Building Resilience With Nature

Maximizing ecosystem-based adaptation

through National Adaptation Plan processes
GUIDANCE NOTE
AUTHORS
Anika Terton and Julie Greenwalt

ABOUT THE NAP GLOBAL NETWORK

The NAP Global Network was created in 2014 to support developing countries in advancing their NAP
processes and help accelerate adaptation efforts around the world. To achieve this, the Network facilitates
sustained South–South peer learning and exchange, supports national-level action on NAP development and
implementation, and enhances bilateral support for adaptation and climate-sensitive sectors through donor
coordination. Financial support for the Network has been provided by Austria, Canada, Germany, and the
United States. The Secretariat is hosted by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD). For
more information, visit www.napglobalnetwork.org.

Any opinions stated herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the policies or opinions of
the NAP Global Network, funders or Network participants.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This guidance note was developed as a contribution to the NAP Global Network and Friends of EbA (FEBA)
and made possible by the Support Project for the Implementation of the Paris Agreement (SPA), which is
implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenrarbeit (GIZ) and funded by the
German Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) under its International
Climate Initiative (IKI). The contents have been jointly produced by IISD, the GIZ SPA Project, the GIZ Global
Project Mainstreaming Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) and Friends of EbA (FEBA).

CONTACT INFORMATION
NAP Global Network Secretariat
c/o International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)
111 Lombard Avenue, Suite 325
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada R3B 0T4
Phone: +1 (204) 958-7700
Email: [email protected]

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© 2021 International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)

Cover photo: Nanang Sujana/CIFOR (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) All images remain the sole property of their source
and may not be used for any purpose without the written permission of the source.

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Key Messages
• Climate change directly affects biodiversity, altering the composition and function
of ecosystems at an unprecedented speed and thus threatening the services that
ecosystems provide. At the same time, ecosystems and biodiversity play a critical
role in supporting efforts to reduce the negative effects of climate change.
• Ecosystems and ecosystem services are climate-sensitive themselves and
must remain within safe biophysical limits to provide effective mitigation and
adaptation as well as socioeconomic development benefits.
• Ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) is widely recognized as a pillar of nature-based
solutions (NbS). EbA is a people-centric approach that is intentionally designed to
deliver adaptation outcomes and socioeconomic benefits for people. When well
designed and implemented, EbA solutions provide multiple adaptation benefits and can
be more cost effective than traditional engineered adaptation solutions.
• The NAP process provides a framework for the purpose of mainstreaming,
mandating, and scaling up EbA across national, subnational, and budgetary
planning processes. It provides an opportunity to link ecosystems and adaptation
planning and prioritize EbA solutions across sectors as part of an overall strategy to
help people adapt to climate change.
• The NAP process enables countries to advance the protection of biodiversity with
climate adaptation objectives and meet multiple international obligations,
reduce vulnerability to the impacts of climate change, and facilitate the integration of
climate change adaptation concerns in biodiversity policies, programs, and activities.
• To ensure that EbA solutions are in fact designed to help people adapt and build the
resilience of ecosystems, they must address climate hazards, generate adaptation
benefits for vulnerable groups, build the resilience of ecosystems, and make
sustainable use of biodiversity.

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Table of Contents
1 Introduction ..............................................................................................................................................................1

2 Ecosystems and Their Role in Adaptation to Climate Change................................................................. 5

3 What Is Limiting Large-Scale Implementation of EbA? .......................................................................... 11

4 Why Mainstream and Upscale EbA Into the NAP Process?...................................................................14

5 Integrating Ecosystems and EbA Solutions Into NAP Processes ........................................................ 18

6 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................................. 31

References.............................................................................................................................................................33

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Acronyms and Abbreviations
ALivE Adaptation Livelihoods and Ecosystems Planning Tool

CBD Convention on Biological Diversity

DRR disaster risk reduction

EbA ecosystem-based adaptation

FEBA Friends of Ecosystem-based Adaptation

GCF Green Climate Fund

GIZ Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit

IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature

M&E monitoring and evaluation

NAP National Adaptation Plan

NbS nature-based solutions

NDC Nationally Determined Contributions

SDG Sustainable Development Goals

UN United Nations

UNEP United Nations Environment Program

UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

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1
Introduction

1
Climate change and biodiversity loss are increasingly recognized as major risks affecting
ecosystems’ ability to provide the services that support our economies and societal well-
being. Biodiversity underpins ecosystem processes and functions that provide other critical
ecosystem services (Convention on Biological Diversity [CBD], 2019). Climate change directly
affects biodiversity, consequently altering the composition and function of ecosystems at an
unprecedented speed and thus threatening the services ecosystems provide, particularly those
that regulate climate and disease control (Dasgupta, 2020). Importantly, ecosystems and
biodiversity play a critical role in supporting efforts to reduce the negative effects of climate
change. They store and remove carbon from the atmosphere and provide important natural
buffers to hazardous events, and thus the effectiveness of most ecosystem-based mitigation and
adaptation actions depends vitally on the functional provision of ecosystem services (Kapos et al.,
2019), as they are themselves climate-sensitive and must remain within safe biophysical limits
(Seddon et al., 2020).

With this in mind, nature-based solutions (NbS) are promoted as “the best way to achieve human
well-being, tackle climate change and protect our living planet” (United Nations Environment
Program [UNEP], 2020a). The increasing political recognition of the climate change and
biodiversity crises and the need to protect and enhance nature’s multiple benefits have never
seemed more critical, with 2020 being widely referred to as the “Super Year for Nature” (UNEP,
2020b). The COVID-19 pandemic further stresses how human impacts on natural habitats,
biodiversity loss, and ecosystem degradation are making “virus spillover” events much more likely
(Johnson et al., 2020) and require us to rethink our relationship with nature.

As an umbrella term, NbS comprise various ecosystem-based approaches, such as ecosystem-

based adaptation (EbA), ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction (DRR), and ecosystem-based
mitigation. Specifically, EbA1 is a means to protect, restore, and enhance ecosystem services
to reduce climate change risks and impacts and improve the resilience of people. EbA has the
potential to generate economic returns and provide multiple benefits, such as improved health,
biodiversity protection, food security, and alternative livelihood opportunities, all of which can build

1
For the purpose of this paper, ecosystem-based adaptation is the main term used as a sub-category of nature-
based solutions. EbA is a well-established, known concept, embraced by the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the CBD. NbS, a more recent concept, is broad in definition and
scope. The conceptual difference between EbA and NbS is that NbS is used as an all-encompassing umbrella
term for ecosystem-based approaches and EbA is a pillar of the broader NbS concept. This means that EbA
solutions are always NbS, but not all NbS are EbA. For more information, see Box 1 in Section 2.

