Background

Nature provides an abundance of benefits that underpin human livelihoods through ecosystem services. These range from the provision of raw materials (such as firewood, food and medicinal plants crucial to sustaining livelihoods) to regulating services protecting us from natural disasters (such as floods and heatwaves) as well as supporting services (such as soil formation, which supports agricultural activities). In addition to sustaining our day-to-day lives and promoting overall well-being, nature plays a crucial role in promoting cultural and social cohesion globally through cultural services.

Nature under threat

The last two decades have seen a rapid decline in species abundance, diversity and ecosystems globally as a result of human development trends threatening nature’s benefits. In a recent UNEP (2021) report, it is estimated that ecosystem degradation affects the well-being of 3.2 billion people or ~40% of the world’s population.

Nature holds solutions…

Cities are complex and dynamic systems requiring interconnected and innovative approaches to addressing pressing social, economic and environmental challenges. In addressing the social challenges stemming from the triple planetary crisis — climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution — nature is our greatest ally.

Natural assets are components of the natural environment that are valuable to humans, either directly or indirectly. Natural assets include natural resources like forests, water bodies and minerals, as well as the capacity of the environment to absorb waste. Essentially, natural assets are the stocks of natural resources that provide services essential for human well-being and the functioning of ecosystems.

Nature-based Solutions (NbS) involve working with nature to protect and restore ecosystems and preserving natural assets, ultimately resulting in multiple social, ecological and economic benefits. NbS highlights the benefits (i.e. services) that ecosystems provide to enhance human prosperity, health and well-being and frames these ecosystems as a way to address societal challenges. As humans interact with nature, the natural world adds value to our lives in various ways, influencing our economies, our food systems, as well as our health and well-being.

NbS contributes directly to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) by halting biodiversity loss, enhancing ecosystem connectivity and integrating biodiversity into policy and planning. This approach ensures a sustainable balance between human development and nature, underscoring the vital role of NbS in promoting environmental resilience and human well-being.

Examples of nature-based solutions

Natural or constructed wetlands and retention ponds for watershed management

Green parks and urban green spaces to enhance air quality, reduce heat island effects and support individual and community well-being

Tree planting and urban greening to regulate heat and shield from heavy winds

Mangrove restoration to stabilize shorelines, support flood attenuation, improve fisheries and increase carbon sequestration

Coastal dune rehabilitation to reduce erosion, increase shoreline protection, enhance biodiversity and improve water quality

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Benefits of nature-based solutions

Protection and conservation of biodiversity

Sustainable land management

Restoration of degraded landscapes

Increased resilience to natural hazards

Mitigation of pollution impacts on the environment

Maintenance of recreational areas and public spaces

Enhanced food security

Enhanced water security

Improved human health and wellbeing

Creation of green jobs

A people-centred approach to nature-based solutions

Human beings are part of nature and our human rights are intertwined with the environment in which we live. The right to a healthy environment is essential for the full enjoyment of all human rights.

What is a human rights-based approach?

A human rights-based approach (HRBA) is a conceptual framework that promotes the integration of human rights considerations in development, governance and other decision-making processes. The fundamental purpose of this framework is to ensure that all policies, decisions and actions respect, protect and fulfil the human rights of individuals and communities. It prioritises people’s livelihoods in our cities and places a specific emphasis on vulnerable groups, including children, women, youth, disabled people, the aged, indigenous groups and LGBTIQA+ communities.

As natural assets underpin human livelihoods, it is important to ensure that principles of equity, transparency and justice are mainstreamed in how we plan with and for nature and people. By anchoring urban development with a human rights-based approach, cities can progressively mainstream human rights considerations into Nature-based Solutions and related decision-making.

Integrating a people-centred approach into nature-based solutions helps to:

1

Promote a human and gender rights-based approach to planning and managing climate, nature and urban systems

2

Ensure that socio-cultural and socio-economic aspects are prioritised in urban development processes with no one disenfranchised of their rights in the process

3

Foster a bottom-up approach in which minorities and vulnerable groups are legitimately involved in decision-making processes to ensure better outcomes for all

This poster demonstrates how centring people and their rights in nature and the environment is an obligation for city officials if they want to plan and manage their city sustainably. A renewed and deliberate focus on human rights, with natural assets as the tools and drivers, will ultimately result in improved resilience overall for both people and the natural environment in which they live.

