aline Soterroni.

The discussion panel included the Brazilian experts Izabella Teixeira, the Former Minister for the Environment in Brazil, Roberto Schaeffer, Full Professor of Energy Economics in COPPE/UFRJ, and Tasso Azevedo, the General Coordinator of MapBiomas and SEEG. The session was chaired by Steve Smith, the Executive Director of Oxford Net Zero.

Brazil is the world’s 5th largest country by area, 10th biggest economy, hosts between 15-20% of the world’s biological diversity and is home to 60% of the Amazon rainforest. Brazil’s emissions mainly come from the AFOLU sector (Agriculture, Forestry, and Other Land Use), resulting in trade-offs and synergies in climate mitigation efforts between net-zero policies and biodiversity conservation, including nature-based solutions. Deforestation across the entire Amazon basin is around 17%, and near 20% in the Brazilian Amazon. Deforestation and degradation combined with global climate change are pushing the Amazon towards a tipping point with consequences for the whole planet.

The analysis, conducted by researchers at the University of Oxford, the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) and the International Institute for Applied System Analysis (IIASA), combines two regional models for Brazil to assess the extent to which existing and planned local policies could put Brazil on the path to net-zero GHG emissions by mid-century.

Their findings highlight that protection (through avoiding deforestation) is the most important mitigation measure capable of promoting fast and significant emissions reductions in Brazil as well as providing multiple benefits for both human well-being and biodiversity. When compared to other measures, protection is ready to be implemented at relatively low cost. The implementation of the 2012 Brazil’s Forest Code, the country’s flagship legislation for tackling native vegetation loss and promoting large-scale restoration, could significantly decrease emissions in Brazil, especially in the near-term, but would not bridge the gap to its net zero pledge. If Brazil is to reach net-zero GHG emissions by 2050, some extent of costly negative emissions technologies from the energy sector (such as BECCS) will be unavoidable. However, relying too much on engineered solutions would jeopardise Brazil’s chances of achieving its net zero pledge. Soterroni also highlighted the mismatch between Brazil’s short- and long-term climate goals and the need to update the country’s NDC to a more ambitious one.

Tasso Azevedo argued it’s important to get a handle on deforestation not only to reduce emissions but also to improve adaptation capacity in Brazil. Since Brazil’s power sector is 90% based on renewable sources, Roberto Schaeffer highlighted the need for conservation since the energy sector would also be significantly affected by climate change. Izabella Teixeira, former minister of environment who led the COP21 Brazil delegation in Paris, and presided over the lowest Brazilian Amazon deforestation rate since such records began, stated there is a need to move “from greenwishing to green-doing, without greenwashing”.

The upcoming Brazil election on 2nd October could define the future of the Amazon given the current high deforestation levels. Soterroni’s research, which is going to be available in a forthcoming publication, underlines that there is no credible net-zero pathway in Brazil without nature-based solutions, especially protection.

On this topic, Soterroni’s research was also covered in a recent piece by Carbon Brief: Analysis: Bolsonaro election loss could cut Brazilian Amazon deforestation by 89%. An update of the Soterroni et al. 2018 study was used to estimate deforestation and associated emissions in the Brazilian Amazon under a scenario that tries to capture the current weak environmental governance versus a scenario that fully implements the 2012 Forest Code. Although both scenarios indicate possible futures for the Brazilian Amazon, Soterroni emphasises that models are simplifications of reality and there are also many uncertainties depending on future Brazilian policy. Regardless of the outcome of the election, the protection and restoration of degraded areas of the Amazon are urgent.

Watch the ‘Net Zero Pathways for Brazil’  webinar recording on the Oxford Net Zero Youtube page.

Nature based Insetting project pilot with TNFD

The Nature based Insetting team are piloting a project from the Nature based Insetting model with the Taskforce for Nature Related Financial Disclosure (TNFD).

Nature-based Insetting is a social venture spin-out of the Nature-based Solutions Initiative at the University of Oxford. The team of researchers work at the interface of science and practice to help companies understand their impacts on the biodiversity, climate, and society that underpin their natural capital assets.

NbI help set and implement robust evidence-based targets for mitigating and insetting those impacts through nature-based solutions (NbS). In this way, they enable companies to enhance the value and resilience of their supply chains, whilst meeting socially just nature-positive and net-zero pledges. NbI have developed an analytical framework supported by a quantitative model to support decision making on a landscape scale. The model aids in understanding the impacts, risks, dependencies, and opportunities from a commodity production at the landscape scale.

NbI are delighted to announce that they will be be piloting one of their projects with the multinational producer of health, hygiene and nutrition products Reckitt (Latex in Thailand) with the Taskforce for Nature Related Financial Disclosure (TNFD).