2
resilience to climate change. With over 10 years of application in global and local contexts,2 EbA
has emerged as an essential approach to adaptation that is effective in building ecological, social,
and economic resilience.

To fully maximize and deliver EbA at the scale and pace needed, it must be put at the heart of
countries’ national development and climate strategies. The National Adaptation Plan (NAP)
process3 provides an opening to do just this. By enabling countries to strategically integrate
adaptation into their decision making, planning, and budgeting, the NAP process strives to make
adaptation part of standard development practice. The United Nations (UN) reports that 120
countries have initiated and/or are undertaking activities related to the NAP process4 (UNFCCC,
2019a), providing an important opportunity to scale up EbA, demonstrate a strong commitment to
nature, and address the biodiversity crisis.

Based on the above, members of the NAP Global Network identified the need to better
understand and identify concrete entry points and opportunities to strengthen the integration
of EbA into adaptation planning. The following guidance note presents “why” and “how” the
NAP process can be utilized as a key mechanism and driver to mainstream and upscale EbA.
It is based on a recent analysis of 19 completed NAP documents that reviewed the inclusion of
ecosystems and uptake of EbA measures (Terton & Greenwalt, 2020). The document builds on
the lessons learned from the review and identifies guiding principles and actions accordingly.
Following the introduction, Section 2 provides an overview of ecosystems, ecosystem services
and their role in adaptation, and how managing their transformation under a changing climate
can contribute to reducing climate risks and impacts for both people and ecosystems. It further

2
See, for example, International Institute for Environment and Development. (n.d.). Ecosystem-based approaches
to climate change adaptation. https://www.iied.org/ecosystem-based-approaches-climate-change-adaptation;
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). (n.d.). Adaptation-based approaches to climate
adaptation. https://www.iucn.org/theme/ecosystem-management/our-work/ecosystem-based-approaches-
climate-change-adaptation; Conservation International. (2020). Ecosystem-based adaptation. https://www.
conservation.org/projects/nature-helps-people-adapt-to-climate-change#:~:text=One%20promising%20
approach%20is%20called,impacts%20on%20people%20and%20livelihoods; OroVerde. (2020). Green
watersheds. https://www.regenwald-schuetzen.org/english/greenwatersheds/; World Wildlife Fund. (2020).
Operationalizing ecosystem based adaptation in the Greater Mekong sub-region. https://greatermekong.panda.
org/our_solutions/ecosystem_based_adaptation/#:~:text=Ecosystem%20based%20adaptation%20(EbA)%20
presents,for%20biodiversity%20and%20human%20communities; Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale
Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). Ecosystem-based adaptation to climate change in high mountainous regions of Central
Asia. https://www.giz.de/en/worldwide/40944.html; International Institute for Environment and Development
(IIED) (2019). Perceptions and lessons learned from 13 project sites. https://pubs.iied.org/pdfs/17651IIED.pdf
3
The NAP process is a strategic process that enables countries to integrate climate change adaptation into
relevant new and existing policies, programs, and activities—in particular, development planning processes and
strategies—within all relevant sectors and at different levels, as appropriate (UNFCCC, 2012b).
4
The Least Developed Countries Expert Group is actively supporting least-developed countries in facilitating the
formulation of NAPs before the end of 2020 (UNFCCC, 2019b).

3
provides guidance on effectiveness criteria for EbA solutions. Section 3 lays out the rationale of
why the NAP process is the most appropriate strategic planning tool to mainstream and upscale
EbA. The remainder of the document focuses on guiding principles and recommended actions
along the steps of the NAP process5 to integrate and enhance EbA. Finally, the brief links to
useful tools and resources related to the recommended actions.

The guidance will be useful for NAPs, Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and biodiversity
focal points, and country-level teams engaged in the planning and implementation of NAP
processes, as well as support programs that engage in NAP elaboration and financing.

5
Based on the elements outlined in the UNFCCC Technical Guidelines for the NAP Process produced by the Least
Developed Countries Expert Group (UNFCCC, 2012a).

4
2
Ecosystems and Their Role in
Adaptation to Climate Change

Photo: Asian Development Bank (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

5
All humans and economic activities are highly dependent on functioning ecosystems. Ecosystems
provide important contributions in the form of food production, water supply, and the regulation
of climate, water, and nutrient cycling (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005). Approximately
2.5 billion people depend directly on agriculture as their livelihood and largest source of income
(CBD, 2016a), and 1.2 billion jobs are directly linked to natural resources and ecosystem services
(International Labour Organization, 2018). Loss and degradation of ecosystems and their services
due to climate change and other stressors directly affect people’s livelihoods and human well-
being, and further increase their vulnerability to climate change (Intergovernmental Science-Policy
Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, 2019; Quinney, 2020). If protected and managed
in a way that ecosystems themselves are able to adapt, their services can play a vital role in
helping people to adapt to climate change. They can mitigate the impacts of natural hazards
and make a valuable contribution to human resilience (International Institute for Sustainable
Development, 2003; Sudmeier-Rieux et al., 2006).

Ecosystem services are defined as the benefits that humans derive from ecosystems (Millennium
Ecosystem Assessment, 2005). As laid out in Figure 1, healthy ecosystems are critical for
adaptation benefits because of the services they provide. They can be grouped into four different
types, each of which plays a role in adaptation and each of which is affected by climate change.

• Provisioning services provide the goods and products people obtain from ecosystems,
including resources such as the food, raw materials, energy, and fresh water that people
need to build resilient livelihoods.
• Cultural services provide the non-material benefits obtained from ecosystems that can
provide alternative livelihood opportunities such as ecotourism but also well-being and
spiritual values.
• Regulating services provide important benefits from an ecosystem’s natural processes,
such as slope stabilization and regulating water flow to reduce flooding, which are critical to
reducing exposure and impacts from the immediate effects of climate change.
• Most importantly, supporting services generate and maintain all other ecosystem services
through biodiversity, primary production, and soil formation.

6
Figure 1. The role of ecosystems in adaptation
Healthy Ecosystem Adaptation
Ecosystems Services Benefits

Mountains Provisioning services: Increased

• Food • Fresh water availability of
• Raw materials • Medicinal resources that
resources people need to
build climate-
resilient livelihoods
Grasslands

Cultural services:
• Mental and physical health
• Outdoor recreation
Fresh water • Spiritual values
Improved human
health and well-
being to climate
stressors (e.g., heat)
Regulating services:
Forests • Local climate • Moderation of
and air quality extreme events
regulation • Wastewater
• Carbon treatment
sequestration • Pollination
and storage • Soil fertility
Marine
A physical
buffer against
the impacts of
Supporting services:
weather extremes,
• Habitats for species disasters, and
Wetlands • Maintenance of genetic diversity changes in climate

Actions that protect, manage, and restore ecosystems

for improved functioning provision of services and increased resilience to climate change.

