Adaptation to climate change
Workshop on Scaling-up the implementation of nature-based solutions for climate
Overview of the meeting
Nature-based Solutions (NbS) have significant potential to support adaptation to climate change while providing a range of co-benefits, as a complement or substitute for traditional (“grey”) infrastructure. For example, increasing tree cover and green spaces can reduce the urban heat island effect and strengthen resilience to urban flooding, as well as improve air quality. The appropriate use of NbS can build resilience to climate change at lower overall cost and with greater flexibility than would be possible with sole reliance upon grey infrastructure. Despite this potential, the use of NbS remains limited and there is an urgent need to scale-up the use of NbS to be commensurate with the challenges posed by climate change.
An underlying challenge to increasing the use of NbS for adaptation is that these approaches are not “plug in” replacements for conventional infrastructure, but instead have different characteristics: for example, protecting watersheds can reduce the need for treatment infrastructure, but these interventions have very different spatial implications, technical requirements and financing needs. As a result, NbS do not always fit neatly within existing policy and institutional frameworks that default to the use of grey infrastructure.
Scaling-up the use of NbS for adaptation will require concerted efforts to understand how NbS can be integrated within existing frameworks, and to identify where policy reforms could unlock the use of highquality, effective and sustainable NbS. Municipalities are an essential actor in this process, given their critical role in land-use planning, provision of public services and infrastructure investment. The OECD, with financial support from the European Union, is collaborating with the Hungarian Ministry for Innovation and Technology (MIT) to identify the main barriers to using NbS at the local level and propose reforms to overcome those barriers, inspired by international good practices.
Objectives
This virtual workshop brought together leading international experts to explore how three key barriers to NbS can be overcome: building capacity and increasing awareness for NbS, strengthening institutional and regulatory frameworks and providing revenue streams for NbS, in particular for operation and maintenance.
The workshop aimed to:
- Share insights and experiences about scalable solutions for NbS
- Provide a platform for experts and country representatives to exchange best practices for unlocking the potential of NbS at the municipal level
Presentations
Session 1
- Noémi Dálnoky, Head of Unit, Ministry for Innovation and Technology in Hungary
Session 2
- Anna Bruen, Project Officer, Sustainable Resource Management and Integrated Service Solutions at ICLEI
- Todd Bridges, Senior Research Scientist, US Army Corps of Engineers
- Timo Persson, Climate Adaptation Coordinator, Swedish Environmental Protection Agency
Session 3
- Gonzalo Delacámara, Director, IE Centre on Water & Climate Adaptation
- Rosa Huertas, Director of the Innovation, Economic Development, Employment and Commerce Department, Valladolid City Council, Spain
Session 4
- Rachel Morrison, Nature-Based Solutions Advisor, Greater Manchester Combined Authority, UK
- Dean Muruven, Global Policy Lead for Freshwater, WWF
- Roy Brooke, Executive Director, Municipal Natural Assets Initiative, Canada
Video Recording
Other relevant information
Timo Persson, Climate Adaptation Coordinator at the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, Sweden:
Rosa Huertas Gonzales, Valladolid, Director of the Innovation, Economic Development, Employment and Commerce Department, Valladolid City Council, Spain:
Rachel Morrison, Nature Based Solutions Advisor at Greater Manchester Combined Authority, United Kingdom
- Executive summary of Greater Manchester’s 5 year environment plan
- Greater Manchester Natural Capital Investment Plan
- Greater Manchester Environment Fund
Roy Brooke, Executive Director at Municipal Natural Assets Initiative, Canada
Engage with us
- For more information, please send an email to oecd.adaptation@oecd.org
- Join the conversation on Twitter: @OECD_ENV
Supported with funding by the European Union via the structural Reform Support Programme and in cooperation with the European Commission’s DG Structural Reform Support.