Net Zero Pathways for Brazil webinar

Join experts as they discuss net zero pathways for Brazil, a key player in the fight against climate change.

Register

Brazil is the world’s fifth largest country by area, tenth biggest economy and contains 60% of the Amazon rainforest. The South American country is a key player in the fight against climate change.

In this webinar from Oxford Net Zero, the panel will discuss net zero pathways for Brazil based on the research led by NbSI and Oxford Net Zero Research Fellow Aline Soterroni. By combining regional models and real policy scenarios for Brazil, Aline and her collaborators estimated emissions for all sectors of the Brazilian economy up to 2050. The findings highlight the mitigation potentials of different sectors and activities and identify the urgent actions needed for Brazil to achieve its net zero pledge. The current lack of ambition and the extent of the mismatch between short- and long-term targets of Brazil’s latest NDC will also be discussed.

On the panel will be:

  • Aline Soterroni, Research Fellow, Nature-based Solutions Initiative and Oxford Net Zero
  • Izabella Teixeira, Former Minister for the Environment, Brazil
  • Roberto Schaeffer, Full Professor of Energy Economics, COPPE/UFRJ
  • Tasso Azevedo, General Coordinator, MapBiomas and SEEG
  • Steve Smith (Chair), Executive Director, Oxford Net Zero

This event is hybrid. When you register, you can choose to attend in-person (at the Oxford Martin School, Oxford, UK) or online via YouTube.

NbSI visit to The Lye Valley nature reserve

In May, some of the NBSI team visited the Lye Valley in Headington, Oxford, an ancient verdant landscape. The visited was guided by Judy Webb, a member of the Friends of Lye Valley and an ecologist with a special interest in rare wetland plants, as well as flies and bees, who coordinates management and restoration work with local volunteers to preserve important habitats in Oxfordshire.

An Ancient and rare habitat in the middle of Oxford

The Lye Valley is fed by groundwater from a limestone formation, a remnant of coral reefs 160 million years ago. This generates lime-rich springs, naturally low in nutrients and high in calcium carbonate, which in turn supports a unique flora across1,5 hectares of alkaline spring fen. This fen represents a very rare habitat of which only 19 hectares remain in England and includes over 20 rare plant species in Oxfordshire, 14 of which are on the England Red List. The fen is registered as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and forms a whole ecosystem with two other sites nearby, namely the Rock Edge – also a SSSI and a remnant of the limestone quarries with rocks about 150 millions years old – and the Warren Meadow.

NbSI members walking through the Lye Valley. Photo by Aline Soterroni

Uncontrolled development is a serious threat for the Fen

Maintaining such a rare habitat within the city is very challenging. First, the nearby development and built infrastructure pose a significant threat. Through the process of urbanization, the fen valley has been used as a storm drain, which is eroding the peatland. High water flows feeding into the central Lye Brook (from road run-off and other sources of effluents, including sewage) lead to erosion of fen peat and gouging out the channel in the centre of the valley, reducing the water table, and drying out the surrounding fen. Furthermore, the water itself is harmful to the fen, as it contains little calcium, and high concentrations of pollutants and organic matter.

Over time, grazers from Mammoths, wild horse, European elk aurochs and red deer, and subsequently by horses and cows of farmers kept the grass and reeds short, sustaining the fen habitat. This is no longer possible, given litter or broken glass that threaten the cattle’s health, and restrictions in bringing grazers within a small urban space. In addition, visitors, particularly during COVID-19 lockdown measures, trample on delicate habitat, or start bonfires, which destroys patches of the wetland.

NbSI members walking looking down at the vegetation of the Lye Valley. Photo by Aline Soterroni

Saving the Fen and its Nature-based Solutions

The fen is not only a rare habitat, but also an ecosystem with a plurality of benefits for species and humans. Importantly, there’s about 1.5 to 2 meters of peat in this fen and a recent study estimated that the fen habitat in just the SSSI north section contains 284 tons of carbon (Darcey Hadlar, 2021). To sustain these services however, the fen needs to stay wet, not only for the plants’ health, but also for storing the carbon in the long run. This is because, dry peat oxidizes and releases carbon. Climate change is further impacting this by changing precipitation regimes (drier in the summer, wetter in the winter) and by so the likelihood of the fen drying in the summer.

Various actions are currently are currently taken to try to save the fen, funded by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) in the ‘Wild Oxford’ project (2014-2019). Subsequently restoration has been carried on by the volunteers of the Friends of Lye Valley group in combination with Oxford City council Countryside Service. Woven hazel/willow barriers now keep people from the most sensitive sections, and leaky dams have been built to control the storm water flow coming into the fen from built infrastructure. These human-made dams mimic beaver dams. The hope is that slowing water flows, the water table will raise in the brook, ensuring the cleaner, high calcium content water flowing from the sides of the fen will re-wet the dried peat areas of fen next to the brook channel. The volunteers are also raking and cutting the reeds and the grass to replace the grazing action which used to maintain the habitat.