Source: Adapted from the ALivE Planning Tool (Terton & Dazé, 2018).

7
An ecosystem’s ability to function can be significantly compromised directly and indirectly by
the increasing frequency and intensity of climate change disturbances (Seddon et al., 2020).
This reinforces the importance of strong and adaptive management approaches to maintain
functionality within a climate change context. Failing to do so will undermine and reduce
ecosystem services that are essential to helping societies adapt to a changing climate.

As shown in Figure 1, there are strong linkages between healthy ecosystems, the provision of
services, and adaptation benefits. Consequently, due to increased recognition of the multiple
environmental and socioeconomic benefits they provide, the concept of using ecosystems to
adapt to climate change (EbA) has emerged as a well-developed and tested approach ready to
be scaled up.

EbA is widely recognized as a pillar of NbS, and the term has been officially defined by the CBD
(2009) (see Box 1). The CBD definition underscores the rationale that restoring and maintaining
ecosystems are instrumental in ensuring the good functioning of ecosystems and ultimately to
provide ecosystem services that contribute to people’s adaptation to climate change.

Many EbA solutions are not necessarily new ones, but often represent well-known approaches,
including integrated management of watersheds, sustainable land, forests, or coastal zones that
can be applied in the climate change context. EbA solutions can be categorized into three
main types (Terton & Dazé, 2018):

• Restoration: The process of assisting the recovery and transformation of an ecosystem that
has been degraded, damaged, or destroyed by human activities.
• Protection: Strategies to protect the function, structure, processes, and species composition
of an ecosystem, recognizing that all components are interrelated and will have to adapt to
climate change itself.
• Management: Managing resources in ways that promote the long-term sustainability
of ecosystems and the ongoing delivery of essential ecosystem services to society in a
changing climate.

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 Box 1. The conceptual difference between EbA and NbS

NbS is an umbrella concept for various ecosystem-related approaches. It covers 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. NbS aim to achieve society’s development goals and safeguard human well-being in ways
that reflect cultural and societal values and enhance the resilience of ecosystems, their capacity for
renewal, and the provision of services (Cohen-Shacham et al., 2016). NbS can be utilized to describe
adaptation and mitigation actions.

EbA is the use of biodiversity and ecosystem services as part of an overall adaptation
strategy to help people to adapt to the adverse effects of climate change. It aims to maintain
and increase the resilience and reduce the vulnerability of ecosystems and people in the face of the
adverse effects of climate change (CBD, 2009).

The conceptual difference between EbA and NbS is that NbS is used as an all-encompassing umbrella
term for ecosystem-based approaches, and EbA is a pillar of the broader NbS concept. Hence, EbA
should be presented as part of a “large family” of approaches that do not want to compete with each
other, but instead complement each other and offer a demand-oriented range of possibilities that can
be stand-alone technical concepts or applied in combination with each other.

Although the actions taken will often resemble traditional conservation or natural resource
management approaches, the EbA approach differs in that it is purposely designed to address
climate change impacts on ecosystems themselves and to increase people’s adaptive capacity.
First, EbA is a people-centric approach that is intentionally designed to deliver adaptation
outcomes and socioeconomic benefits for people. Second, EbA directly addresses current
and future climate risks; and third, it ensures ecosystem health and long-term effectiveness.
When well designed and implemented, EbA solutions provide multiple adaptation benefits that are
usually more cost effective than traditional engineered adaptation solutions.

To ensure EbA solutions are, in fact, designed to help people adapt and build the resilience of
ecosystems, following five common effectiveness criteria6 during the design and appraisal stage of
adaptation options is a useful tool.

6
The effectiveness criteria have been primarily based on the Friends of Ecosystem-based Adaptation (FEBA,
2017) framework of defining criteria and standards.

9
Ensure EbA solutions…

Directly address associated current and future climate hazards or risks

identified in the vulnerability assessment.
check

Generate adaptation benefits and improve adaptive capacity for people. check

Improve and build the resilience of ecosystems to current and future

climate hazards and change.
check

Prioritize the needs of vulnerable groups, such as poor, elderly and

children, and enhance gender equality.
check

Make sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystem services. check

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3
What Is Limiting Large-Scale
Implementation of EbA?

11
Despite manifold pilot projects, widespread recognition of the risks of climate change and
biodiversity loss, and the need to protect ecosystems and valuable natural resources, EbA has not
been mainstreamed and remains underused. The wider adoption of EbA is constrained by some
common and interlinked challenges, including:

• Current political economies and economic paradigms: Governments do not always

recognize dependencies on, or the economic contribution of, ecosystems. Ecosystems
and their services continue to be treated as commodities but are simultaneously given
insufficient economic and social value to ensure their sustainable and efficient use. Changing
these entrenched attitudes and norms around ecosystems will require what is often called
the “Great Mindshift.”7
• Political will and high-level buy-in: Climate change and biodiversity often remain
priorities only within ministries that have the direct mandate to address them, such as the
Ministry of Environment. However, they may not be able to influence ministries in charge
of finance, economic development, or planning. To facilitate large-scale implementation,
ecosystem-based solutions must be embraced and advocated for by the highest level of
government as well as by the international community.
• Integrated and landscape planning: There is a need for more integrated and aligned
planning processes and strategies to consider the multiple goals, as well as opposing views
and objectives for conservation and development among stakeholders. This includes an
enabling regulatory environment and the facilitation of planning at a larger scale (e.g., at the
landscape and ecosystem levels) to understand synergies and the consequences of different
actions and policies.
• Trade-offs: EbA is often promoted as a win–win solution. However, EbA may lead to
uncomfortable trade-offs that need to be addressed. This includes restricted access to and
allocation of natural resources and the need to strike a balance between the protection
of important ecosystems and other uses, like agriculture and industry. More emphasis is
needed to ensure that EbA solutions provide sufficient local economic benefits to increase
their uptake among communities that rely on natural resources for their livelihoods.
• Finance: Financing is a key challenge for implementing both adaptation and biodiversity
measures. Combining these areas of focus and their benefits through EbA has not led to
more funding for its implementation. To date, EbA has largely been funded by multilateral
donors, national governments, and international non-governmental organizations, often as
stand-alone local projects. The lack of financing is aggravated by the limited financial literacy

7
The “Great Mindshift” encompasses key aspect and emerging mind shifts that have the power to create a new
economic paradigm to achieve the sustainable transformation (Göpel, 2016).

