Our human, environmental and economic health are inextricably linked. Given the unprecedented crisis of natural environment ecosystems in coastal areas, including mangroves, coral and oyster reefs, and seagrass meadows, global and local legislators alike have a ‘moral duty’ to provide a resilient future for the next generations.
In collaboration with the World Government Summit, we have examined a series of case studies led by governments in East Asia, Africa and the GCC, to make the case for how Nature-based Solutions (NbS) offer a unique, low-tech and cost effective opportunity to tackle current and future global crises. If implemented cohesively and in an integrated manner, NbS can address multiple overlapping challenges simultaneously: they can help mitigate climate change, reverse biodiversity loss, help prevent future pandemics and support economic development. By putting in place the right policies and enabling conditions, governments can play a crucial role in unleashing the potential of these solutions.
‘Frontiers of Change’ calls on Governments to prioritise NbS, integrating them into national development planning across government departments, not just environment ministries, and considering economic development through an NbS lense. Furthermore, a fundamental reset of how governments value the natural environment is required to recalibrate national spending priorities, and the full value of ecosystem services should be calculated to allow transparent cost comparisons between NbS and traditional approaches.
Regional and international collaboration is a must, especially as ecosystems often cross national boundaries, and are affected by both public and private sector actions. NbS are an important means for governments to meet their international obligations, including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (Paris Climate Accord), the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). They also offer the private sector regeneration opportunities to help address their moral and corporate social responsibilities, and to be held accountable on some of their ESG obligations.
