Nature-based Solutions may be a buzzword that is becoming ubiquitous in various spaces. However, do you know the NbS definition is quite vague? In this article, we will attempt to define the concept.

Various bodies have presented NbS definition. Some of the common definitions include:

• Actions to protect, conserve, restore, sustainably use, and manage natural or modified terrestrial, freshwater, coastal, and marine ecosystems, which address social, economic, and environmental challenges effectively and adaptively, while simultaneously providing human well-being, ecosystem services and resilience and biodiversity benefits” (UNEA 2022).

PS: The UNEA definition is among the most commonly used definitions of NbS, but there are others as well, such as:

• Strategies to address societal challenges through actions to protect, sustainably manage, and restore natural and modified ecosystems, benefiting people and nature at the same time”(IUCN)
• Solutions that are completely based on elements and direct inputs from nature, and are not managed by man or industrial elements
• Actions inspired by, or supported by, or copied from nature to face social, environmental, and economic challenges.

Barbara and Joan proceed to list 20 definitions of NbS definition and concepts.

NbS definitions are blurry and general to clearly indicate which solutions could termed as NbS. In many cases, the blurry nature emanates from the observation that NbS involves the integration of various scientific fields, and where various experts view it through the lens of their respective disciplines.

By definition, a carbon sink refers to anything that absorbs more carbon in the atmosphere than it emits. Conversely, a carbon source is anything that releases more carbon than it absorbs.

Examples of carbon sinks:

Forests

Soils

Oceans

The natural environment provides a series of benefits to people. According to WWF, the services provided by the ecosystem can be categorized as:

• Support services- they provide conditions that allow the provision of other services. For instance, photosynthesis support primary production
• Provision services- these include the goods and services that we directly get from the environment. For instance, food and fiber.
• Regulation services- The capacity of ecosystems to regulate some processes such as air and water quality
• Cultural services- Ecosystems are part of the culture and heritage of the people.

However, many of the ecosystem services are seen as market externalities because of their public good character and open-access nature. As such, Neoclassical economics rarely factor in the decision-making of economic actors. Environmental economists champion commodification and valuation to internalize the externalities. Payment for Ecosystem (or Environmental) Services is one of the tools that is commonly used to commodify environmental services.  

Human-induced climate change is a major environmental problem in the modern world. The emergence of the Kyoto Protocol and its mechanism of carbon trading is thought to be a viable solution in addressing climate change. Kenya is among the African countries that are keen to explore the opportunities with carbon trade.  

As a developing country, Kenya isn’t required to curb its emissions under the Kyoto Protocol. However, it is eligible to sell carbon credits through the mechanisms identified by the protocol under Article 17. Similarly, Article 6 of the Paris Agreement (that replaced the Kyoto Protocol) recognizes carbon trading as a tool in fighting climate change.

The implementation of international carbon trading has made the measurement of carbon important to the global economy. In pastoral rangelands, no meaningful way of measuring carbon has been identified. Common carbon sinks include oceans, soils, and vegetation.

Soil organic carbon is an indicator of healthy and fertile soils. Carbon is the 15^th most abundant element on the earth’s crust, and fourth in the universe (after hydrogen, helium, and oxygen). On the human body, it is only second to oxygen.

Massive amounts of carbon are stored in the soil in two general forms: inorganic and organic. Inorganic carbon arises from the parent weathered rock, while organic carbon results from living or decomposing carbon compounds. However, the measure of productive soils can be captured from the soil organic carbon content.

Changes in Soil Organic Carbon take a few years and it is difficult to keep track of the trend. Regardless, frequent monitoring using a consistent methodology may help detect changes.

Climate change is a major problem in the modern world. It is caused by greenhouse gas emissions; carbon is a major GHG. The atmosphere is one. Therefore, it doesn’t matter where emissions are released or absorbed. The world attempts to address the challenge of climate change by strategies like the Paris Agreement.

