Ensuring Nature based Solutions actions address global challenges   

Nature-based Solutions (NbS) are a powerful ally to address societal challenges, such as climate change, biodiversity loss and food security. As the world strives to emerge from the current pandemic and move towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals, it is imperative that future investments in nature reach their potential by contributing to the health and well-being of people and the planet.

To this end — and with growing interest from governments, business and civil society — IUCN has developed the first-ever Global Standard for Nature-based Solutions to help users design, implement and verify NbS actions.    At the 2016 World Conservation Congress, IUCN  Members adopted a resolution (WCC-2016-Res-069), which, for the first time, defined the use of nature for simultaneous benefits to biodiversity and human well-being. According to the resolution, Nature-based Solutions are defined as: 

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.”

This definition is drawn from an IUCN publication that outlines the NbS framework (Cohen-Shacham, 2016), and a set of eight best practice principles. Further research by IUCN identified the core principles for successfully implementing and upscaling NbS (Cohen-Shacham, 2019).

Today, the IUCN Global Standard provides clear parameters for defining NbS and a common framework to help benchmark progress. Such a framework is essential to increase the scale and impact of the NbS approach, prevent unanticipated negative outcomes or misuse, and help funding agencies, policy makers and other stakeholders assess the effectiveness of interventions.

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