Leveraging locally led good practices for upscaling NbS to address disaster and climate risk.

SFDRR recognizes the importance and role of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) at national and local levels given the urgency to address growing climate risks often magnified when combined with declining and degrading ecosystems. NbS are an effective and cost-efficient way of reducing risks, helping people adapt to climate change,  build resilience and ensure well-being.

The SFDRR states an urgent and critical need to anticipate and plan for DRR to protect ecosystems and strengthen their resilience given the degradation due to human action and climate (Sections 5 and 6); calls for inclusion of ecosystems within baselines and risk assessments at the national and local levels (Section 24b); to promote mainstreaming of similar aspects within planning and implementation (Section 30); and most importantly, to strengthen the sustainable use and management of ecosystems and implement integrated environmental and natural resource management approaches that incorporate disaster risk reduction (Section 30 – Sub-section n). Given the heightened importance of working with an ecosystem-based approach and applying NbS within the SFDRR, the partner event will highlight the importance of local engagement, evaluation, planning and implementation, and advocate for the replication and mainstreaming of these local good practices within government and civil society at sub-national and national levels.

The partner event will highlight the varied practices and approaches globally demonstrating community engagement, local participation, and traditional knowledge that informs contextualized, people-centered strategies that use nature as an ally in reducing risks and promoting sustainability. Discussion on how to scale up these islands of good practices that will accelerate the implementation of SFDRR with the ultimate aim of reducing climate and disaster risks. Discussions will share challenges and good practices for ensuring the transition from locally driven community initiatives to ecosystem-scale, subnational and national initiatives needed for maximum impact.

Session objectives

• Highlight the varied inclusive approaches from a global perspective for integrating Nature-based solutions for informed climate and disaster risk reduction.
• Emphasize the enabling factors and conducive environment for scaling up vertically and horizontally the good practices.
• Strengthening the argument for working with nature across different levels of policy and institutional arrangements that lead to better programming.