Nature-based Solutions and Water

Water, health and climate are closely interconnected. As our climate changes, droughts, floods, melting glaciers, sea-level rise and storms intensify, which affect nature, people’s health and economies. Nature-based solutions for water can combat climate change and support people’s health as clean water is essential to human survival. Nature-based solutions for water can also be low cost and provide a range of public and private goods through the capture, conveyance, storage and filtration of water resources, both above and below ground.

Working with nature-based solutions for water amplifies and optimizes the performance as well as the financial returns of engineered water infrastructure such as dams, levees and reservoirs. For example, when forests upstream are kept intact, water and soil run-off and infiltration can be regulated naturally, in turn safeguarding downstream reservoirs from sedimentation. This can help reduce costly clean-up efforts and ensure continued water supply for irrigation, public water supplies, industrial use and electricity generation.

Nature-based solutions for water are crucial in our journey to reach all the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), not only SDG 6 on clean water and sanitation for all. Water is central to achieving all the goals and should be far better considered in the various international processes for biodiversity, disasters, climate change, land management, and the UN Decade on Restoration. Freshwater systems such as wetlands and peatlands are being lost three times faster than forests, yet are far more efficient at storing carbon. The upcoming IUCN World Conservation Congress will showcase how NbS can be used in inclusive river basin governance and how the implementation of NbS for water can and should be scaled up. In the lead-up to the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in November 2021, focus is also being put on how water can help us in tackling the climate crisis, of which NbS for water will also be key.

In this session of the NbS dialogues, we aim to set the stage for NbS for water as a key component for climate change mitigation and adaptation, good health and thriving livelihoods.