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Science Summit session on Nature-based solutions for Disaster Risk Reduction
The 8th annual edition of the Science Summit took place at the United Nations General Assembly on 13-30 September 2022. The Summit aims to advance and sustain the science mechanisms required to support global scientific collaborations across continents and underline the contribution of science in attaining the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
On 22 September, UNESCO convened a virtual session on 鈥淣ature-based solutions for reducing disaster risks鈥. During this session, a high-level panel addressed the state of knowledge on Nature-based Solutions (NBS) to reduce environmental risks based on examples from around the world and in line with major global frameworks, including the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, and the Convention on Biological Diversity. The session aimed to improve the understanding of NBS-related opportunities and challenges as well as associated socio-ecological interactions and to strengthen the scientific basis for sustainable development and resilience.
With natural hazards such as floods, landslides and wildfires impacting vulnerable communities at an increasing frequency and severity across the world, the concept of NBS is increasingly considered as a vehicle to enhance social and ecosystem resilience and achieve the SDGs. Regional perspectives and case studies demonstrating the potential of NBS were highlighted during UNESCOs dedicated session at the Science Summit by a committee of experts from Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, and the Arab States.
The institutional greeting was delivered by Mr Abou Amani, Director of the Division of Water Sciences and Secretary of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme, and the session was chaired Mr Soichiro Yasukawa, Chief of the Disaster Risk Reduction Unit of UNESCO.
Mr Fabrice Renaud, representing University of Glasgow and IUCN-CEM, provided an overview of NBS, while highlighting successful case studies, as well as related framework agreements, targets, key indicators and global standards.
H.E. Mr Ismu Ismunandar from the Indonesian Permanent Delegation to UNESCO, presented the framework for uptake of NBS in the Asia-Pacific region by highlighting the regional adoption of global frameworks as well as regional cooperation frameworks and examples of NBS from Indonesia including mangrove restoration to prevent coastal floods and erosion and forest restoration to avoid soil erosion.
Alejandra Reyes on behalf of the Honduras National Institute of Forest Conservation and Development, Protected Areas and Wildlife, discussed the role of NBS in Biosphere Reserves across Latin America, Portugal and Spain with a focus on participatory approaches, social inclusion and local and indigenous knowledge systems. Examples included traditional cropping systems and the preservation of native, well-adapted seeds, that are combined with fruit-producing trees and reduce erosion and nutrient loss to assist in soil conservation.
Ms Elsa Sattout, Programme Specialist at UNESCO Regional Bureau for Sciences in the Arab States introduced examples of NBS in the Arab States that have been adopted for generations by indigenous people and communities such as dune-forming fences in Egypt to protect against desertification and conserve fertile land, and the rehabilitation of agricultural terraces in Yemen to reduce the effects of soil erosion, runoff, floods, droughts, and landslides. The Atlas on Natural hazards in the Arab Region serves as a regional knowledge sharing platform for NBS case studies.
Ms Silvana Di Sabatino from University of Bologna offered the European perspective on NBS, by introducing OPERANDUM, a large-scale demonstrator project funded under the H2020 framework as well as insights gained from the projects case studies. As one of the examples, the Po Delta Biosphere Reserve in Italy was introduced where NBS are used to reduce the risks associated with coastal erosion and salt intrusion. Implemented solutions include the seeding of plant species that can function as resilient natural barriers to salt intrusions and protect agricultural lands, and the construction of an artificial dune using geo-materials to reduce coastal erosion.
Mr Joanes Atela, on behalf of the African Center for Technology Studies discussed the opportunities for NBS in Disaster Risk Reduction for the urban poor based on the case of Nairobi. He highlighted the need for multiple solutions beyond infrastructure such as NBS to stabilize the fragile ecosystems in urban areas and informal settlements, as well as key institutional challenges related to NBS in developing cities.
Ms Gretta Mvunabandi, spoke on behalf of Rwanda Young Water Professionals and discussed the potential of youth advocacy to contribute to addressing various water and environmental challenges
in Rwanda based on local case studies, such as nature-based flood adaptation measures implemented in informal settlements while highlighting knowledge sharing, advocacy, and campaigning initiatives as well as common challenges related to capacity development and resource mobilization.
During the discussion, several recommendations were shared by the panellists: In certain cases, NBS needed to be considered in an integrated way for both rural and urban areas rather than planning separately particularly in water management, e.g., for upstream and downstream river management. Effective communication between communities and policy makers was considered essential for each NBS project, in particular to address relevant concerns such as the effectiveness of a given solution. The experts highlighted scientific evidence that underlined the efficacy of presented solutions as well as the need to establish an effective multi-stakeholder communication and engagement strategy to promote uptake of NBS. The adoption of NBS was also considered crucially dependent on coherent and enabling policies and regulatory frameworks due to the lengthy administrative and technical procedures required for public works. 91麻豆国产精品自拍 begun to address the diverse challenges related to NBS uptake by contributing to the establishment of a multi-stakeholder data portal called GeoIKP which serves as a digital knowledge sharing hub for NBS-related information including technical solutions, enabling policies, good practices, and decision support tools. The platform was developed within the EU funded OPERANDUM project to improve knowledge of and promote NBS for disaster risk reduction. UNESCO is committed to continuously providing platforms for collaborative efforts to develop multidisciplinary approaches, build capacities and support partnerships towards mitigating disaster risks and reducing vulnerability.