All those actions are essential to sustaining the fen and the services it provides for biodiversity, carbon storage and local climate, as well as providing opportunities for recreation and education. As shown by here for the Lye Valley Fen, effective Nature-based Solutions rely on a precious interplay between people and nature.

References :

Lye Valley Website.

Darcey Hadlar (2021) Estimating the Carbon Stock in the Lye Valley’s peat fen, Final dissertation for the degree of Master of Conservation Ecology, Oxford Brookes University.

The potential of NbS to meet net-zero webinar

Harnessing the potential of nature-based solutions to meet net-zero and support a flourishing nature-positive economy.

This webinar will provide an overview of the role of nature-based solutions in helping nations and companies to meet their net-zero and nature-positive pledges, without compromising efforts to slow warming by keeping fossil fuels in the ground.

We will discuss what good looks like when it comes to implementing, financing and governing nature-based solutions and how best to ensure nature-based approaches harmonise with other critical climate solutions.

‘We have built our economies as if nature has no value; climate change and pandemics are showing us this not sustainable and that it is now time to repay our vast debt to nature.’ Professor Nathalie Seddon

In this webinar we will hear from leading practitioners at the intersection of research and the real world, developing ecologically and socially robust solutions for companies and informing global and local policies. The webinar will also introduce a new course launching at the end of September 2022.

Register for the event

NbS Conference 2022 – Day three summary

Thursday 7th July was the third and final day of the Nature based Solutions Conference 2022. As with day 2, there were parallel sessions in the afternoon across both the Natural History Museum and Oxford Martin School, with a diverse range of speakers and audience members in-person and online.

The first two sessions focussed on the economics of NbS. In the opening plenary it was argued that the underpricing and underfunding of nature are significant failures of our economic and political systems. The proposed solution was phasing out environmentally harmful subsidies, estimated at around US$1.8 trillion per year; taxing activities that degrade the environment; and using the savings made and revenues generated to conserve and restore ecosystems. This could help bridge the significant funding shortfall – up to US$890 billion per year– required to implement NbS to overcome our environmental challenge. There is a long way to go, however, and it was noted that private financing of nature conservation and restoration is only at $6 billion per year.

Session 7 further explored some of these themes, and suggested the need for a new economic paradigm that looks beyond just GDP, uses more dynamic means of economic modelling and analysis, and takes an inclusive perspective, recognising value systems and behaviours cannot be entirely captured through monetary valuation. A number of interesting case-studies from South Africa, India, and Peru were then presented, highlighting, for example, how NbS can resolve environmental challenges extremely cost-effectively, and could play an invaluable role in economic recovery post-pandemic.

The first of the day’s parallel sessions, 8A, discussed the role of NbS in ensuring sustainable, resilient provision of food and water. Many cases were highlighted where NbS can be positive for food production and water security, but the need to consider wider trade-offs was also emphasized. Detailed, spatially and temporally explicit analysis is required as we implement NbS anticipate and reduce any trade-offs, and ensure there are net benefits. The challenge is stark: it was observed up to a million species are at risk of extinction in Africa alone, and the ecosystem degradation resulting from this biodiversity loss already shows negative consequences for carbon sequestration and hydrological functioning. This scale also means there are enormous opportunities, however, with one speaker noting that around 40% of South America is used for beef production, and often in degraded, low productivity pastures, where implementing NbS could help recover ecosystems and facilitate regenerative agriculture, with significant benefits for nature and food provision.

Over in the Oxford Martin School, session 8B on scaling up NbS in the UK explored the national context, discussing the role of the UK government, and highlighting a number of local case-studies. While a number of projects already demonstrate the valuable role NbS can play in the UK, there are challenges in transferring this knowledge and helping implement best practice elsewhere. A number of speakers also expressed frustration with the lack of policy coherence, making it hard to integrate NbS in broader plans despite significant enthusiasm. Similar uncertainties raise concerns in relation to private finance for NbS too, with farmers and land-owners interested in carbon and biodiversity credits, but cautious over the lack of clear or robust standards in offset markets.

NbSI's Cécile Girardin chairing Business, Biodiversity and NbS
NbSI’s Cécile Girardin chairing Business, Biodiversity and NbS

Session 9A continued further on the theme of business, biodiversity and NbS. The speakers indicated that carbon markets could, in principle, drive investment to ensure sustainable NbS that provide the greatest social benefit, but at present there is a lack of transparency and integration across supply chains. Concerns were raised over whether companies were primarily interested in NbS for ‘greenwashing’ – investing for marketing purposes rather than ensuring they do actually provide significant benefits for people and nature – but recognised that there are businesses making genuine efforts to reduce their environmental impacts. There was a consensus that developing robust, transparent indicators and monitoring programs will help overcome this problem, but it was also argued that we should not wait for the perfect metrics to be developed and delay implementation of NbS.