12
 of adaptation actors and limited understanding of or interest in adaptation—let alone EbA—
by finance actors. Further, there is a need to realign fossil fuel subsidies, tax incentives, and
policies away from harmful activities to increase financing for NbS.
• Technical capacities: This relates to the design and implementation of EbA, especially
in non-environmental sectors where the lack of skills and knowledge required for its
implementation can limit the attractiveness of these solutions. Often, engineering and
planning professions do not involve ecosystem-based approaches as part of the training.
Related to capacity is the ability to develop bankable and compelling adaptation projects,
which continues to be challenging for many countries.

By being participatory, fully transparent, and inclusive, the NAP process provides an opportunity
to address some of the above challenges and mainstream EbA across sectors and levels
of government. EbA works best when delivered across whole landscapes at a large scale
(e.g., ecosystem, region, city). The NAP process and its strategic focus on integrating climate
resilience into development planning can provide the important coordinated, cross-sectoral
dialogue needed to build consensus, address trade-offs, and considerably scale up and sustain
EbA. Through the NAP process, EbA can be integrated into relevant national, subnational, and
budgetary planning processes underpinned by a strong national mandate that places EbA at the
centre of climate adaptation.

13
4
Why Mainstream and Upscale
EbA Into the NAP Process?

Photo: Eisen Bernardo/CCAFS SEA (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

14
To fully maximize the benefits and uptake of EbA and move beyond small-scale projects, it is
essential that it be integrated into an overall adaptation strategy (FEBA, 2017). The NAP is a
strategic process that ultimately aims to make people, places, ecosystems, and economies
more resilient to the impacts of climate change. It involves analyzing current and future climatic
change and assessing vulnerability to its impacts, looking at who and what are vulnerable to
which impacts. This provides a basis for identifying and prioritizing adaptation options, such as
EbA, implementing these options into planning and budgeting processes at the national level, and
tracking progress and results (Hammill et al., 2020).

Specific guidance for the NAP process is provided through the UNFCCC Technical Guidelines,
which emphasize that the NAP process is to be inclusive of vulnerable groups, communities, and
ecosystems and recognize the need to protect and build the resilience of ecosystems. It must
be multi-sectoral and establish links to lower levels of government (UNFCCC, 2012a). If used
deliberately, the NAP process can play an essential role in strengthening and scaling up EbA.

The main reasons to upscale and mainstream EbA into the NAP process include:

• NAPs provide a strategic framework for mainstreaming, mandating, and scaling up

EbA. They offer an opportunity to link ecosystems and adaptation planning and prioritize
EbA solutions across sectors as part of a comprehensive strategy to help people adapt
to climate change. Successful EbA is part of an overall adaptation strategy along with
other cross-cutting themes, such as gender, multi-level governance, and private sector
engagement (FEBA, 2017).
• The NAP process can be a means of operationalizing the ecosystem-related
adaptation commitments and objectives outlined in NDCs (see Box 2). A recently
published analysis of countries’ NDC submissions (Seddon et al., 2019) revealed that 104
NDCs acknowledge that ecosystems and biodiversity are vulnerable to climate change,
and 76 countries point to the conservation of ecosystems as an important motivation for
adaptation planning.
• Given the importance of ecosystem services in other global agendas, positioning EbA and its
co-benefits as a vital part of the NAP process provides opportunities to link adaptation
explicitly to these agendas, including through climate mitigation, biodiversity, and
agriculture, making adaptation more visible and operational in multiple sectors.
• NAPs are developed with input and commitments from multiple sectors. They
offer an important entry point to provide evidence to decision-makers across sectors and
ensure that ecosystem services are considered as a potential solution to reducing human
vulnerability. They also ensure that biodiversity and ecosystem impacts associated with each
adaptation option are taken into account.
• The NAP process is nationally driven but aims to establish and maintain linkages with the
subnational level, as implementing adaptation actions will inevitably involve actors such as

15
 local authorities. This provides an important opportunity to raise awareness about EbA
and integrate it into subnational and local planning scales. This is especially important
in relation to local adaptation plans for cities.
• Monitoring and evaluation (M&E) is an important element of the NAP process and can help
to define measurable outcomes and targets for EbA as part of a national M&E system.
It also builds the evidence base for EbA that facilitates access to climate finance.
• Financial support has been made available through sources such as the Green Climate
Fund (GCF), the International Climate Initiative, and others for the formulation and
implementation of NAPs, which can lead to more support for EbA. For example,
developing countries can access up to USD 3 million from the GCF for national adaptation
planning and other adaptation planning processes. Further, private sector engagement
is considered a key part of countries’ overall efforts to adapt to the impacts of climate
change. Strategic and well-informed inclusion of the private sector provides important
opportunities to upscale EbA.

Box 2. How is the NAP process linked to the NDC?

NDCs are the signature vehicle of the Paris Agreement, and although not mandatory, many countries
have chosen to include information on adaptation in their NDCs in addition to their mitigation
commitments (132 of the 180 countries that submitted NDCs included adaptation information). At the
same time, the NAP process provides a domestic planning process that can set out how adaptation
goals are implemented. A country that already has a NAP process underway can draw from it to
define the adaptation targets and actions to be included in an NDC. Equally, the NAP process offers
a vehicle for implementing adaptation commitments included in an NDC. A country that does not yet
have a NAP process underway may choose to include a commitment to launch one as part of its NDC,
along with an overarching vision and framework for adaptation. As NDCs are international pledges, the
adaptation component of NDCs may help to raise the profile and garner further support for the NAP
process (Price-Kelly & Hammill, 2016).

Ideally, the NAP process and the adaptation component of NDCs will be aligned so that they articulate
the same objectives, are informed by the same datasets and analyses, and are tracked using the same
metrics.

While NbS have been prominently included as mitigation and adaptation tools in NDCs, major
opportunities remain to scale up NbS and emphasize synergies between adaptation and mitigation.
According to a recent study by the IUCN and Oxford University, at least 130 countries included NbS in
some form in their NDCs—104 as an adaptation tool and 27 as a mitigation tool (Seddon et al., 2019).

Countries are encouraged to pledge more ambitious goals on climate change by updating their
NDCs. This provides an important opportunity to strengthen the prominence of NbS to address both
the causes and consequences of climate change and emphasize synergies between adaptation and
mitigation through the inclusion of such measures. WWF (2020) has developed guidance and simple
recommendations for integrating NbS for climate in revised NDCs.

16
Box 3. Other relevant international commitments: Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs), Aichi Biodiversity Targets, and the Sendai Framework

The importance of ecosystems—and the potential role they play in achieving meeting international
commitments—is embedded across major international conventions, providing important policy
leverage. Moreover, integrating EbA into NAP processes can create operational linkages between the
climate policy agenda and the CBD, SDGs, and the Sendai Framework, allowing for more optimal use
of resources to meet multiple policy objectives.

