Ecosystem-based adaptation

Ecosystem-based adaptation
Name	Ecosystem-based adaptation

Ecosystem-based adaptation is an approach that uses biodiversity and ecosystem services to help communities adapt to the impacts of climate change. It integrates natural resource management with risk reduction, promoting resilience through measures such as habitat restoration, wetland conservation, and sustainable land management. Practitioners often coordinate across conservation, development, and disaster risk reduction sectors, engaging actors from multilateral institutions to local communities.

Definition and principles

Ecosystem-based adaptation is defined by organizations such as the United Nations Environment Programme, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Convention on Biological Diversity, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and World Bank as interventions that maintain or restore ecosystems to provide services that reduce climate risks. Core principles draw on precedents from the Ramsar Convention, IUCN World Conservation Congress, Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, Aichi Biodiversity Targets and Sustainable Development Goals to emphasize nature-based solutions, participatory governance, and rights-based approaches. Guiding tenets reference the science synthesized by IPCC Sixth Assessment Report, policy frameworks from the Green Climate Fund and Global Environment Facility, and technical standards developed by Food and Agriculture Organization and United Nations Development Programme.

Types and approaches

Approaches include coastal measures such as mangrove restoration and coral reef protection promoted in guidance by UNEP and NOAA, inland actions like watershed conservation and riparian buffers featured in World Resources Institute analyses, and urban green infrastructure strategies advanced by UN-Habitat and ICLEI. Species- and habitat-focused methods reference work on mangroves and seagrass by researchers affiliated with Smithsonian Institution and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, while landscape-scale approaches link to programs led by The Nature Conservancy, WWF International, and Wetlands International. Agroecological and silvopastoral designs cite studies from CGIAR centers such as CIMMYT and ICRISAT, and community-based initiatives align with case literature from Ford Foundation and Oxfam.

Implementation and planning

Planning processes draw on tools and protocols used by UNEP-WCMC, World Bank Group, Asian Development Bank, Inter-American Development Bank and European Commission climate services to map vulnerabilities, prioritize interventions, and secure finance. Implementation commonly involves partnerships between national agencies like Ministry of Environment (country), subnational authorities exemplified by City of New York and State of Kerala, civil society organizations including Conservation International and Friends of the Earth International, and Indigenous institutions such as Greenlandic Inuit organizations and Maori Trust Boards. Risk assessment methodologies are informed by models from IPCC, hazard mapping from European Space Agency and NASA, and socioeconomic analysis from UNDP and OECD.

Benefits and trade-offs

Co-benefits documented in evaluations by World Bank, WWF, IUCN and Nature Conservancy include enhanced biodiversity, carbon sequestration measured against Paris Agreement targets, improved water regulation noted by Ramsar Convention reports, and livelihood diversification discussed in United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization briefs. Trade-offs identified in policy reviews from IPCC and Global Commission on Adaptation involve potential conflicts over land tenure adjudicated in courts like the International Court of Justice and disputes considered by Human Rights Council mechanisms, opportunity costs noted by International Monetary Fund analysts, and limits assessed in studies from Stanford University and University of Oxford.

Policy, governance, and financing

Policy instruments have been advanced through multilateral agreements including the Paris Agreement, Convention on Biological Diversity, and Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, with financing channels via the Green Climate Fund, Global Environment Facility, Adaptation Fund and multilateral development banks such as World Bank and Asian Development Bank. Governance arrangements range from national strategies endorsed in cabinet-level decisions like those of Government of Costa Rica and Government of Bangladesh to subnational ordinances in municipalities such as City of Rotterdam and City of Cape Town. Private sector engagement appears in initiatives by corporations listed on indices like the Dow Jones Sustainability Index and philanthropic funding from entities such as the Rockefeller Foundation and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Case studies and regional examples

Notable examples include mangrove restoration in Bangladesh and Philippines informed by studies from Dhaka University and University of the Philippines, coral reef management in Australia linked to Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority research, peatland rewetting in Indonesia reported by Wetlands International and UNEP, Andean watershed conservation in Peru coordinated with Peruvian Ministry of Environment and Conservation International, Sahelian rangeland restoration in Niger documented by UNCCD and FAO, and urban greenbelt projects in South Africa and Brazil supported by UN-Habitat and ICLEI. Each example features collaboration among academic institutions such as University of Cape Town, Australian National University, Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, and Bogor Agricultural University.

Monitoring, evaluation, and indicators

Monitoring frameworks draw on guidance from IPCC, Global Environment Facility, Green Climate Fund and standards like the Framework Convention on Climate Change reporting modalities, using indicators for ecosystem condition, service provision, and social outcomes. Metrics include biodiversity indices developed by IUCN and CBD, carbon accounting protocols aligned with Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change guidance, hydrological indicators applied by UNESCO and World Meteorological Organization, and socioeconomic measures used by UNDP and World Bank. Adaptive management cycles often reference evaluation approaches from OECD and monitoring platforms hosted by UNEP-WCMC and WRI.

Category:Climate change adaptation