Nature-based solutions policy platform

IIED partners with Oxford University to launch an interactive online policy platform on nature-based solutions for climate change adaptation

News, 14 June 2018
The Nature-based Solutions Policy Platform provides information about climate change adaptation planning around the globe

The Nature-based Solutions Policy Platform provides information about climate change adaptation planning around the globe 

The Nature-based Solutions Policy Platform makes information about climate change adaptation planning across the globe openly available, easy and interesting to explore. It includes country by country details of who is doing what to incorporate nature-based solutions into their adaptation plans and is linked to an extensive database of scientific evidence for the effectiveness of such approaches. This initial version showcases adaptation plans in the climate pledges of all signatories of the Paris Agreement, and highlights the prominence of nature-based solutions to climate change hazards. The goal is to facilitate the global stocktake of the Paris Agreement and provide a baseline against which changes in ambition for nature-based solutions to climate change adaptation can be monitored and increased. 

The platform will be launched at the Adaptation Futures conference by Nathalie Seddon, IIED Associate and Professor of Biodiversity at Oxford University in a talk taking place on Thursday 21 June.

The Platform originated from analysis conducted through an International Climate Initiative (IKI) project led by IIED, IUCN and UNEP-WCMC exploring the effectiveness of ecosystem-based adaptation, and has been developed with funding from the Natural Environment Research Council and Oxford University. The IKI is supported by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) based on a decision of the German Bundestag.

The Nature-based solution initiative has also produced a new animation explaining the fundamental importance of nature-based solutions to the hazards and impacts of climate change. It is the first of a series of animations aimed at general audiences to communicate why protecting nature is very often our best line of defence against harmful environmental change.