One of the main objectives of nature-based solutions is
to address the challenges arising from hazard events such as
earthquakes, floods and landslides.
Such events can but do not always lead
to what are commonly referred to as disasters.
This is a term we tend to apply to hazard events which
impact people or their livelihoods and assets.
Thus, a hazard event like a landslide only becomes
a disaster when it strikes a village
and many people, overwhelming their coping capacities or
their houses and livestock are affected.
Hazard events often become disasters because of the decisions
taken by people.
Thus, the decision to build on a flood plain can expose a
community to a greater risk of flooding, just as a decision
To build in woodlands subject to drought can expose a community to a
greater risk of fires.
That hazard-disaster dynamic works at both
the micro and macro levels and often
at many levels at once.
For example, the COVID-19 pandemic can be seen as resulting
from globalization, an accumulation of decisions that are
given rise to a level of interconnectedness that favors
the spread of viruses.
Likewise, environmental degradation, encroachment into wild areas
and the decision to hunt and consume wild animals
are also factors.
Climate change related hazard events such as
tropical storms, flooding and droughts have become more
frequent during the past 30 years, many of them
leading to disasters.
While the number of people affected in such disasters has gone down,
the proportion of people killed in them has increased.
And these figures do not take into account
the COVID-19 pandemic.
The extent to which communities prepare for and can respond
to hazard events is a measure of their resilience.
To get a sense of what this means in reality, look at what
happened to two different countries in the Caribbean,
which were both hit by Hurricane Jeanne in 2012.
The hurricane struck the Dominican Republic first
and then moved on to Haiti.
The Dominican Republic suffered 18 casualties.
Haiti lost over 2000 people.
The natural hazard became a major disaster in Haiti
for a number of reasons.
One of them was the level of flooding and in particular,
major flash floods experienced on the island.
Years of land degradation has left the island without
the natural barriers that would have slowed the water down and
allowed it to percolate into the ground.
Another reason for the loss of lives was the number of
poor people living in flimsy houses in unplanned,
unregulated settlements that exposed them to the floods.
Among the many lessons provided by Hurricane Jeanne is that
the impact of disasters can be greatly reduced by
maintaining Nature's natural defences.
Another is that the conditions in which people live
determines the degree to which communities are
climate and disaster resilient.
In some cases, disasters occur because of deliberate
decisions to alter the environment.
This is true, for example, of a decision to remove sand dunes
that were blocking the view of the ocean at a hotel in Sri Lanka.
In 2004 the hotel was hit by the Indian Ocean Tsunami
And 27 people lost their lives.
A few miles up the coast, an eco-tourism center and ranger station
in Yala National Park were protected
by the sand dunes, which had been left in place.
Sri Lanka is one of the many countries
to have embraced nature-based solutions.
Initiatives include community-supported tree planting
on steep slopes to reduce the risk of landslides
and drawing on traditional knowledge of flood management
and water harvesting, such as conservation ponds
to reduce flooding.
Greece is also working with nature.
Notable initiatives include a blue-green infrastructure project
in Athens, which includes the creation
and restoration of parks and ponds.
The initiative was funded as part of a €55 million loan
from the European Investment Bank and boosted the city's
capacity to absorb storm water while also establishing
space that promotes physical and mental health.
Nature-based initiatives can be undertaken on
on a massive scale.
This is true, for example, the Great Green Wall of the Sahel,
which started out as a project to plant a line
of trees across the southern margin of the Sahara Desert to
prevent the advance and has grown into a massive initiative
led by the African Union, which is designed to establish a
patchwork of green and productive landscapes to address the
challenges faced by people living in the Sahel and the Sahara.
Community buy-in and participation is vital to the success
of nature-based solutions, which often include
a focus on establishing climate-smart, sustainable livelihoods.
In the example from Sri Lanka that
we just talked about, as well as planting trees,
youth groups were taught about honey making.
In Madagascar UNEP is helping coastal communities learn
about beekeeping, as well as how to farm climate-resilient crops
and cultivate sedge that is less dependent on rainfall
to make mats and handcrafts using rambo or grey sedge,
which is a drought-resistant aquatic plant.
Although inedible, rambo is more resilient than rice,
and its popularity as a weaving material makes it a valuable crop.
The project is providing rambo seeds to 300 community members,
along with training on how to cultivate
and maximize yields, thereby increasing incomes for
dozens of households.
Women play a vital role as stewards of natural resources
and drivers of positive change, so efforts should be made
to engage them and make sure their voices are heard.
We've covered a lot of ground here and hopefully have
planted some seeds of curiosity.
In the following units
we will be watering those seeds and shining some light on
the rapidly developing field of nature-based solutions,
offering inspiring examples, discussing the challenges
faced and the opportunities presented.
We're also hoping to inspire you to come up with
your own solutions, so please participate in challenge one.
Tell us why this topic is important to you.
Post your ideas in the discussion forum.
If you are ready to go deeper into this fascinating topic
and learn what you and your community can do
to get involved and make a difference,
move on to Unit 2.