In session 9B, on mainstreaming NbS for urban sustainability, the importance of cities was made clear: half of the world’s population already live in urban environments, and the concentration of population and economic assets in these areas mean that natural disasters are particularly damaging in cities, but NbS could provide important options for mitigation and enhancing resilience. Meanwhile, it is increasingly demonstrated that access to nature is vital for health, well-being, and poverty reduction, hence deploying urban NbS can offer a range of benefits. Community co-design and co-management was highlighted as key to ensure long-term success of NbS, but it was noted that there is often a lack of long-term monitoring and maintenance.

Finally, Prof Seddon wrapped-up the conference, drawing out overall themes that had emerged from the conference. She noted the incredible enthusiasm for NbS evident across a range of sectors, and how it is already clear that deploying NbS could help address a number of critical challenges. Moving forward, priorities for the NbS include continuing to build the scientific evidence base and identify best practices, particularly in how to build collaborate approaches reflecting the knowledge and worldviews of indigenous peoples and local communities. All that was left was to thank those who had made the conference such a success: the organisers, the tech support, and the Natural History Museum and Oxford Martin School teams who hosted the in-person sessions. And of course the speakers, for providing an excellent range of talks and discussions, and the delegates for proving such an insightful and engaged audience.

NbS Conference 2022 – Day two summary

Today marked the second day of the Nature-based Solutions in Oxford, with parallel sessions running in the afternoon in the Oxford Martin School, and the Natural History Museum. We heard from a range of speakers across a range of different contexts across continents, both in-person, and online, including Indigenous and local community representatives. The focus was on the critical role of Indigenous Peoples and communities in delivering NbS and the importance of inclusive governance. Next we reflected on how NbS can ensure positive outcomes for people and nature, and climate. We discussed what obstacles can hinder this by drawing on cases where NbS did not deliver on these outcomes. And finally how to ensure that finance flows to where it matters, for people and nature.

NbSI team outside the Natural History Museum
The day starts with a team photo

Session 4 highlighted concerns around the influence of western value systems and world-views on how nature-based solutions are conceptualized and operationalized, particularly around the overarching dominance in narratives of market-based mechanisms. Although safeguards for people and nature are critical, there was a concern on the extent to which safeguards actually materialize on the ground. Critically important is the need to ensure that NbS are designed and operationalized through rights based approach, and in a way that respects a plurality of world views, beyond a narrow economic valuation lens. To that end technical and financial resources are crucial to ensure that participatory approaches which focus on equity, and harnessing a plurality of knowledges (in relation to what is needed, what to value, what to measure) materialize on the ground.

Session 5a highlighted that although there are significant potential synergies (e.g. biodiversity & climate mitigation), there is a need to recognize and manage potential for trade-offs between biodiversity, climate, and social outcomes. This requires requires a landscape approach, through holistic planning and proactive measures. Advances in monitoring impacts on biodiversity from NbS (eDNA) are rapidly emerging. Measures of ecosystem health should incorporate broad taxonomic coverage, and must incorporate IPLC knowledge to empower local communities in monitoring, and evaluating NbS outcomes.

But delivering effective NbS means governing NbS right, as explored in session 5b. That requires accounting for the various dimensions of equity: recognitional, distributional, procedural. Getting equity right requires first recognizing the importance of, and recognizing the presence of multiple values of nature. Second, it requires equitable decision-making processes where such decision-making processes are themselves designed through participatory approaches. And third, equity needs to be considered across all NbS stages (design, implementation, as well as monitoring and evaluation) It is also

Session 6a emphasized the critical need to address root causes of land and biodiversity degradation, NbS is no one silver bullet. The structural drivers of degradation are deeply complex and political. There are also important risks to NbS effectiveness due to climate change impacts in the future. This highlighted the necessity that when it comes to offsets, it is critical to apply the mitigation hierarchy – the science is clear that NbS are no substitute to decarbonization (nbsguidelines.info). Importantly, businesses, including those dependent on agricultural commodity supply chains, should implement an insetting strategy – this means ‘investing in activities that provide measurable reductions in climate impact, supporting biodiversity, and generating benefits for local communities along the supply chain’.

