Nature-based solutions for societies and biodiversity

Climate change and the erosion of biodiversity caused by human activities (increasing land artificialisation, greenhouse gas emissions, unsustainable agricultural and forestry practices, etc.) are disrupting the balance of ecosystems and the many services they provide to our societies. These global changes pose numerous challenges for human well-being and for our societies, such as the reduction of natural risks, diseases and epidemics, food security and water supply. These interconnected challenges vary from one region to another, and climate change can amplify their effects.

At present, the solutions proposed to meet these challenges are mainly based on conventional engineering (also known as "grey" solutions). Yet the links between climate and biodiversity are characterized by their interdependence and retroactivity. Healthy, resilient and functional ecosystems, whether on land, on the coast or in the sea, help to achieve most of the sustainable development goals adopted in 2015, in line with commitments made in international agreements such as the Paris Climate Agreement, and contribute to other societal challenges such as reducing natural risks.

Alongside these conventional solutions, there are "greener" solutions that can provide a relevant, economically viable and multi-benefit response, commonly referred to as "Nature-based Solutions". Nature-based Solutions are defined by IUCN as "actions to protect, sustainably manage and restore natural or modified ecosystems to directly address societal challenges in an efficient and adaptive manner, while ensuring human well-being and producing benefits for biodiversity" (WCC-2016-Res-069-EN). By virtue of their cross-cutting nature, Nature-based Solutions enable projects to be tailored to the societal challenges specific to each territory, while integrating the objective of net benefits for biodiversity right from the design stage. They can provide access to various sources of funding (climate, biodiversity, natural hazards, water management, etc.) and in different forms (calls for projects, research programs, etc.) within the same territory. They can also deliver other co-benefits, which may be economic (sustainable farming and fishing activities, ecotourism, reduced costs of natural disasters, etc.), social (partnerships between different organizations and players, involvement of the local population, improved health and well-being, etc.) or heritage-related (maintaining landscape quality, improving the living environment, maintaining and creating new sustainable economic activities, etc.).

Since the emergence of the concept in the 2010s, a great deal of research and development work has been carried out to demonstrate the role of ecosystems in combating global change. The mobilization of...