Nature-based solutions - CitiesWithNature

Nature-based solutions: A path to urban resilience

As cities confront the growing impacts of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution, nature-based solutions (NbS) are emerging as essential tools for building resilient, inclusive and sustainable urban futures. By working with nature to protect and restore ecosystems, NbS delivers environmental, social and economic benefits to cool cities, manage water, support health and livelihoods and create vibrant public spaces.

However, rapid urbanisation and ecosystem degradation threaten these services, impacting over 3.2 billion people worldwide. To reverse this, cities must adopt integrated, people-centred approaches. From green roofs and wetlands to mangrove restoration and parks, NbS helps meet global goals like the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework by embedding biodiversity into urban planning.

To effectively implement, cities must adopt a people-centred and rights-based approach that prioritises equity and the needs of vulnerable communities. Applying systems thinking helps cities design integrated solutions that address multiple challenges simultaneously. At the same time, inclusive and effective governance ensures participatory planning, cross-sector coordination and long-term impact through strong policies and institutions.

Financing is a critical enabler. Despite the proven benefits, NbS projects receive less than 0.3% of global infrastructure spending. Unlocking the full potential of NbS for cities requires transformative investments, including innovative instruments such as green bonds, biodiversity credits and insurance mechanisms tailored to urban contexts. Programmes like ICLEI CBC’s Urban Natural Assets are already demonstrating how integrated planning, community participation and finance innovation can build resilient cities across Africa.

In this decisive decade, nature-based solutions offer a hopeful and actionable pathway to reimagine urban development. When rooted in equity, guided by systems thinking and backed by inclusive governance and targeted financing, NbS can help cities, people and the planet.

Tools and resources View more

This community of practice gives coastal cities access to a range of current and relevant tools and resources to empower them to prioritize coastal resilience in their decision-making and planning.

Guidelines for Measuring and Valuing the Coastal Protection Services of Mangroves and Coral Reefs

This guidance note recommends valuation and measurement approaches of the protective services of mangroves and coral reefs to align with national economic accounts and development planning and coastal zone management processes.

Spatial decision tools and web apps to catalyze conservation

The Nature Conservancy-led Coastal Resilience program examines nature’s role in reducing coastal flood risk by using a web mapping tool for adaptation planning.

Opportunities for NDCs

This policy brief examines the inclusion of blue carbon ecosystems in existing Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) and ratified Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

To enable cities to learn and inspire each other and share their experiences, they need to be connected. This Community of Practice provides a forum with a chat function for cities to share their work and to ask questions and provide input on topics relevant to improving urban resilience through nature-based solutions.

Videos View more

Climate change explained

Benefits of climate change adaptation

Three steps of climate change adaptation planning

How nature helps us adapt to climate change - nature-based solutions for climate change

The Paris Agreement - what is it and why is it important?

This Community of Practice is proudly sponsored by WIOMSA with funding from the Government of Sweden.

The Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association (WIOMSA) was established as a regional, non-profit, membership organization in 1993 and registered in Zanzibar, Tanzania in 1994 as a non-governmental organization. The organization is dedicated to promoting the educational, scientific and technological development of all aspects of marine sciences throughout the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) region (consisting of 10 countries: Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, South Africa, Comoros, Madagascar, Seychelles, Mauritius, Réunion (France)), with a view toward sustaining the use and conservation of its marine resources. WIOMSA has a particular interest in linking the knowledge that emerges from research to the management and governance issues that affect marine and coastal ecosystems in the region.

Guides

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Educational games

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Nature-based solutions: A path to urban resilience

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