Finally session 6b discussed the fact that much more finance is needed to address the biodiversity funding gap (~600-800 billion US$/year; although some estimates place it at 1 trillion US$/year). Work is underway to explore the extent of risk this poses to the financial sector. Two key barriers currently are 1) the lack of investor risk appetite to invest in NbS, and 2) the lack of regulation and policy, which are critical to shore-up private sector confidence in NbS investment. In the short term, blended modes of finance (public-private) can help catalyze private sector investments towards NbS. Jurisdictional approaches to REDD+ may hold potential to generate creating carbon credits at scale, verifying them, while ensuring social safeguards. It is also crucial to ensure that finance from MDBs works in synergy with private sector investments, rather than in competition. Payments for ecosystem services should be applied more broadly, beyond carbon, to generate high value, resilient NbS, while ensuring equitable distribution to local communities. This requires ensuring IPLC have the agency to manage and access funds. Lastly, much work needs to be done to deliberate on what ‘good’ looks like, both in terms of outcomes, as well as the process of NbS implementation and financing.

NbS Conference 2022 – Day one summary

On Tuesday 5th July 2022, the highly anticipated and long awaited Nature-based Solutions Conference 2022 kicked off with 962 international delegates across science, policy, practice, and business gathering online and at the Oxford Museum of Natural History, to discuss how to ensure that Nature-based Solutions (NbS) support thriving human societies and ecosystems. Several key themes emerged during the first day which are summarised here.

As interest in NbS continues to grow at multiple levels, there is consensus that NbS is ready for and will be useful at the multi-lateral policy level but key tensions still exist, including those around integrating climate and biodiversity finance. The speakers highlighted complementarity between the concepts of NbS, Ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) and Ecosystem Approaches. A cross-cutting issue between the talks that arose was that there are potential trade-offs in NbS outcomes that need to be identified and considered. Beyond this, creating durable credibility of the NbS concept will require consideration of competing narratives based on power dynamics. There were concerns presented over slippage through ineffective solutions, biased prioritisation of specific solutions by powerful actors and the potential to drive human rights violations. Ways to resolve these challenges were also proposed, including increasing focus on facilitating the formalisation of rights to resources and land tenure. Additionally, NbS have the potential to deliver transformative change when operationalized effectively, diverse values are considered and enabling conditions are created. This will require inclusive governance and the equitable design, implementation and sharing of costs and benefits.

Posters from the conference inside the NHM
Posters from the conference inside the Natural History Museum, Oxford

In the final session of the day, we heard that NbS have a real but limited potential to contribute to net-zero by 2050, with this potential varying significantly by country. We heard from the case of Brazil, where deforestation is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions. Here we heard that implementing the forest code alone would not achieve net-zero by 2050, and that further private sector commitment is needed. More broadly, companies are cautious about setting net-zero targets and many are relying on offsets to achieve these. In addition, insetting has potential to achieve climate mitigation goals, but remains ill-defined; and long-lived storage requires strong governance, long-term finance and engagement with local communities. Finally, we heard that ensuring robust monitoring, reporting and verification are key technical challenges for land-use based carbon-removals.

We’d like to thank all our expert speakers, online and in-person delegates for an enriching and insightful first day of NbS Conference 2022. We look forward to the learnings of Days 2 and 3.

Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery launches

The Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery (LCNR) was launched with an event at the Oxford Botanic Garden on 9 May.

The LCNR is being established at the University of Oxford in 2022 for an initial period of ten years. The purpose of the Centre is to draw on and consolidate the world-leading expertise of the University and its partners to address the challenge of delivering effective and socially inclusive nature recovery at scale, in order to support goals of reversing national and global biodiversity decline by the end of this decade. The Centre will be a hub for innovative thinking, discussion & analysis for nature recovery, uniting researchers from multiple disciplines to collaborate to tackle the challenge of halting & reversing the loss of biodiversity.

NbSI will be leading work on nature-based solutions (NbS) within the centre, including determining how to scale up NbS and nature recovery in the UK in a way that helps to address climate change, while also supporting biodiversity and local communities. Research will be grounded in case study landscapes in the UK (starting with Oxfordshire and the Scottish Highlands but expanding to other landscapes) and the Global South.

The Centre is led by Director Professor Yadvinder Malhi, and NbSI Director Professor Nathalie Seddon is one of the Centre Co-Directors, alongside Professor Michael Obersteiner and Dr Ben Caldecott. It is supported by a £10 million grant from the Leverhulme Trust, and additional co-funding from the University of Oxford.

Learn more about the Centre on the LCNR webpage.

NbSI Joins the Circular Bioeconomy Alliance

NbSI has joined the Circular Bioeconomy Alliance (CBA), becoming part of a global movement powered by nature and people.

The CBA was established by His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales in 2020, and is facilitated by a Secretariat hosted by the European Forest Institute. It includes large and small intergovernmental organizations, companies, investors, research organizations and NGOs, who provide expertise and implement projects in areas related to the circular bioeconomy.

A circular bioeconomy offers a conceptual framework for using renewable natural capital to holistically transform and manage our land, food, health and industrial systems as well as our cities.

