This paper aims to inform the development of the Global Commission on Adaptation’s flagship report and action tracks by providing an evidence-based overview (drawn from peer-reviewed and gray literature and expert input) of the role of the natural environment in societal adaptation to climate change. It begins by exploring how nature underpins economies and society, highlighting sectors of interest to the Global Commission on Adaptation (GCA) (food security and rural livelihoods; cities; infrastructure; industry and supply chains) and the climate risks that affect them (Section 2). It then draws attention to the role environmental degradation plays in societal vulnerability to climate change (Section 3). In exploring solutions for these challenges, Section 4 focuses both on the importance of enhancing ecosystem resilience and on the potential of NbS for adaptation. It highlights concrete examples of applying NbS for adaptation to specific climate hazards relevant to GCA’s major sectors or systems. The paper also identifies barriers and enablers for the use of NbS for adaptation (Section 5), and recommends key areas for action (Section 6). Case examples (Boxes A1-A25) are used across the text to illustrate the use of NbS by sectors and can be found in Annex A at the end of the document.
Contributors:
Alexandre M. Chausson (Department of Zoology, University of Oxford), Ali Raza Rizvi (IUCN), Alison Campbell (UK Department for International Development), Arjet Stevens (WWF Netherlands), Arno Sckeyde (GIZ), Cristophe Briere (Deltares), Bregje K. van Wesenbeeck (Deltares), Feisal Rahman (International Centre for Climate Change and Development), Giacomo Fedele (Conservation International), Graham Wynne (WRI), Julie Greenwalt (Global Centre for Adaptation), Katherine Blackwood (IUCN), Lynn Scarlett (The Nature Conservancy), Mandy Barnett (South African National Biodiversity Institute), Marcia Toledo Sotillo (The Nature Conservancy), Michael Mullan (Global Centre for Adaptation), Naznin Nasir (ICCCAD/University of Durham), Nina Raasakka (UN Environment, Asia and the Pacific Office), Omar Vidal (WWF Mexico), Pieter van Eijk (Wetlands International), Revocatus Twinomuhangi (Makerere University Centre for Climate Change Research and Innovations, Uganda), Sander Carpaij (Wetlands International), Shaun Martin (WWF US), Susanna Tol (Wetlands International), Tefera Mengistu Woldie (Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Ethiopia), Will Simonson (UNEP-WCMC) and Yinlong XU (Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture (IEDA), Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences).