• Within the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (United Nations, 2015), ecosystems and
EbA are directly relevant for achieving three SDGs: 13 (Climate Action), 14 (Life Below Water), and
15 (Life on Land). In addition, EbA could be a solution for targets related to hunger (SDG 2) and
clean water and sanitation (SDG 6) or contribute to attaining gender equality (SDG 5) and reducing
inequalities (SDG 10). M&E is an integral part of the NAP process, and countries could utilize a
NAP’s M&E system to capture progress and successes related to these SDGs to inform their
voluntary national reviews.
• The Aichi Biodiversity Targets (Convention on Biological Diversity, 2010) are set to be revised
as part of the post-2020 Biodiversity Framework under the CBD. EbA and ecosystem
management for mitigation and adaptation sit squarely at this nexus of biodiversity and climate
change and have the potential for countries to address commitments under both agendas
concurrently. Countries are asked to prepare voluntary national commitments for biodiversity
and update their National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plans to inform the new post-2020
Biodiversity Framework. This provides an important opportunity to strengthen synergies and
linkages between national biodiversity strategies and action plans and NAPs that will enable
countries to meet multiple international obligations, reduce vulnerability to the impacts of
climate change by building adaptive capacity and resilience through biodiversity conservation,
and facilitate the integration of climate change adaptation concerns into biodiversity policies,
programs, and activities.
• The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (United Nations Office for Disaster Risk
Reduction, 2015), strongly recognizes the role of ecosystems and the environment as a cross-
cutting issue in DRR and emphasizes that ecosystems should be integrated into risk assessments,
risk governance, and investing in resilience. Likewise, it recognizes climate change as a driver
of disaster risk and sees addressing climate change as an opportunity to reduce it. Many NAPs
already explicitly consider DRR; therefore, including ecosystems in vulnerability assessments and
mainstreaming EbA across sectors through a NAP process can help countries to achieve the goals
of the Sendai Framework.

Strong consideration of ecosystems and EbA in NAP processes can also help meet other international
commitments, including the Bonn Challenge on forest and landscape restoration, the United Nations
Convention to Combat Desertification targets on Land Degradation Neutrality, and the New Urban
Agenda.

17
5
Integrating Ecosystems and EbA
Solutions Into NAP Processes

Photo: E. van de Grift SEA (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

18
The NAP process comprises three broad phases—planning, implementation, and M&E— each of
which provides important opportunities to apply an ecosystem lens and integrate EbA solutions.
During the planning phase, climate-related vulnerabilities and risks are assessed, options for
managing these risks are identified and prioritized, and strategies for their implementation are
developed. During the implementation phase, these strategies are fleshed out in greater detail,
financing is secured, and necessary technical and human resources are procured and deployed.
Progress, results, and lessons from implementing the strategies are tracked and reported as part
of M&E (Hammill et al., 2020). If used strategically, the different phases of the NAP process can
play an essential role in strengthening ecosystems and scaling up EbA.

The review of NAP documents highlighted that the NAP process provides a strategic mechanism
to upscale and mainstream EbA solutions at the national level and across sectors. Many
organizations and institutions have developed principles and recommendations that are helpful
to guide the integration of EbA into the NAP process. The NAP Global Network reviewed current
guidance and took into consideration important observations from the review of existing NAP
documents (Terton & Greenwalt, 2020) to summarize the following guiding principles for
integrating ecosystems and EbA solutions in the NAP process.

For each guiding principle, recommended actions and helpful resources are identified.
Where the actions are linked to specific steps in the NAP technical guidelines, this is indicated
in brackets—see Figure 2 for an overview of the steps in the UNFCCC NAP Technical Guidelines.
Regardless of where a country is in the NAP process, there are opportunities to initiate or integrate
EbA at each of the phases of the process.

Following these guiding principles throughout the NAP process will help countries to effectively
use ecosystems and ecosystem services to help people adapt to climate change and minimize
negative impacts on ecosystems.

19
Figure 2. Overview of the steps in the UNFCCC NAP Technical Guidelines

Element Element Element Element

A B C D
PREPARATORY REPORTING,
ELEMENTS MONITORING
AND REVIEW
LAY THE • B1: Analysing IMPLEMENTATION
GROUNDWORK AND current and future STRATEGIES • D1: Monitoring the
ADDRESS GAPS climate change NAP process
• C1: Prioritizing
• A1: Initiating and scenarios • D2: Assess progress,
climate change
launching of the • B2: Assess climate adaptation in effectiveness and
NAP process vulnerabilities and national planning gaps of NAP process
• A2: Stocktaking identify adaptation • D3: Iteratively
• C2: Developing a
of climate-related options updating the NAP
national adaptation
information • B3: Reviewing implementation • D4: Outreach on
• A3: Addressing and appraising strategy the NAP process
capacity gaps and adaptation options and reporting on
• C3: Enhancing
weaknesses • B4: Compiling and capacity for planning progress
• A4: Assessing communicating NAP and implementation
development • B5: Integrate climate of NAP
needs and climate change adaptation • C4: Promoting
vulnerabilities into planning coordination and
processes synergy with other
agreements

20
Guiding Principle 1: Emphasize the role of ecosystems in vulnerability
reduction for people, their livelihoods, and socioeconomic development.
There are clear challenges to attributing causality between the EbA intervention and intended
social and ecological benefits, as well as actual risk reduction from climate impacts. To
understand the importance of ecosystem services for human vulnerability to climate change,
NAP teams should clearly depict the causal impact chain from ecosystem services on people’s
livelihoods and subsequently the impacts of climate change on these services (e.g., raw materials,
food, water supply). This will ensure that EbA solutions are designed to deliver adaptation benefits
for people and livelihoods.

Practical steps • Acknowledge and prioritize the role and use of nature to address climate
to put this change as a strategic goal of the NAP process. (Steps A1, B3, B4, B5)
principle into • Identify and clearly articulate how the loss of ecosystem services
action exacerbates people’s vulnerabilities to climate change. (Steps A4, B1, B2, B3)
• Apply participatory and inclusive approaches for communities and people
who utilize ecosystem services or have an individual connection to them to
identify adaptation benefits. (Steps A2, B1, B2, B3)
• Ensure solutions are designed intentionally to address climate risk and
reduce human vulnerabilities. (Steps B2, B3)

Useful Key tool #1: Adaptation, Livelihoods and Ecosystem Planning Tool (ALivE).
resources and ALivE is a computer-based EbA planning tool that can be used to understand and
guidance analyze the linkages among ecosystems, livelihoods, and climate change and plan
effective EbA solutions (Terton & Dazé, 2018).
Key tool #2: Tool for Integration of Ecosystems Into Climate Change Adaptation
Planning Processes.
The core objective of the tool is to help facilitate an efficient process for
consideration of ecosystems within the NAP planning process (Conservation
International, 2015).

