Raquel Castillo Puentes dreams of protecting her lands and building a climate-resilient future for generations to come with the support of a Green Climate Fund-financed UNDP-supported project in Colombia’s La Mojana.
Thematic Area
The conservation, rehabilitation, and management of biodiversity and ecosystems increases resilience to climate change and has the potential to provide low-cost and long-term solutions to protect lives, livelihoods, and infrastructure, while advancing the achievement of multiple Sustainable Development Goals. UNDP supports countries to integrate conservation and targeted restoration of natural ecosystems and degraded landscapes – such as mangrove forests, wetlands, and catchment forests – into an overarching strategy for ecosystem-based adaptation that provides protection against climate change threats, either as part of a hybrid adaptation strategy or as standalone measures. The main areas of work include enhanced management to safeguard ecosystem services, restoration of coastal wetlands to protect communities against storms, slope stabilization through agroforestry and natural forest regeneration, halting or reversing land degradation and desertification, promoting sustainable productive landscapes, and improving water resources management, as well as catalyzing finance from the private sector for ecosystem-based approaches in order to build socio-ecological resilience. Ecosystem-based adaptation is included within countries’ National Adaptation Plans, and cuts across multiple sectors with relevance for food and water security, among other societal needs.
Human stories
In Cuba, ecosystem-based adaptation is a cost-effective way to preserve and restore natural habitats and protect coastal communities.
With financing from the Global Environment Facility and backing from UNDP, Bhutan is building resilience for its people, forests, and wildlife. The partnership has reaped real-world benefits for tens of thousands of Bhutanese, including in the most remote mountain communities.
Resources
'The Song of the Birds Returns to Cuba’s Gulf Coast' | Adaptation Fund | 2018
When Vicente Núñez noticed several years ago that Cuba’s southwestern gulf coastline and its rich plant and wildlife were disappearing, he knew something had to be done.
He experimented by replanting different types of mangroves. Further actions materialized with the arrival of a local scientist known as the “Mangrove Fairy” and a project in 2014 funded by the Adaptation Fund and carried out by the UN Development Programme and Cuban Environment Agency.
'Maiana Island celebrates World Food Day and hosts LDCF1 project closure workshop' November 2022
17 November 2022 – A team comprised of staff from the departments of Agriculture and Livestock (ALD) and Environment and Conservation (ECD) from the Ministry of the Environment, Land and Agriculture Development (MELAD), Coastal Fisheries (CFD) from Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources Development (MFMRD), Local Government Division from Ministry of Internal Affairs with the company of Office of Attorney General (OAGs), Kiribati Meteorological Services (KMS) from Office of Te Beretetitenti, the Internal Trade and Business along with Tourism (TAK) from the Ministry of Tourism, Commerce,
'Nonouti Island Community-Based Tourism (CBT) development progressing' October 2022
The Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK) in collaboration with the Business Promotion Unit of the Ministry of Tourism, Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives (MTCIC) continued its community-based tourism programme on Nonouti Island from 14 – 31 October 2022. Through this mission, the team worked with participating communities to develop their community-based tourism business plans. This included consultation with participating communities on business name ideas, package and pricing and other necessary information required for the business plan completion.
'Ministry of Tourism, Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives strengthens income generation for food security through LDCF1 project' November 2022
On September 24, a team from the Ministry of Tourism, Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives (MTCIC) departed Tarawa for Abemama island. The mission lasted for 21 days with the purpose to undertake training, consultation, and awareness to strengthen business initiatives through increasing trade from local products and value-added products from in-land and marine resources to enhance food security under the impacts of climate change.
'Cooperatives and credit union established at Maiana' October 2022
Two new cooperatives and one new credit union were established at the island of Maiana. One cooperative belongs to a group of women from Maiana (Nei Te Kewe ni Maiana CS). This cooperative is selling handicrafts and Mauriwear. The other cooperative is called Bubutei Fisherman CS, and their services relate to marine products. The new credit union is called Team Work Credit union from Temwangaua village.
'Creel survey on Abemama island' October 2022
From 24 September to 15 October 2022, a team of four officials from the Research and Monitoring Unit of the Coastal Fisheries Division visited Abemama Island to carry out a creel survey on the Island. A creel survey targets fishermen with the aim of collecting information on artisanal coastal fishing activities including fishers’ demographics, fishing behaviour, catch composition, including catch per unit effort, and fishers' perceptions.
