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Project Seagrass – restoring seagrass as an NbS in the UK
Despite being the most overlooked marine habitat, seagrass meadows provide a number of important ecosystem services: they are nurseries for young fish that support about 20% of the world’s largest 25 fisheries, they sequester carbon about 35 times faster than tropical forests, they reduce coastal erosion, and are unique, biodiverse ecosystems. Of the UK’s 155 […] -
Floating agriculture in Bangladesh
During our NbS workshop in Bangladesh, we learnt about floating agriculture – a traditional practice that is going to scale in Bangladesh, allowing farmers to maintain or increase agricultural productivity and nutritional diversity in the face of increased monsoon season flooding. It involves weaving together plants, most commonly the invasive water hyacinth, to form floating […] -
Impacts of forests and forestation on hydrological services in the Andes: A systematic review
Bonnesoeur et al (2019) Forest Ecology and Management This paper is a synthesis of 155 studies on the effects of afforestation (tree-planting on naturally non-forested land) in the Andes on hydrology, erosion and landslide reduction. In contrast to public perception in the Andes, the review found that, overall, non-native tree plantations, and to a lesser […] -
Nature-based innovation systems
van der Jagt et al (2019) Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions To build a sustainable world, transformation across many sectors is required and technology is thought to play a major enabling role. This has prompted the development of the Technological Innovation System framework, which focuses on the relationship between the social and technological systems. In […] -
Oyster breakwater reefs promote adjacent mudflat stability and salt marsh growth in a monsoon dominated subtropical coast
Chowdhury et al (2019) Scientific Reports Three self-sustaining breakwater oyster reefs were established on an eroding mudflat on Kutubdia Island, Bangladesh. Over four seasons, it was found that the 0.6m-high reefs attenuated wave energy by 95-100% when water levels were up to around 0.5m, whilst wave energy was partially dissipated with water levels of 0.5-1.0m […] -
Recommendations for enhancing ambition for Nature-based Solutions
Researchers from the natural and social sciences and economists are encouraged to work together to ensure that current momentum for Nature-based Solutions (NbS) is informed by the best available evidence -
Guidelines for Agencies Revising Nationally Determined Contributions
A consideration for Nations revising their NDCs for 2020 -
PODCAST: COP25 – what just happened?
Nat Seddon featured in a ‘reaction’ episode from Futuremakers to discuss what was decided in Madrid, where hope lies and what needs to happen to make COP26 in Glasgow a success in 2020. Listen here. -
PODCAST: Nature or technology to address climate change?
In the latest Futuremakers podcast, Nat Seddon discusses the pros and cons of NbS vs. technology with Oxford colleagues Jim Hall and Helen Gavin. -
NbSI director on UK political debate
For the first time ever, UK political parties took part in a debate on climate change in the runup to the December 2019 general election. The Conservative Party did not attend, but the remaining major political parties presented positive views and policies with respect to climate change. Prof Nathalie Seddon was one of three scientific […] -
IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate
This latest IPCC report describes observed and projected impacts of climate change on our oceans, coastal zones, and cryosphere (polar and mountain ecosystems), and the human communities that rely on them. It reports widespread shrinking of ice sheets, glaciers, and reduction in snow cover, and the associated rise of global mean sea level. Such changes […] -
Climate Change and Land: An IPCC special report on climate change, desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security, and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems
This IPCC report highlights the importance of our lands as both a source and a sink for GHGs. It estimates that around 23% of total GHG emissions are derived from the way we currently use land (agriculture, forestry, and other uses), while natural land processes absorb 29% of total CO2 emissions. The report assesses how […] -
Core principles for successfully implementing and upscaling Nature-based Solutions
Cohen-Shacham et al (2019) Environmental Science and Policy As NbS gain traction in environment and climate policy it is vital that the term is used and applied consistently. With the goal of improving the operational framework for NbS, this paper compares IUCN’s preliminary “NbS Principles” to those of five other ecosystembased concepts (the Ecosystem Approach, […] -
Impacts of Land-Based Greenhouse Gas Removal Options on Ecosystem Services and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
Smith et al (2019) Ann Revs Ecol System This study compares the impacts of five different options for land-based Greenhouse Gas Removal (GGR) on ecosystem services and their contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It suggests universally positive effects of soil carbon sequestration and wetland restoration, whereas options such as bioenergy with carbon capture […] -
Mangroves shelter coastal economic activity from cyclones
Hochard et al (2019) Proc Natl Acad Sciences USA This study is the first to provide global evidence on the capacity of mangroves to buffer the economic activity of coastal communities during tropical storms. Drawing on data on nighttime luminosity across 2,000 tropical and sub-tropical communities from 23 countries, the study found that areas with […] -
NbSI Director at Scottish Biodiversity Conference
Nathalie talked about the fundamental importance of biodiversity for nature-based solutions at the Scottish Biodiversity Conference. Timely given growing investments in low diversity tree plantations in Scotland -
New York Declaration on Forests – Progress Report
Five years since the signing of the New York Declaration on Forests, progress in meeting targets is limited. Signatories committed to halving tropical deforestation and restoring 150 million hectares of degraded landscapes and forestlands by 2020. However, only 18% of the restoration goal has been achieved and in many parts of the world rates of […] -
Welcome two new team members
Welcome Isabel Key and Rosy Cousins. Issy is a natsci graduate and co-founder of Climate Science; Rosy recently completed a Masters thesis on trade-offs among the Sustainable Development Goals after working with IIED. -
NbS Roadmap in Bangladesh
Together with the International Centre for Climate Change and Development, we ran an NBS workshop in Dhaka for practitioners and policymakers. Bangladesh has long-been implementing NBS. We discussed how this knowledge can best inform development policy and practice regionally and across globe. -
Investments Now Will Save us in the Future – New Report from the Global Commission on Adaptation
A new report by the Global Commission on Adaptation launched in September, reveals that investing $1.8 trillion globally in five thematic areas from 2020 to 2030 could generate at least four times the return on investment (i.e. $7.1 trillion in total net benefits). The areas considered are early warning systems, climate-resilient infrastructure, improved dryland agriculture, […] -
UN Climate Action Summit and Climate Action Week 23-29 September 2019
Billed as the most important event for international climate action since Paris 2015, the UN Climate Summit on the 23 September aimed to boost ambition and accelerate action towards implementing the 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change. Nature-based Solutions were the focus of the Climate Summit’s Action Plan 6. This action area called for a […] -
Enhancing climate ambition through NbS
On the basis of an analysis of comparative assessments of nature’s prominence in NDCs to date, our new report with IUCN highlights what can be done to fully harness the potential of NbS in global climate action. National commitments to NbS are also available via our NBS Policy Platform. -
NBS Evidence Tool
During UN Climate Action week, we launched our interactive evidence platform linking nature-based interventions to adaptation outcomes. The platform will grow as studies are added. Please check it out and let us know what you think. -
Achieving net zero with green and grey solutions
NBSI director spoke with Carbon Brief at the Oxford Achieving Net Zero conference. She emphasised the need to balance Nature-based Solutions with tech to achieve net-zero, emphasising the vital importance of locally stewarded ecosystem restoration (and not afforestation!) -
Global recognition of Nature-based Solutions
Our new paper reveals global support for Nature-based Solutions to climate change but highlights the need for high-level pledges to be met by science-based targets that benefit both people and ecosystems. Non-technical summary Ecosystems across the globe are vulnerable to the effects of climate change, as are the communities that depend on them. However, ecosystems […]