21
Guiding Principle 2: Take an ecosystem-level approach to assessing
vulnerability and risks using the best available science, as well as Indigenous
and Traditional Knowledge.
Climate change vulnerability assessments and scenarios are fundamental to designing adaptation
priorities and solutions. Understanding how ecosystems are impacted by climate change provides
the basis for identifying EbA solutions. NAP teams should analyze current and future climate
scenarios to evaluate and assess impacts on ecosystems and ecosystem services. It is critical that
NAP teams acknowledge that climate risks threaten the long-term viability of ecosystems, which
requires identifying adaptation options to protect ecosystems and their services from the impacts
of climate change. If available, NAP teams should build on existing ecosystem vulnerability
assessments. This information should promote and guide the development of EbA solutions to
help people adapt to climate change as well as enhance ecosystem functionality.

Practical • Take stock of past relevant ecosystem vulnerability and risk assessments and
steps to put past/ongoing EbA-related projects and information. (Step A2)
this principle • Assess current and future climate impacts and vulnerabilities on ecosystems
into action and biodiversity based on the best available science (applying an ecosystem/landscape
approach). (Steps A4, B1, B2)
• Acknowledge and advance the interdependencies between climate change and
biodiversity protection, in particular, climate risks and non-climatic stressors
threatening the long-term viability of ecosystems, requiring adaptation options to
protect ecosystems and their services. (Steps A4, B1, B2, C1)
• Involve conservation and biodiversity experts in the formulation of the NAP
process. (Steps A2, A3, B1, B2, B3, C3, C4, D1, D3)
• Coordinate and align the NAP process with the country’s national biodiversity
assessment and vice versa to support biodiversity conservation and the need to help
nature adapt to climate change. (Steps A2, B1, B2, B3, C4, D1)

Useful Key tool #1: Climate Risk Assessment for Ecosystem-based Adaptation. This guidebook
resources provides guidance on how to systematically consider ecosystem-based solutions in the
and guidance context of climate risk assessments (GIZ et al., 2018).
Key tool #2: The Vulnerability Sourcebook. This sourcebook offers a practical and
scientifically sound methodological approach to vulnerability assessments and their
application for the M&E of adaptation (GIZ, 2014).
Key resource #3: Voluntary Guidelines for the Design and Effective Implementation of
Ecosystem-Based Approaches to Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction
and Supplementary Information. These guidelines offer concise information for policy-
makers on why integrating ecosystem-based approaches into policy frameworks matters.
They provide practical steps for planners and practitioners to design and implement
effective strategies for EbA and DRR, as well as how to reach out to key sectors, such as
planning, finance, agriculture, infrastructure, water, and forestry (CBD, 2019).

22
Guiding Principle 3: Adopt an integrated approach that considers
ecosystems across all sectors in the NAP process.
Ecosystems underpin economies and societies and therefore are relevant for almost all sectors.
An integrated and cross-sectoral approach for EbA can maximize synergies and ensure one
sector does not undermine the goals of another. Important ecosystems or species are in direct
competition with other uses like agriculture, tourism, industry, and urban development, while
policies in sectors such as transport, energy, and buildings may constrain efforts to upscale EbA.
The NAP process has a role to play in bringing about these cross-sectoral dialogues and involving
multiple stakeholders from different sectors early in the process to increase buy-in and ascertain
competing priorities and trade-offs. Similarly, when identifying appropriate adaptation solutions,
EbA should be considered as default adaptation solutions in the design and prioritization process.

Practical steps • Consider all natural ecosystems present in the country when identifying
to put this services and climate adaptation benefits, including mountains, forests,
principle into grasslands, agricultural lands, urban landscapes, marine and coastal, fresh water,
action drylands and desert, etc. (Steps A2, A4, B1, B2, B3)
• When assessing individual sectors’ vulnerabilities, consider the relationship
between that sector’s performance and its dependency on healthy
ecosystems. (Steps A2, A4, B1, B2, B3)
• Closely collaborate and coordinate with sectors across government on the
design and implementation of relevant EbA solutions. (Steps A2, A3, B2, B3, B5,
C1, C2, C3)
• Consider ecosystems as a stand-alone sector and mainstream EbA solutions
across all sectors. (Steps A1, A2, A4, B3)
• Promote EbA and hybrid solutions (e.g., green roofs) as the default
adaptation solution before engineered solutions across all sectors, highlighting
the cost effectiveness of EbA solutions where possible. (Steps B2, B3, B4)
• Ensure that the ecosystem impacts of other adaptation options are considered,
following environmental safeguards, and appraise EbA solutions against
effectiveness criteria (see Section 2). (Steps B2, B3)
• Consider factors like vulnerability, biodiversity value, and the priorities of
stakeholders to assess trade-offs; promote honest dialogues among them; and
enhance desirable synergies. (Steps A3, A4, B2, B3, B4, C4)

23
Useful Key resource #1: Making Ecosystem-based Adaptation Effective: A Framework for
resources and Defining Qualification Criteria and Quality Standards.
guidance This paper outlines key elements, principles, criteria, and indicators for defining EbA
and for strengthening its integration into policy frameworks and implementation
measures at different levels (FEBA, 2017).
Key resource #2: EnhaNCA: Enhance Natural Capital Accounting Policy Uptake and
Relevance.
The Enhance Natural Capital Accounting Policy Uptake and Relevance (EnhaNCA)
project aims to provide materials to increase policymakers’ understanding of
applications of natural capital accounting (NCA) according to the System of
Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA) (UN, 2020).
Key tool #3: Emerging Lessons For Mainstreaming Ecosystem-Based Adaptation:
Strategic Entry Points and Processes.
This report assesses entry points for EbA mainstreaming and governance aspects in
five partner countries. It offers insights and lessons learned, and presents concepts
and case studies (GIZ, 2019).
Key tool #4: Ecosystem-based Adaptation: Question-Based Guidance for Assessing
Effectiveness.
This booklet describes a process based on asking a detailed set of questions that
can be used by project managers and researchers to shape project design, assess
the progress of an ongoing project, or draw conclusions about the effectiveness of a
project that has ended (Reid et al., 2018).
Key tool #5: Economic Approaches for Assessing Climate Change Adaptation
Options Under Uncertainty: Excel Tools for Cost-Benefit and Multi-Criteria Analysis.
This document highlights methods and tools for the economic assessment of
climate change adaptation options. Special emphasis is placed on the issue of
including uncertainty in the economic assessment and respective approaches
(Noleppa, 2013).
Key tool #6: InVEST: Integrated Valuation of Environmental Services and Tradeoffs.
InVEST provides open-source software models for mapping and valuing the
ecosystem services provided by land and seascapes. It is designed to inform
decisions about natural resource management (Sharp et al., 2019).
Key tool #7: Opportunity Mapping.
The Opportunity Mapping tool offers a cross-mapping tool of ecosystem distribution
and human exposure to hazards at a global scale. It highlights geographic locations
where either ecosystem restoration or protection is particularly appropriate for
reducing the impact of certain hazards. Datasets can be uploaded to create your own
maps (PEDRR, n.d.).