Carbon trading is among the common strategy used to tackle climate change.

Carbon markets attempt to address climate change by putting a price on carbon. The currency for carbon trading is a tonne of Carbon dioxide or GHG equivalent (CO2e). A carbon credit refers to either a permit to emit 1 tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent or removal of a carbon dioxide equivalent from the atmosphere.

Article 6 of the Paris Agreement provides a foundation for market-based climate measures approaches.  The existing carbon markets can be categorized into two the regulatory compliance and voluntary carbon markets. As such, two types of credits exist including Voluntary emissions reduction (VER) and Certified emissions reduction (CER).

COVID-19 has brought the world to a standstill. However, the coronavirus has had some positive impacts on the environment, at least in the short-run. One of the significant positive effects of lockdowns is the decline in air pollution.  Even the most densely populated megacities are now witnessing their lowest levels of pollution in several decades.

The scenario can be attributed to a reduction in industrial and commercial activity. Nonetheless, we know that the decrease in air pollution due to the coronavirus is temporary. That notwithstanding, there exists a fundamental connection between coronavirus and pollution. This article focuses on how the virus has contributed to the decline in air pollution.

The concept of nature-based solutions (NBS) could be confusing and abstract. After all, from fossil fuels to plastics, humans have always relied on nature for development. Regardless, the European Union defines NBS as ‘actions which are inspired by, supported by or copied from nature.’ A more detailed article on NbS definition is also published in Silvica. An advantage of nature-based solutions is that they are ready to be deployed. We have outlined nature-based solutions examples in this post.

1.      Tree Growing

Growing trees is a solution to a myriad of contemporary challenges. Chief among them is mitigating the effects of climate change. Trees are plants, so they absorb carbon dioxide through the process of photosynthesis. Planting billions of trees around the world is one of the most practical ways of absorbing excessive amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Scientists estimate that 1.7 billion hectares of current treeless lands have a potential for tree growth.  As a nature-based solution example, tree planting also assists in improving biodiversity, soil, air, and water quality.

2.      Renewable energy

The types of renewable energy that could be useful NBS include solar, wind, hydroelectricity, and biofuels power. The advantages of renewable energy are aplenty. For starters, renewable energy produces lesser emissions compared to fossil fuels. Additionally, renewable energy sources are flexible in the sense that they can be powered using local resources. The continuous maturation of the renewable energy sector means that the costs of renewables will keep decreasing with time.

3.      Beekeeping

As a nature-based solution example, beekeeping does tick most of the boxes. When evaluated against the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), beekeeping can help achieve SDGs one, two, three, five, eight, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, and fifteen. The sad news is that bees are disappearing, yet they are vital components of our ecosystem. For instance, they are significant pollinators of flowering plants.

Have you ever watched the Silence of the Bees documentary? 

4.      Ecotourism

Is it possible for your travel to benefit the local community and the environment at the same time? Yes, it is! When you practice ecotourism, communities and conservation benefit. The International Ecotourism Society defines it as ‘responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment, sustains the wellbeing of the local people, and involves interpretation and education.’ The problem is that there is a lot of greenwashing in ecotourism. Operators would offer mass tourism but market it as ecotourism. As a traveler, ensure that you do your research well.

Watch a video about Ecotourism 

5.      Payment for Ecosystem Services

Environmental services can be categorized into ecological goods, regulating services, supporting services, and cultural services. Presently, environmental benefits are undervalued or lack value in the financial realm. A central principle in PES is for the environmental services’ beneficiaries to ‘pay’ for the conservation of the same resources. Under PES schemes, farmers and landowners receive payments after implementing previously agreed actions that provide ecological services.

6.      Carbon financing (REDD+ projects)

Carbon financing is an example of PES. It is inevitable for companies to emit carbon into the atmosphere. Regardless, responsible emitters have the option of buying carbon credits from the voluntary markets in carbon financing. For instance, companies could purchase credits from verified REDD+ (reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation) projects.