'Support to environmental conservation at Nonouti' October 2022
Officers from the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Agricultural Development (MELAD) and one from the Ministry of Women, Youth, Sports and Social Affairs (MWYSSA) conducted a 15-day mission to Nonouti Island 16 - 31 October 2022 to support the Island Elders (Te Buroo n Nonouti) and the two villages/communities in the development of their integrated environment and natural resource management plan (IENRMP) and constitution, as well as mangrove picking and planting with church youth, recruitment of EEO (Environment Extension Officer).
'On Nonouti, LDCF continues to support environmental sustainability and food security' October 2022
From September 28 to October 5, 2022, officers from the Environment and Conservation Division carried out activities in Kiribati to improve food security, preserve the environment, and lessen the effects of climate change. The activities included building coastal beach brush, planting coastal areas, tagging turtles, delineating seagrass beds, selecting and planting mangroves on Nounouti with the cooperation of communities, and lastly monitoring mangroves planted by communities taking part in the mangrove competition which was initiated in April 2021.
UNDP Issues Brief on Nature-Based Climate Solutions
Ecosystems can significantly reduce the impact of floods, catastrophic storms, and serious droughts, and can offset vast amounts of the world’s carbon emissions. It powers industries and provides fresh water supply, food, shelter, and reliable sources of incomes.
Harnessing Nature to Build Climate Resilience: Scaling Up the Use of Ecosystem-based Adaptation
Ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) has the potential to significantly enhance the resilience of society to climate change and could be a key part of national and global adaptation efforts. However, despite growing interest among policymakers, donors, scientists and practitioners, the current pace and scale of EbA implementation falls far short of its potential. The aim of this report by UNEP is to highlight the opportunities for scaling up the use of EbA to help put the world on a more climate-resilient and nature-positive pathway.
Nature-based solutions policy brief - Nature-based solutions, market resilience and food sovereignty
As evidenced in UNDP’s Latin America and the Caribbean portfolio, nature-based solutions (NbS) offer the potential to enhance the resilience of market systems while also achieving environmental goals. NbS can strengthen local market system resilience to benefit the economy, vulnerable households, and the environment, and ensure that the region is better prepared for future shocks and stresses.
Partnerships
The CivTech Alliance is a worldwide network of public, private, and third sector organizations working across civic and government technology to support and nurture an ecosystem for developing products and services which make citizens’ lives better.
BIOFIN was initiated ten years ago at the 11th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP11), by UNDP and the European Commission, in response to the urgent global need to divert more finance from all possible sources towards global and national biodiversity goals. Now present in 40 countries, BIOFIN is working with governments, civil-society, vulnerable communities, and the private sector to catalyze investments in nature. Investments that create jobs and opportunities for communities reeling from the impacts of COVID-19.
Since 2000, UNDP's global biodiversity program, with financing from the Global Environment Facility and other sources, has been successful in helping to strengthen more than 3,000 protected areas covering more than 680 million hectares including marine, terrestrial, and indigenous and community-conserved areas; and undertaking interventions in production sectors and development planning, covering more than 250 million hectares of production landscapes and seascapes.
The work of UNDP’s Climate and Forests Team contributes to both SDG13 (climate action) and SDG15 (forest ecosystems), addressing their close linkages. When promoting forest and climate policies and investments in countries, UNDP employs a social inclusion approach, wherein effective stakeholder engagement is ensured, the rights of indigenous peoples and forest communities are promoted, gender equality and women’s empowerment principles are mainstreamed, and policy reforms towards more equitable land use and tenure systems are encouraged.
UN-REDD is the flagship UN knowledge and advisory partnership on forests and climate to reduce forest emissions and enhance forest carbon stocks. It is the largest international provider of REDD+ assistance, supporting its 65 partner countries to protect their forests and achieve their climate and sustainable development goals.
Friends of Ecosystem-Based Adaptation (FEBA) is a global collaborative network of more than 90 agencies and organizations involved in EbA working jointly to share experiences and knowledge, to improve the implementation of EbA related activities on the ground, and to have a stronger and more strategic learning and policy influence on EbA.
Projects
