Forbes
December 24, 2020
Nature-based solutions to tackling climate change will be a big talking point in 2021, as countries, companies and investors step up their efforts to cut carbon.
But few people know what they are. Essentially, they are alternatives to traditional ‘gray’ infrastructure such as dams, seawalls and reservoirs that involve a lot of concrete and are often only temporary fixes for problems such as flooding, water scarcity and quality, or soil erosion.
More formally, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) says nature-based solutions are “actions to protect, sustainably manage, and restore natural or modified ecosystems, that address societal challenges effectively and adaptively, simultaneously providing human well-being and biodiversity benefits”.