The Alliance works to connect investors, companies, governmental and non-governmental organizations and local communities to advance the circular bioeconomy on the ground, while restoring biodiversity globally. Current activities include forest landscape restoration and agroforestry projects in Africa, Europe, South America and Asia. Its global network of Living Labs for Nature, People and Planet catalyze action on the ground and demonstrate how harmony can be achieved by empowering nature and people.

Alongside NbSI, 6 other new members have joined: COICA (Coordinator of the Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin), Green Sahara Farms, Trees for Kenya, Impulso Verde Kuaspue Foundation, Rioterra, and Yagasu.

Read more about the Alliance on the CBA website and in the announcement of the new CBA members.

Professor Nathalie Seddon appointed to CCC’s Adaptation Committee

NbSI Director Professor Nathalie Seddon has been appointed to the Climate Change Committee’s (CCC) Adaptation Committee, by the UK Government and Governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The Adaptation Committee (AC) consists of experts in climate change impacts, science, environmental economics, conservation, public health and business. They provide independent advice to the UK and devolved governments and parliaments on preparing for and adapting to climate change.

Prof Seddon will take up the role on 1 May 2022 for a three-year term, leading the Adaptation Committee’s work on the role of the natural environment and agriculture.

“It is a great honour and privilege to be taking up the role of Natural Environment Lead on the Adaptation Committee, a position once held by the late Dame Georgina Mace. An inspiring colleague and mentor, Georgina was the leading light on the fundamental importance of biodiversity for human wellbeing. I want to ensure that we build on her great work and realise her vision, with a focus on how best to scale up nature-based solutions to address climate change and biodiversity loss in the UK.

I am looking forward to working alongside brilliant colleagues to ensure that the best evidence informs and enables a just transition from where we are now (living in an increasingly climate-vulnerable country with badly degraded natural habitats), to where we need to be (living as part of resilient, biodiverse and flourishing landscapes). The UK has an opportunity and an obligation to make this transition, not only for our own benefit but to inspire other nations to do the same.”
– Professor Nathalie Seddon

Read more about the appointment in the CCC announcement and at GOV.UK.

Revised climate pledges show enhanced ambition for nature-based solutions

A total of 122 new NDCs were submitted last year, representing 148 signatories to the Paris Agreement. Our analysis of these new NDCs reveal enhanced ambition for nature-based solutions to climate change, with 84% of revised NDCs including the protection or restoration of ecosystems, or agroforestry, in their mitigation and/or adaptation plans, up from 78% in the first round. Furthermore, while the first round of NDCs did not include the term “nature-based solutions”, 41% of the new NDCs, representing 50 countries, did so. However, it is essential that an increase in ambition for NbS does not come at the cost of efforts to ensure fossil fuels are kept in the ground.

We have updated our Policy Platform with the new data and key findings from our systematic analysis of the second round of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), the national climate plans and pledges for climate mitigation and adaptation that signatories of the Paris Agreement are required to submit to the UNFCCC. Nature-based Solutions (NbS) continue to increase in prominence in national climate policy, featuring in the majority of the newly submitted NDCs, and being favoured over engineered actions.

The Paris Agreement has 197 Parties, of which 195 submitted a first NDC in 2016 (Libya and Nicaragua did not), including one NDC submitted for the European Union on behalf of all member states. This meant a total of 168 NDCs were available for our first round of analysis (167 from Parties plus one from Taiwan). Parties were subsequently asked to submit an updated version of their NDCs by the end of 2020 and, as of December 2021, there were 122 revised NDCs available for our second round of analysis, including a single submission from the EU and a separate, additional NDC from France. The content of NDCs show high-level national intent and are critical policy documents where progress towards targets set out in the NDCs must be reported on and monitored.

The Glasgow Climate Pact, signed by almost 200 nations at COP26, highlights the importance of nature-based solutions for addressing climate change in all but name, recognizing “the interlinked global crises of climate change and biodiversity loss, and the critical role of protecting, conserving and restoring nature and ecosystems in delivering benefits for climate adaptation and mitigation, while ensuring social and environmental safeguards.”

To build on our previous analysis on the extent to which the first round of NDCs included NbS and how, the new NDCs were analyzed, and the results compared to the first round of submissions in 2016.

We found that a total of 102 nations – or 84% of all updated NDCs – commit to restoring or protecting ecosystems or implementing nature-based agriculture such as agroforestry. Of these, 96 include NbS in their adaptation plans, 45 in both adaptation and mitigation components, 3 in just their mitigation plans and 3 elsewhere in the NDC. This is an increase from 78% of the first round NDCs. Moreover, 41% of all revised NDCs (50 countries) explicitly used the term ‘Nature-based Solutions’, and an additional two mentioned ‘nature-based’ actions or interventions. No country in the first round of NDCs used the term. The use of the term is particularly welcomed, as NbS are clearly defined, with a Global Standard and clear guidelines on their integrity.

