Resilient Lands and Waters

Resilient Lands and Waters
Name	Resilient Lands and Waters
Area	Global

Resilient Lands and Waters Resilient Lands and Waters describes integrated approaches to strengthen United Nations-endorsed landscapes and Ramsar Convention wetlands against shocks such as Hurricane Katrina, 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, 2010 Pakistan floods, and California wildfires. It synthesizes practices from Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Convention on Biological Diversity, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Global Environment Facility, and actors like World Bank, Asian Development Bank, United Nations Environment Programme, and United Nations Development Programme. The concept links priorities from Paris Agreement, Sustainable Development Goals, Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, and initiatives by WWF, Conservation International, The Nature Conservancy, and IUCN.

Overview and Definitions

Resilient Lands and Waters is defined through multi-scalar relationships among Amazon Rainforest, Great Barrier Reef, Sundarbans, Mississippi River Delta, and Congo Basin that integrate work by Inter-American Development Bank, African Development Bank, European Commission, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Scholarly treatments appear in journals associated with Nature Climate Change, Science, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Global Environmental Change, and reports from Stockholm Environment Institute and International Union for Conservation of Nature. Practitioners often reference standards from ISO 14001, Equator Principles, Green Climate Fund, and guidance from United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction.

Principles and Frameworks

Core principles draw on frameworks developed by Ecosystem-based Adaptation, Nature-based Solutions, Integrated Water Resources Management, Landscape Approach, and Payments for Ecosystem Services schemes tested by Costa Rica and Mexico. Governance models reference Local Government Association, World Resources Institute, The World Bank, and multilateral agreements like the Convention on Wetlands and Aichi Biodiversity Targets. Cross-sector collaborations include partnerships among Food and Agriculture Organization, International Union for Conservation of Nature, UNESCO, Ramsar Convention, and national agencies such as United States Department of Agriculture and Environment Agency (England).

Ecosystem-based Practices and Interventions

Interventions combine restoration examples from Loess Plateau, Mekong Delta, Sahel re-greening, Great Green Wall, and wetland rehabilitation in Everglades National Park with engineered solutions by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Dutch Delta Programme, Deltares, and Netherlands Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management. Practices integrate reforestation by UN-REDD Programme, mangrove restoration in Bangladesh, Philippines, and Vietnam, coral reef restoration near Galápagos Islands and Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System, and riparian buffer projects in Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. Private sector pilots by Microsoft, Google, Coca-Cola Company, and Unilever also fund watershed protection linked to supply chains.

Policy, Governance, and Financing

Financing mechanisms include instruments promoted by Green Climate Fund, Global Environment Facility, World Bank Group's Climate Investment Funds, European Investment Bank, and blended finance models with Rockefeller Foundation, Ford Foundation, and Bloomberg Philanthropies. Policy levers appear in national laws like Endangered Species Act, Clean Water Act, Environmental Protection Act (UK), and instruments from European Union directives, Asean regional cooperation, African Union strategies, and Bilateral Investment Treaties shaping infrastructure. Multi-level governance examples involve Community-Based Natural Resource Management, indigenous stewardship linked to UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and city-region planning by C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group and ICLEI.

Measurement, Monitoring, and Indicators

Measurement draws on indicators from Sustainable Development Goals targets, Aichi Biodiversity Targets, Ramsar Wise Use, and metrics developed by Global Biodiversity Information Facility, NASA, Copernicus Programme, European Space Agency, and Group on Earth Observations. Monitoring systems use tools from World Resources Institute's global maps, remote sensing by Landsat program, Sentinel satellites, citizen science platforms like eBird and iNaturalist, and biodiversity indices advanced by Living Planet Index and IUCN Red List. Evaluation frameworks reference OECD guidance, United Nations Evaluation Group, and performance metrics used by Global Environment Facility.

Case Studies and Regional Applications

Regional cases span integrated programs in Amazon Basin, restoration in the Loess Plateau, floodplain reconnection in the Mississippi River Delta, mangrove conservation in the Sundarbans, and transboundary water cooperation in the Mekong River Commission and International Commission for the Protection of the Rhine. Urban pilots include New York City watershed protection after Hurricane Sandy, green infrastructure in Seoul, and resilience planning by Singapore and Rotterdam. National-scale strategies cite Costa Rica's payments for ecosystem services, Norway's sovereign wealth contributions, Japan's Satoyama Initiative, and Australia's reef protection programs administered alongside Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation.

Category:Environmental policy