Nature-based solutions

 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.