Fact Sheet Unit 3

FACT SHEET - UNIT 3
APPLYING NATURE-BASED SOLUTIONS IN CITIES, COASTAL AREAS

AND DRYLANDS – PART 1: CHALLENGES & PART 2: SOLUTIONS
What are some of the main disaster and climate challenges that Nature-based Solutions can
address?
Urban areas
Urban areas present specific challenges to Nature-based Solutions due to population density, pollution and
limitations in space for expanding and restoring natural areas, among others.
Nature-based Solutions exist even in challenging urban environments to reduce heat island effects, storm
water run-off and improve air quality. Combinations of blue-green infrastructure with grey, engineered
infrastructure can be especially beneficial. However, it is important to take a landscape approach in identifying
sources of urban flooding in the upper watershed.
Coastal areas
Coastal areas are increasingly threatened by storms and sea level rise, while experiencing impacts of rapid
expansion of coastal development creating greater pressures on natural resources. Furthermore,
sedimentation and pollution from upstream rivers can have an impact on coastal areas, which also need to
be considered.
Nature-based Solutions can be especially beneficial along coastal areas which are prone to hazards such as
storms, storm surges and tsunamis and their impacts. For example, reefs can reduce the impacts of storm
surges and mangroves can reduce the impact of coastal flooding. To benefit from blue infrastructure’s ability
to protect from the impacts of climate change and provide a source for livelihoods, concerted planning efforts
by a range of stakeholders in coastal areas is needed.
Drylands areas
Drylands areas make up a large proportion of the Earth’s surface and are expected to increase with climate
change; desertification is a major threat to human settlements and livelihoods.
Drylands areas which are increasing in size due to climate change impacts can benefit from careful
management of water and soil sources, combined with water conserving tilling practices, planting trees, and
rangeland restoration. In many of these areas, increasing resilience may entail transformation of the current
ecosystem, such in the case of the Great Green Wall initiative. This initiative aims to restore 8,000 km of
ecosystem across the Sahel.
• Taking a landscape approach requires systems thinking. Indeed, sound ecosystem management requires an
understanding of the socio-ecological system at different scales (spatial and time) to make the right decisions.
• The term resilience has many definitions. Many of these involve the concept of “bouncing back” to an original
state before the disturbance. But in many cases especially under a changing climate, “bouncing forward” to a
new better state might be a better definition for the term resilience.
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LEARN MORE
Dig in deeper
● Eco-DRR Source book: Chapters 7 & 8

● MOOC videos from Disasters and Ecosystems: Resilience in a Changing Climate
o Unit 8 – Principles of system thinking and using natural systems for disaster risk reduction
o Unit 6 – Managing Resilience and Transformation
Reports
● UNEP-WCMC (2019) Briefing Note 3. Ecosystem-based Adaptation in different ecosystems

● Lo, V. (2016). Synthesis report on experiences with ecosystem-based approaches to climate change
adaptation and disaster risk reduction. Technical Series No.85. Secretariat of the Convention on
Biological Diversity
● Harari et al. (2017) where people and their land are safer: A Compendium of Good Practices in Disaster
Risk Reduction.
● 2018 UN World Water Development Report, Nature-based Solutions for Water
● GIZ, UNEP-WCMC and FEBA (2020) Guidebook for Monitoring and Evaluating Ecosystem-based
Adaptation Interventions.
● Factsheet on UNEP Djibouti project: restoring and rehabilitating mangroves in the vulnerable coastal
area
● Factsheet on UNEP-UNDP Angola project: restoring wetlands and mangroves to provide flood defenses
Websites
● Nature-based Solutions city case studies: https://oppla.eu/nbs/case-studies

● UNEP CityAdapt: Urban Nature-based Solutions implemented in the cities of Mexico, El Salvador,
Jamaica
● Wetlands International – Vibrant coasts and deltas
● UNCCD Knowledge hub: https://knowledge.unccd.int/
● Global Mangrove Alliance: http://www.mangrovealliance.org/
● Reef Resilience Network: https://reefresilience.org/
● Dryland Ecosystems: https://www.iucn.org/commissions/commission-ecosystem-
management/resources/dryland-ecosystems
Videos
● Sustainable cities: Nature-based solutions in Urban Design

● Medellín shows how nature-based solutions can keep people and planet cool
● The Mexican city using forests to combat climate change
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● Regreening San Salvador to fight climate change
● This man is turning cities into giant sponges to save lives: Pioneers for our planet
● Saving the Seychelles – Reforestation to fight climate change
● Adapting to Madagascar's new climate reality
● Saving Land
● Saving Senegal’s soils
● UNEP-EC: Sudan, Wadi Partners Food Security and Disaster Resilience
GET INVOLVED!
In urban areas
• Join or create an urban nature conservation group in your area;

• Petition your city leaders to introduce more green spaces and urban wetlands to combat climate
change;
• Apply a simple system for Rooftop Rainwater Harvesting on your house/building roof and use collected
water in watering your plants;
• Join an urban gardening initiative.
In coastal areas
• Join or create a coastal ecosystem restoration project;

• Create awareness among your peers and local government representatives on the value of Nature-
based Solutions and mobilize them to support implementation of nature-based solutions to protect
coastal areas;
• Join an environmental advocacy group to work with river engineers and coastal development planners
on how to minimize pollution upstream, and protect reefs and mangroves from coastal development;
• When visiting beaches, stay off fragile sand dunes, take your trash with you to prevent pollution, and
participate in a beach clean-up so that plastics do not enter coastal waters harming plants and animals
that thrive in mangrove forests and reefs;
• To protect corals, reduce your carbon footprint to warming of sea temperatures that could lead to coral
bleaching. Do not remove any corals or purchase coral products;
• Purchase environmentally friendly detergents to minimize the impacts of harmful chemicals that seep
into river systems that eventually flow into coastal waters and oceans.
In dryland areas
● Join or create an initiative to reduce land degradation;

● Create awareness among your peers and local government representatives on the value of Nature-based
Solutions and mobilize them to support implementation of Nature-based Solutions to revitalize degraded
areas;
● Learn about permaculture;
● Harvest rainwater;
● Learn about Farmer-Managed Natural Regeneration.
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FACT SHEET - UNIT 3

APPLYING NATURE-BASED SOLUTIONS IN CITIES, COASTAL AREAS

● Eco-DRR Source book: Chapters 7 & 8

● UNEP-WCMC (2019) Briefing Note 3. Ecosystem-based Adaptation in different ecosystems

● Nature-based Solutions city case studies: https://oppla.eu/nbs/case-studies

● Sustainable cities: Nature-based solutions in Urban Design

• Join or create an urban nature conservation group in your area;

• Join or create a coastal ecosystem restoration project;

● Join or create an initiative to reduce land degradation;

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