Nature-Based Solutions to 21st Century Challenges
Nature Based Solutions (NBS) come in a variety of shapes and sizes and can be applied across marine and terrestrial environments to solve a variety of societal challenges including mitigating climate change and enhancing the liveability of cities.
In the 21st Century, society is faced with a variety of climatic and non-climatic challenges that can lead to abrupt, and in some cases, irreversible environmental change that adversely impacts human development. For instance, rapid population growth and urbanisation are resulting in ecosystem degradation from excessive water withdrawal, eutrophication, and pollution while climate change is increasing the frequency, intensity, and magnitude of disasters, leading to a higher number of fatalities and injuries as well as increased property and economic losses.
Rather than relying on conventional engineering solutions to address these challenges, there is growing recognition of the need to work with ecosystems to ensure liveability in cities, help communities cope with and recover from disasters, and adapt to and mitigate climate change, all the while protecting natural ecosystems and biodiversity.
Nature-based solutions (NBS) are inspired and supported by nature and use, or mimic natural processes and can be applied strategically and equitably to help societies address a variety of climatic and non-climatic challenges.
At the same time, NBS can bring about multiple economic, environmental, and social benefits, such as reduced infrastructure costs, job creation and green growth, and health and recreational opportunities.
NBS can be used to reduce risks from sudden events, for instance, coastal vegetation and natural features including dunes and mangroves can protect local communities from storm surges while healthy coral reefs can reduce wave energy during coastal storms. Furthermore, NBS can reduce secondary impacts such as landslides following earthquakes. NBS can also reduce risks from slow-onset events such as drought, for example, communities can mitigate droughts by releasing water from natural storage features such as lakes and aquifers for human and natural use.
NBS come in all shapes and sizes, two examples of which follow:
Climate Change Mitigation
In the context of climate change mitigation, NBS are referred to as ecosystem-based mitigation (EbM), which encompasses a diverse set of mitigation approaches including the sustainable management of forests, use of native assemblages of forest species in reforestation activities, conservation and restoration of peatlands and wetlands, protection of the ocean sink, improved grassland management, and environmentally-sound agricultural practices.
In addition to mitigating greenhouse gas emissions, EbM provides a range of co-benefits including reduced air pollution damages to health, increased labour productivity linked to reduced air pollution exposure, increased enjoyment of environmental amenities linked to reduced pollution emissions, increased ecosystem service provision by conserving and increasing forest cover, reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, reduced crop damage linked to ground-level ozone, increased agriculture productivity from conserving and building soil carbon, less coastal damage from lower sea-level rise, less heat-related mortality from fewer heatwaves, and less biodiversity loss because of slower climate change.
Mini-Case: UK’s Largest Seagrass Restoration Project
Sky Ocean Rescue, WWF, and Swansea University have launched the largest seagrass restoration project ever in the UK. The project involves planting seagrass seeds over two hectares in Dale Bay in Wales. Seagrass captures carbon from the atmosphere up to 35 times faster than tropical rainforests. The freshly planted seagrass is expected to trap up to half a tonne of carbon dioxide per hectare each year once fully established by ‘sponging’ carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. In addition to trapping carbon dioxide, the seagrass will act as a nursery for a variety of marine life, including endangered seahorses and sea snails. In total, by restoring two hectares, the seagrass will be able to support around 160,000 fish and 200 million invertebrates.
Enhancing Sustainable Urbanisation
In the urban context, NBS can be applied as green infrastructure (GI), which is a strategically planned network of natural and semi-natural areas that are designed and managed to deliver a wide range of environmental, economic, and social benefits. GI varies in the scale and scope and includes the levels of buildings, public spaces, water bodies and drainage systems, and green corridors. GI provides three main opportunities. First, GI supports economic development in urban areas, which is dependent on the amount and quality of natural resources available, including water for sanitation and manufacturing. Second, urban planning that incorporates GI has a positive environmental impact, such as mitigating emissions through increased carbon storage and increased resilience to floods, droughts, and heatwaves. Third, GI contributes to the social dimension of urbanisation, such as green space increasing people’s perceived happiness and general health.
Mini-Case: Waterwise Perth
Recognising the value of nature in reducing the urban heat island effect and creating liveable, green, and sustainable places, the Government of Western Australia has released the Waterwise Perth Action Plan which sets out the direction for transitioning Perth to a leading Waterwise city by 2030. To make this transition, the Waterwise Perth Action Plan calls for Perth to use water sustainably at home and in the garden, create liveable, green, and resilient communities, find more sustainable ways to maintain public open space, and develop Perth in harmony with its water resources. The Waterwise Perth Action Plan calls for an increase in green space in urban environments through a variety of initiatives, including the Waterwise Greening Scheme. This is a scheme where Waterwise Councils can receive funding to support a variety of Waterwise greening initiatives, all of which provide a variety of benefits including improving water quality, improving community health and well-being, increasing biodiversity, and cooling local communities. Waterwise Councils can apply for up to $10,000 of dollar for dollar funding per annum to fund GI initiatives such as Waterwise street green tree programmes, Waterwise garden competitions, Waterwise garden workshops, and demonstration Waterwise gardens including reclaimed public open space gardens.
Conclusion
NBS come in a variety of shapes and sizes and can be applied across marine and terrestrial environments to solve a variety of societal challenges including mitigating climate change and enhancing the liveability of cities.
This article first appeared on Green Growth Knowledge Platform and has been republished with author’s permission.
