Nature-based Solutions to Address Global Societal Challenges: Benefiting People and Nature

The global crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, and land degradation have been catching the attention of governments, communities, and organizations worldwide, underscoring the urgent need for integrated and scalable solutions. Nature-based Solutions (NbS) provide a transformative approach to addressing these challenges while delivering benefits for both people and nature. Defined as “actions to protect, manage, and restore natural or modified ecosystems, which address societal challenges, effectively and adaptively, providing human well-being and biodiversity benefits”. NbS have demonstrated their capacity to generate multi-dimensional impacts. For instance, mangroves avert USD 57 billion in annual flooding damages, NbS can provide one-third of the climate mitigation needed to meet the Paris Agreement goals, and the global benefits of ecosystem services from NbS focused on climate are estimated at USD 170 billion annually. These figures underscore the economic, ecological, and societal value of integrating NbS into sustainable development strategies.

IUCN has been at the forefront of advancing NbS for over two decades, developing the IUCN Global Standard for Nature-based Solutions to guide their design, implementation, and evaluation. This standard, comprising 8 criteria and 28 indicators, ensures that NbS are effective, equitable, and adaptable to diverse contexts. The potential of NbS to address global societal challenges—including climate change, biodiversity loss, and ecosystem degradation—will be explored, with a focus on how NbS can advance the objectives of the three Rio Conventions (UNFCCC, CBD, and UNCCD). These solutions also align with many international frameworks such as the Paris Agreement, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF), and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which also foster resilient and sustainable communities.