Protecting biodiversity is among the top four reasons given for adaptation planning in the NDCs. The top reasons given for adaptation planning are to increase resilience to climate change (highlighted in 90% of the revised 110 NDCs which address adaptation), followed by the need for water security and protection against extreme events (both 84%) and to protect biodiversity and/or ecosystems from climate change (83%). Meanwhile, sustainable development (81%) and food security (79%) are also highly mentioned reasons.

Of the nations with revised NDCs that refer to NbS in their adaptation components, half (50%) refer to the protection or restoration of three or more types of ecosystem. The ecosystems most commonly referred to in the adaptation components of the updated NDCs were terrestrial forests and woodland habitats (mentioned by 81% of NDCs addressing adaptation), as well as coastal and marine habitats (57%), while references to grasslands or rangelands (26%) or montane habitats (11%) were less common. This continued bias shows that more efforts must be made in elevating the importance of other ecosystems asides from forests.

The world’s poorest nations include NbS the most in the adaptation components of their NDCs. Specifically, NbS are referred to in all of the 17 nations classified as ‘low income’ by the World Bank, and all but four of the 40 nations classified as ‘lower-middle income’.

As was the case with the first round of NDCs, NbS appear more regularly than engineered interventions, both in general and across all income groups. Engineered actions are included in 69% of the 110 NDCs that address adaptation. Engineered actions are explicitly included in the adaptation aspect of 76 NDCs, of which all but two (Montenegro and Oman) refer to Nature-based Solutions and/or hybrid measures. 93% of nations that address adaptation refer to hybrid actions, combining NbS and engineered approaches. The most popular of these are resilient water infrastructure and management (67%) and climate-smart agriculture (CSA) (63%). Hybrid approaches were particularly prevalent in lower-income nations. All of the NDCs that address adaptation from low-income nations included at least one type of hybrid action, 97% of those from lower-middle-income countries did the same.

However, the mere mention of NbS does not guarantee successful implementation of NbS – for plans to be credible they must include actions and measurable targets. Fortunately, of those 77 nations that articulated a broadly ‘nature-based’ vision for adaptation in their NDCs, most nations (86%) go on to propose a range of actions to achieve their vision. Nevertheless, a small number of nations (10) have nature-based visions but no associated tangible actions.

Lastly, of the 71 NDCs that include nature-based adaptation actions, 41 provide measurable (i.e., time-bound and quantitative) targets. This is an increase from 30 in the first round of NDCs. Measurable targets generally involve the protection or restoration of specific areas of habitat within given timeframes. For example, Belize states that it will “strengthen resilience of local coastal communities and enhance the ecosystem services provided by mangroves through the restoration of at least 2,000 hectares of mangroves including within local communities by 2025, with an additional 2,000 hectares by 2030”. Other NDCs have targets that are more difficult to measure. For example, Cabo Verde aims to “design and develop its ocean-based economy in a low-carbon way […by] enhancing nature-based solutions (NbS), conserving and restoring natural habitats by 2030”.

In addition to including measurable targets, best-practice for integration of NbS into NDCs involves specific actions and the acknowledgement of biodiversity, native species and local people. For example, in its NDC Chile states that it is committed to the expansion of nature-based solutions and inclusion of indigenous and local knowledge in biodiversity restoration projects. Moreover, Chile commits to the sustainable management and recovery of 200,000 hectares of native forests by 2030, with at least 100,000 hectares compromising permanent forest cover and at least 70,000 hectares of native species. Chile’s NDC submission also demonstrates the country’s recognition that the incorporation of cultural, social and natural diversity in decision making is essential to building a resilient country. Incorporation and integration of NDC targets into other national planning and policy documents is also key. For instance, Moldova is committed to incorporating nature-based solutions into adaptation planning and policy development, with a focus on biodiversity conservation, management of ecosystem services and disaster risk reduction and the country’s nature-based vision is evidenced by its 2014-2023 Environmental Strategy.

As nature-based solutions are being increasingly referred to in policy documents for climate mitigation and adaptation, it is crucial that the definition of NbS remains clear, particularly that such solutions must support biodiversity and be implemented with local communities and indigenous peoples, enhancing human well-being. Nations must be held accountable to the pledges made in these policy documents and their plans to scale up NbS. Our Policy Platform is aimed at facilitating the global stocktake of the Paris Agreement and providing a baseline against which changes in ambition for NbS to climate change adaptation, in particular, can be monitored and increased.

Visit the Nature-based Solutions Policy Platform to explore more of our key findings and results of our latest analysis and discover how nature-based solutions are featured in your country’s NDC.

