Experts call for good nature-based solutions, practices in Asia
The Institute of Climate Change and Sustainable Development at Tsinghua University (ICCSD) and Asia Development Bank (ADB) jointly announced to call for good practices on Nature-based Solutions (NbS) across Asia at the 15th UN Biodiversity Conference (CBD COP15) in Montreal.
Defined at the United Nations Environment Assembly in this March, NbS refers to “Actions to protect, conserve, restore, sustainably use and manage natural or modified terrestrial, freshwater, coastal and marine ecosystems, which address social, economic and environmental challenges effectively and adaptively, while simultaneously providing human well-being, ecosystem services and resilience and biodiversity benefits.”
“The pathway to carbon neutrality is a systematic revolution related to society as a whole, so carbon neutrality is beyond climate change and Nature-based Solutions (NbS) should go beyond carbon sink only”, said Dr. Wang Binbin, ICCSD’s C+NbS head and Executive Secretary General of Global Alliance of Universities on Climate (GAUC) .
Leading experts from around the world participated remotely or in person in the side event, themed Nature “Innovative Pathway towards the Carbon Neutral Future”, co-organized by ICCSD and ADB, to explore on the potential of nature, in particular the sustainable use of nature resources from the climate change perspective.
“As an expert on climate, my reflection is that all renewable energy come from nature resources, so if we agree that renewable energy is the solution towards the net-zero future, then they are Nature-based Solutions from this point of view.” Dr. Wang highlighted, “We should encourage synergic and integrated perspective.”
To tap into nature’s strength in addressing climate change, ICCSD has operated the C+NbS platform with more than 400 global partners and carried out a tracing study on global practices since 2019, right after the UN’s Climate Action Summit in New York, where China and New Zealand were invited to lead the NbS coalition. The research built a database consisting of 300 global cases and then formulated an evaluation criterion considering the guidance of ecological civilization, UN’s Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations (SDGs), with reference to the IUCN Global Standard.
“We concluded 6 primary screening indicators and 3 deep evaluation dimensions to select out 28 good cases from the database as the recommended good cases to be released during the first phase of the CBD COP15 in Kunming,” Dr. Wang introduced. “As the following step, the research scope will be narrowed to the regional level, so as to more accurately find the most cutting-edge and exemplary practical cases.”
ICCSD further join hands with ADB to establish an Asian NbS database for deeper analysis of such practices across the region. All organizations who have related practiced in Asia could submit their cases to iccsd@tsinghua.edu.cn by March 31 2023. The report of the research is planned to be released at the 28th UN Climate Change Conference in Dubai.
The side-event signified the beginning of the strategic partnership between ICCSD and ADB. Representatives from The Nature Conservancy (TNC), World Economic Forum, and ClientEarth, together with GAUC’s Global Youth Ambassador, exchange research and practical progress in the field during the plenary.
“We have confidence to explore more innovative solutions for the carbon neutral future with the strong support and network of ADB in Asia,” said Li Zheng, President of ICCSD.
"Nature is now seen as the key in dealing with acute crises that the Asia and Pacific region is facing, namely, climate change, biodiversity loss, and food insecurity, " said Zhang Qingfeng, ADB's Chair of the Environment Thematic Committee. According to Zhang, ADB is also partnering with Stanford University for unlocking the potential of nature.
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关于 C+NbS合作平台
基于自然的解决方案（NbS）是实现《联合国气候变化框架公约》和《巴黎协定》目标以及实现可持续发展目标的重要措施，是当前生物多样性保护和应对气候变化领域的热点议题。2019年9月的纽约气候行动峰会上，联合国邀请中国与新西兰共同牵头“基于自然的解决方案”领域的工作，自此，“基于自然的解决方案”成为全球热点。
“基于自然的解决方案”在全球层面还是新理念，为了更好贡献中国智慧，清华大学气候变化与可持续发展研究院成立了“应对气候变化的基于自然解决方案”合作平台（C+NbS），通过月度工作坊、联合研究、媒体培训等形式与来自政府、研究机构、私营部门、公益组织的伙伴共同探索创新理论与实践。
C+NbS合作平台自2020年4月创设以来，已成功举行8期月度工作坊，邀请全球相关伙伴共同深入学习、探索和思考，对NbS的理论和方法学、与生物多样性的关系、国际经验与中国案例等重要问题进行了梳理和研究。
" C+NbS
应对气候变化的基于自然解决方案
合作平台回顾
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2021.3.28