Deforestation is responsible for 15% of global greenhouse emissions; thus, stopping deforestation has a significant impact on the carbon equation. Remember, about 80% of above-ground terrestrial carbon stocks and 40% of soil carbon are in forest ecosystems.

7.      Protected areas

Protected areas are the backbone of biodiversity conservation. National parks, conservancies, reserves, ranches, and community conservation areas are among the most common types of protected areas. The coronavirus pandemic supports the idea of respecting and protecting biodiversity. We have the obligation of setting aside significant wilderness areas where biodiversity could thrive. If not, we may interact with dangerous pathogens as the biodiversity will attempt to survive amongst us.

8.      Avoid plastic products as such as possible.

Plastic is a bad boy of global pollution. As such, we should focus on choosing alternatives to plastic when possible or avoiding plastic altogether. Some plausible environment-friendly options include glass, stainless steel, natural fiber cloth, wood, and paper. It is difficult to completely do away with plastic because it lurks in a variety of products, including chewing gums, metal containers, food packaging, diapers, personal care products, cigarette filters, glue, and medical equipment.

9.      Restoring whale population

Surprisingly, whales conservation has an enormous impact on climate change. One whale absorbs up to 33,000 kilograms of carbon dioxide. In comparison, a tree absorbs up to 22 kgs of carbon a year. Moreover, phytoplanktons follow whales. More whales imply more phytoplankton, and phytoplanktons absorb as much as 40% of all carbon dioxide. 

10. Agroforestry

As the name suggests, agroforestry is a combination of agriculture and forestry. In other words, it involves the integration of trees and crops/livestock in the same land. There are plenty of reasons why a farmer would choose to add trees to his/her farming system. Chief among them is soil conservation and additional products from the trees. As one of the nature-based solutions examples, agroforestry is implementable in existing farming systems.

11. Green roofs

Green roofs refer to vegetation cover grown on rooftops. They are also called rooftop gardens or living roofs. The natural-based solution example is particularly relevant to urban dwellers. Green roofs help reduce energy costs as they insulate buildings. Moreover, they assist in reducing the runoff from storms or snows. A typical metropolitan area produces more than five times more runoff compared to a rural area. Green roofs make urban areas ‘less typical’.

12. Urban gardens and green spaces

Like green roofs, urban gardens and green spaces are nature-based solutions for towns and cities. Home gardens have the benefit of improving the food security of an area. According to the World Health Organization, urban green spaces reduce environmental hazards, improve the quality of life of the urban regions, and improve residents’ wellbeing.

13. Organic farming

Conventional agriculture has various adverse effects on the environment. For instance, the use of inorganic fertilizers harms groundwater and biodiversity. In contrast, organic farming reduces some of the negative impacts of modern agriculture as it involves growing crops with reduced or no fertilizer and other synthetic inputs. Consequently, organic farming is compatible with biodiversity conservation.

14. Green infrastructure

The United States Environmental Protection Agency defines green infrastructure as ‘the range of measures that use plant or soil systems, permeable pavement or other permeable surfaces or substrates, stormwater harvest and reuse, or landscaping to store, infiltrate, or evapotranspirate stormwater and reduce flows to sewer systems or to surface waters.’ As such, measures such as green roofs and tree growing in urban areas fall under green infrastructure. Many forward-looking cities are implementing green infrastructure.

15. Green Economy

The end game for the nature-based solution is the transition to a green economy. The focus of a green economy is sustainable consumption and production, social inclusion, resource efficiency, and reduced emissions.

Watch this video to understand Green Economy better. 

Nature-based solutions present practical ways to deal with current environmental problems. However, NBS should complement other actions, not replace them. Policies re important in ensuring that we implement NBS. Regardless, the personal initiative could also enhance the implementation of a green economy. Ask yourself, ‘what natural-based solution examples can I implement to promote sustainable development?’