Nature-based solutions

Actions that protect, restore, or sustainably manage ecosystems to address societal challenges while supporting human well-being and biodiversity.

Mangrove restoration: The recovery or re-establishment of mangrove forests in coastal environments. Restored mangroves can reduce coastal flooding while supporting fisheries and biodiversity.
Ecosystem services: The benefits people obtain from ecosystems, including material goods and regulating processes. This framework describes the human benefits that nature-based solutions seek to sustain.
Gray infrastructure: Engineered structures made primarily from concrete, steel, or other conventional materials. It can address similar risks, but usually relies on built structures rather than ecosystem functions.
Nature-based solutions and climate change mitigation: The use of ecosystem protection, restoration, or management to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions or increase removals. Carbon storage can be a benefit, but it does not replace rapid emissions cuts.
Urban green infrastructure: A network of natural and designed green spaces that manages urban environmental conditions. Urban vegetation and waterways can cool neighborhoods and absorb stormwater.
Ecosystem-based adaptation: The use of biodiversity and ecosystem services to help people adapt to climate change. It explains how ecosystem functions can reduce climate risks for communities.
Ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction: The use of ecosystem management to reduce disaster risk and strengthen resilience. This closely related approach focuses specifically on disaster risk.
Environmental justice: The fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people in environmental decisions and outcomes. Projects can distribute benefits and burdens unevenly across communities.
Floodplain restoration: The recovery of natural floodplain processes and connections between rivers and their surrounding land. Reconnected floodplains store floodwater and provide habitat.
Natural flood management: Measures that use natural processes to slow, store, or divert floodwater. It shows how landscape features can manage flooding without relying solely on hard infrastructure.

Linked from 32 pages