24
Guiding Principle 4: Embrace global policy alignment by considering
synergies with other relevant international commitments that EbA solutions
contribute to.
Strong consideration of ecosystems and EbA in the NAP process can also serve to meet other
commitments given the multiple environmental, social, and economic benefits that healthy
ecosystems provide. Hence, it is useful to explore and include how proposed EbA solutions
contribute to other existing national strategies and commitments (NDCs, a biodiversity strategy, a
DRR strategy, and the SDGs). This can be an efficient way to identify synergies and powerful points
for leveraging impacts and financial resources.

Practical steps • Take into consideration mitigation benefits and the contribution of EbA
to put this solutions. (Steps B2, B3)
principle into • Identify synergies to other national strategies, international conventions,
action and commitments (specifically the NDC, a biodiversity strategy, DRR plans, and
SDGs). (Steps B2, B3, C4)
• Integrate climate change considerations into biodiversity and conservation
planning processes and projects. (Steps B5, C2, C3, C4)

Useful Key resource #1: Promoting Synergies in Addressing Biodiversity and Climate
resources and Change Adaptation Issues: Linking National Adaptation Plans and National
guidance Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans.
This note aims to assist national focal points of the CBD to collaborate with their
UNFCCC counterparts to strengthen synergies between the conservation and
sustainable use of biodiversity and climate change adaptation at the national level
through the design, review, and implementation of NAPs and national biodiversity
strategies and action plans (CBD, 2016a).
Key resource #2: Alignment to Advance Climate-Resilient Development – Overview
Brief 1.
This initial brief provides an introduction to the concept of alignment as it relates
to the policy processes under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the
Paris Agreement, and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (Dazé et al.,
2018).
Key tool #3: Words into Action: Engaging for Resilience in Support of the Sendai
Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030.
These guidelines show how to incorporate NbS into a DRR strategy. This can
highlight linkages with NAPs by using EbA (United Nations Office for Disaster Risk
Reduction, 2020).

25
Guiding Principle 5: Make use of the participatory and inclusive nature of
the NAP process to design the most appropriate and effective EbA solutions.
EbA solutions should be a central part of participatory planning and implementation of adaptation
options to ensure transparency and buy-in from multiple stakeholders, as well as to manage
trade-offs and secure a common commitment to environmental safeguards. Participatory
processes must recognize that women and men, due to their gendered roles and responsibilities
in society, experience the impacts of a changing climate differently and have different capacities
to adapt. That means EbA solutions being developed as part of the NAP must consider gender
differences and take into consideration particularly vulnerable groups (i.e., Indigenous People, the
elderly, youth) in terms of benefits and losses from the implementation of EbA. This increases the
likelihood that EbA investments will yield equitable benefits for people of all genders and social
groups, including those who are particularly vulnerable.

Practical steps • Apply participatory and inclusive approaches to identify EbA solutions for
to put this implementation, ensuring equitable participation. (Steps A2, A4, B2, B3, B5, C3, D1)
principle into • Recognize, value and integrate Indigenous and Traditional Knowledge (e.g.,
action observations of changes at the local level) through participatory approaches.
(Steps A2, A3, A4, B1, B2)
• Incorporate gender perspectives into EbA solutions where possible to
ensure gender inequalities are not perpetuated. (A4, B1, B2, C3, D1, D2)

Useful Key tool #1: Climate Vulnerability and Capacity Analysis Handbook.
resources and The handbook presents a participatory methodology for climate vulnerability and
guidance capacity analysis (Dazé et al., 2009).
Key tool #2: Integrating Community and Ecosystem-Based Approaches in Climate
Change Adaptation Responses.
This document provides a conceptual framework for an approach to adaptation,
which empowers local communities to manage ecosystems under resilient
governance arrangements that can provide the ecosystem services on which they
depend (Girot et al., n.d.).
Key tool #3: Toolkit for a Gender-Responsive Process to Formulate and Implement
National Adaptation Plans (NAPs).
The toolkit provides guidance on addressing gender in the enabling activities that
facilitate progress and increase effectiveness in the NAP process, including the
establishment of institutional arrangements, capacity development, stakeholder
engagement, information sharing, and securing finance (Dazé & Church, 2019).

26
Guiding Principle 6: Use the NAP process to engage subnational and local
level governments in the design and implementation of regional and local
EbA solutions.
Effective EbA works toward collaboration between multiple levels of government, institutions, and
sectors. Identifying responsible institutions and actors for relevant policy and planning processes
and initiating dialogues for coordination and information sharing can promote the integration of
EbA across levels of government. This is especially important because ecosystems transcend
jurisdictional boundaries, and regional cooperation could help maximize results for people and
ecosystems. The NAP process provides an opportunity and process to bring about these multi-
level governance dialogues and identify areas of where and how to provide support for vertical
coordination. It involves stakeholders from different levels in the process. Cities, in particular,
present important opportunities to maximize EbA solutions.

Practical steps • Undertake participatory vulnerability assessment and adaptation planning

to put this processes at the subnational and local levels, ensuring equitable participation
principle into and fostering engagement and connectivity between levels of government. (Steps
action B1, B2, B3, B4, B5)
• Identify and engage subnational actors in the implementation of EbA
solutions, including across transboundary ecosystems (e.g., through cost-sharing
agreements and budgetary planning). (Steps B2, B3, B5, C1, C2)
• Identify and build technical capacity needs at subnational levels to implement
effective EbA solutions. (Steps C3, C4, D1, D2)

Useful Key tool #1: Vertical Integration in National Adaptation Plan (NAP) Processes:
resources and Guidance Note.
guidance This guidance note outlines the rationale for linking national and subnational
adaptation efforts, drawing on the policy framework and guidance for the process as
well as experiences to date in facilitating adaptation (Dazé et al., 2016).
Key tool #2: The Governance and Politics of Nature-based Solutions.
This working paper aims to bring together key insights on the governance of
NbS—such as green/blue spaces, infrastructure, and parks—in cities (Sekulova &
Anguelovski, 2017).
Key tool #3: Transboundary Conservation: A Systematic and Integrated Approach.
These guidelines provide an improved understanding of transboundary conservation
principles and practice, supported by examples taken from around the globe
(Vasilijević et al., 2015).