For recommendations on how to further enhance ambition for Nature-based Solutions in the NDCs, read our NbS guidelines.

We thank Rosanna Basset and Darinka Szigecsan for all their hard work in analysing the new NDCs. Rosanna recently graduated from The University of Exeter with a Bachelor’s degree in Mandarin and Spanish. Since then, she has investigated the climate crisis with a particular interest in China; its role, approaches, and potential to expand its implementation of NbS. Darinka is an undergraduate student at the University of Cambridge, reading Natural Sciences. She specialises in ecology and ecological politics, exploring how knowledge about the natural world can be translated into practical solutions used to mitigate the climate crisis.

New £10m Agile Initiative announced, led by NbSI Director

A new Oxford University research programme, The Agile Initiative, has been established to provide rapid solutions to critical environmental issues. Based at the Oxford Martin School with £10 million of funding from the Natural Environment Research Council and led by NbSI Director Professor Nathalie Seddon, it will deliver high-impact interdisciplinary research and contribute urgently-needed answers to inform environmental policy.

Fast-paced research ‘Sprints’ will respond to specific questions identified in partnership with policymakers and key stakeholders across the UK. With each Sprint being undertaken within 12 months, the evidence can be fed into the policy cycle in real-time. The themes of the first set of five Sprints include how best to scale up nature-based solutions (NbS) to address climate change in the UK; store CO2 beneath our coastal seas; and transition to the use of non-fossil fuels for international shipping.

Sprint Three in particular will be the focus for the Nature-based Solutions Initiative; to develop realistic landscape-scale assessments of the implementation potentials of NbS that maximise potential synergies between goals, manage trade-offs, and are biophysically and socially feasible, equitable and economically viable. To meet this challenge, we will advance the science of NbS and use new geospatial methods to develop a comprehensive approach to guide where, how and when NbS can be deployed. We will work closely with our partners and local stakeholders and build on their efforts at a range of sites where NbS are being implemented and evaluated. Project sites encompass a wide range of ecological and socio-economic contexts across the UK; different geographies habitats, types of intervention, and forms of governance.

The research for Sprint 3 will be delivered across four interlinked work packages; a critical review of what local stakeholders feel is needed to overcome current obstacles to implementing or scaling-up NbS; developing local landscape maps at project sites that use the latest remote sensing data; working with local stakeholders to test the refine our maps and tools to support the development of a process-based governance framework; and synthesising findings across project sites to co-develop pathways for scaling up these NbS opportunities.

The Sprint’s deliverables will include a toolbox for reliably projecting feasible land use development options at the local level in order to scale up implementation of sustainable NbS in the UK, co-developed to ensure relevance to key decision-makers involved in local industrial strategies, the ELMs scheme, Nature Recovery Strategies, national net-zero, adaptation and biodiversity targets as well as the “levelling up” agenda given the potential of NbS to support job creation and to bring land into community ownership. The pathways will aim to deliver the UK’s international commitments under UNFCCC and CBD as a baseline and build on that towards more ambitious scenarios through to 2030, 2050 and 2100. Throughout the Sprint NbSI will be working with partners including Natural England, the Environment Agency, National Farmers’ Union, Kew Gardens, The RSPB, WWF, UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, The Trust for Oxfordshire’s Environment, and local stakeholders at a range of UK sites.

Guided by an Independent Advisory Group and an Executive Board under Pro-Vice Chancellor Professor Patrick Grant, the Agile Initiative will bring together leading researchers from across the University working with close partners in government, policy, NGOs and business. NbSI Director Professor Seddon says of the Initiative: ‘The mission of Agile is to tackle global challenges by rapidly delivering solutions-oriented environmental science. By catalysing a shift in the research and research-funding culture, Agile will build long-term capacity to deliver high quality research to decision makers.’

Learn more on the Agile Initiative webpage, in the Oxford University announcement, and an expert opinion piece by Professor Nathalie Seddon.

NbSI joins new expert panel on Future of ecological research in the UK

The British Ecological Society (BES) have launched a new project to set out the priorities for the future of ecological research in the UK. The project will identify the grand challenges for ecology, built on ideas and insight from across the diverse ecological community.

The project’s aim is to develop a unified community vision of the grand challenges for ecology and how they can best be met. It will also provide funders with a clear understanding of future research needs. The evidence gathered will be used to halt losses in nature and its biodiversity, mitigate the effects of climate change, and provide numerous benefits to wellbeing and prosperity.

A panel of 9 experts, including NbSI Director Professor Nathalie Seddon, will guide the project, oversee consultation with the community and create the final report outlining the research priorities for ecological research in the UK.

Read more about the Future of ecological research in the UK on the BES website.