Systems thinking for effective urban transformation

Systems thinking is a comprehensive method for addressing problems by examining the interconnected relationships and dynamics between various elements of a system, rather than analyzing them in isolation.

Cities are highly complex and interconnected urban systems. Intervening in one component – transport, food distribution, energy, or green infrastructure – can trigger cascading effects across the system. Recognising these interlinkages is essential for designing sustainable interventions that produce systemic rather than isolated change. Addressing these challenges in silos often leads to fragmented solutions that fail to address the ripple effects across sectors and communities. This is where systems thinking becomes essential, offering a holistic lens to understand the relationships, feedback loops and interdependencies that shape cities.

In the context of NbS, systems thinking allows planners, policymakers and communities to recognise and harness the multifunctional benefits of nature in response to diverse urban pressures.From climate change and biodiversity loss to health inequities, social exclusion and infrastructure deficits, NbS serves as green infrastructure that can simultaneously cool cities, improve air and water quality, manage stormwater, create jobs and provide inclusive public spaces where communities can thrive. Their value lies in their ability to address multiple urban challenges at once, but this potential is only realised when NbS are embedded within a broader systems approach.

As we respond to urban realities, planning must also adapt to informality and rapid urban growth, which are especially common in African cities. Urban plans can quickly become outdated in these dynamic environments, necessitating the development of flexible, adaptive strategies that accommodate informal systems that are essential for resilience.

Want to know more about what your city can do?
On the UN Convention on Biodiversity-recognized CitiesWithNature Action Platform, your city can make commitments, take action and track your progress as you work towards your goals!

Improving governance for inclusive and equitable nature-based solutions

As cities globally accelerate actions to address the triple planetary crises and foster more equitable and sustainable communities, decision-making processes must be inclusive and participatory. Effective governance plays a pivotal role in cultivating an environment conducive to mainstreaming NbS and how societies regard natural assets, advancing principles of social equity, accessibility, benefit sharing and the facilitation of sustainable development transitions. Effective governance strategies that take a whole-of-society and whole-of-government approach, merging perspectives from formal and informal structures, are essential building blocks of effective nature-based solutions.

Three key principles to consider in order to enhance NbS governance and participation:

1

Prioritise inclusive and participatory governance processes

Nature-based Solutions rely on inclusive, transparent governance that actively involves all sectors of society, particularly targeting marginalised groups in decision-making. Establishing representative structures ensures that diverse community voices shape sustainable and equitable outcomes.

2

Foster multilevel governance

Effective implementation of NbS requires strong coordination across all levels of government and sectors. Multilevel governance enables cities to manage complex natural systems more holistically and better mainstream NbS across policies and plans.

3

Support NBS through concrete policies and frameworks

Clear policies and frameworks provide the strategic, legal and financial foundation for scaling NbS. They guide long-term action, ensure accountability and enable cities to plan, prioritise and deliver NbS more effectively.

Financing nature-based urban development

In our rapidly urbanising world, especially in developing countries, biodiversity is a vital yet often overlooked component of economic systems. Effectively mobilising finance for biodiversity is crucial to mainstreaming and implementing initiatives that protect, restore and sustain urban nature and the ecosystem services it provides. Investing in biodiversity finance can significantly enhance urban resilience, well-being and livelihoods, both directly and indirectly. It also underpins NbS, which harnesses the power of healthy ecosystems to tackle environmental challenges and improve the quality of life in cities. Prioritising biodiversity finance is, therefore, essential to achieving sustainable urban development.

Despite the well-documented benefits of Nature-based Solutions, less than 0.3% of current urban infrastructure spending is directed towards them. To reverse the decline of biodiversity and ecosystem services, transformative change is needed, driven by targeted investment. Innovative finance mechanisms, such as green bonds and insurance innovations, are crucial for mobilizing resources to support nature-based urban development (World Economic Forum, 2023). These mechanisms must be tailored to each urban context, requiring a deep understanding of suitable financing options and how to deploy them effectively.