27
Guiding Principle 7: Adopt a long-term approach and ensure sufficient
resources for the implementation of EbA solutions.
To fully harvest the benefits of EbA solutions and to ensure the continued supply of ecosystem
services in the face of climate change, a long-term approach is needed to enhance the durable
chances of sustainability. The NAP process provides the framework for long-term planning
supported by capacity development, financing, appropriate institutional arrangements, and
information sharing among the different actors involved. This means putting in place technical,
human and financial resources at levels of management where EbA solutions are implemented.
Financing is a key challenge for implementing adaptation and biodiversity conservation measures,
and, unfortunately, combining the focus and benefits has not automatically unlocked increased
funding for both. Although there has been an uptake in EbA projects in many countries, the lack of
financing remains a burden. It is important for NAP teams to find existing and potential sources of
financing for EbA, as well as steps to engage the private sector and expand work around valuing
the benefits, costs, and impacts of EbA.

Practical steps • Commit to sustained investment in EbA activities as well as technical and
to put this human resources to ensure effective design and management of EbA solutions
principle into and achievement of long-term adaptation outcomes. (Steps C3, C4, D1, D2)
action • Comprehensively estimate and compare the costs for EbA solutions against
engineered solutions and include them in the NAP process. (Steps B3, B4)
• Develop financing options, sufficient support, and financial resources
(public, private, and international) for the implementation of EbA solutions (e.g.,
payment for ecosystem services, stormwater fees, tourism levies) in close
collaboration with the Ministry of Finance. (Steps B3, C1, C2)
• Engage the private sector in the implementation of EbA solutions (e.g., through
cost-sharing agreements and incentives). (Steps A3, A4, B2, B3, B4, C2, C3)

28
Useful Key resource #1: Finance Options and Instruments for Ecosystem-based Adaptation.
resources and This report provides a comprehensive outlook on available financing sources and
guidance stipulates 10 examples for project developers and practitioners who might be keen
to learn from different finance approaches to implement and maintain EbA measures
(Hunzai et al., 2018).
Key resource #2: Grow Green: Approaches to Financing Nature-based Solutions in
Cities.
This document provides an overview of financing approaches that can be used to
deliver green infrastructure or NbS in urban areas (Trinomics & IUCN, 2019).
Key tool #3: Toolkit for Engaging the Private Sector in National Adaptation Plans
(NAPs).
This toolkit is designed to support country efforts to develop strategies to
systematically engage private sector actors in their NAP process, as appropriate.
This includes engaging them in all phases of the NAP process (Crawford et al.,
2020).
Key resource #4: Governance for Ecosystem-based Adaptation: Understanding the
Diversity of Actors and Quality of Arrangements.
This study aims to provide key background information on concepts and quality
aspects of governance, as well as practical examples, to better understand and
make use of existing governance structures in the context of implementing and
mainstreaming EbA and NbS approaches (Amend, 2019).

29
Guiding Principle 8: Ensure accountability and performance by building an
evidence base for EbA solutions as part of an overall NAP M&E system.
Uncertainty in terms of shifting baselines, foreseen and unforeseen changes to ecosystems, and
biodiversity from climate change, and other factors of degradation that affect the provision of
ecosystem services can make it difficult to plan EbA solutions and accurately assess their impacts.
Another issue complicating the matter is the long-term time frame, in terms of realizing both the
social and ecological impacts of EbA efforts—the true scale of benefits may extend beyond the
monitoring time frame. The NAP process could help provide this longer-term framework, ensuring
the benefits from investment into EbA solutions are captured, inform the evidence base, and are
shared across sectors and levels of government. The learning from the information and data
collected is essential to adjust solutions accordingly to increase the likelihood that adaptation
goals and priorities are achieved.

Practical steps • Develop time-bound and evidence-based targets for EbA solutions, including
to put this societal and economic benefits. (Steps D1, D2, D3)
principle into • Identify key actors and their responsibilities in monitoring and evaluating EbA
action solutions. (Steps D1, D2)
• Document and disseminate information to build the evidence and
effectiveness of EbA. (Steps D2, D3, D4)
• Integrate new information into review cycles of the NAP process. (Step D3)
• Based on identified synergies to other international conventions (specifically the
NDC, a biodiversity strategy, DRR plans, and SDGs), consider other relevant
reporting requirements that this information could be used for. (Steps C4, D1,
D2, D4)
• Build capacity to undertake a systematic collection of ecological data at
regular intervals and over time. (Steps A3, C3, D1)

Useful Key resource #1: Guidebook for Monitoring and Evaluating Ecosystem-based
resources and Adaptation Interventions.
guidance This guidebook provides an overview of the process needed for designing and
implementing effective M&E for EbA (GIZ & FEBA, 2020).
Key resource #2: Developing National Adaptation Monitoring and Evaluation
Systems: A Guidebook.
This guidebook aims to guide decision making regarding the purpose, design,
operationalization, and use of the results of an appropriate system for national
adaptation M&E (Price-Kelly et al., 2015).

30
6
Conclusion

Photo: Axel Fassio/CIFOR (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

31
EbA has emerged as an essential approach to adaptation that demonstrates effectiveness in
building ecological, social, and economic resilience. To truly upscale and reach its full potential,
EbA must be delivered across whole landscapes and at a large scale. The NAP process and
its strategic focus on integrating climate resilience into development provide the important
coordinated, cross-sectoral dialogue needed to build consensus, address trade-offs, and
considerably scale up and sustain EbA.

Being participatory, fully transparent, and inclusive, the NAP process provides the opportunity
for a long-term and integrated approach to mainstreaming EbA across sectors and levels of
government, truly maximizing the potential of nature. Further, integrating EbA into NAP processes
creates operational linkages between the climate and biodiversity policy agendas. This critical
measure to advance the protection of biodiversity and ecosystems is in line with climate and
sustainable development objectives.

At the same time, it must be recognized that ecosystems can be significantly compromised by the
increasing frequency and intensity of climate change, reinforcing the importance of acknowledging
and managing climate risks that threaten the long-term viability and functionality of ecosystems.

Strengthening the integration of EbA and other NbS in NAP processes and climate-related
strategies (e.g., NDCs and national biodiversity strategies and action plans) signals the significance
of ecosystems and their services in our economies and to societal well-being. It further
demonstrates that ecosystems and the services they provide are critical to meeting the adaptation
needs and priorities identified by countries.

32
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Coordinating Climate-Resilient Development
www.napglobalnetwork.org
[email protected]
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