CBD COP15: Climate action through nature: How countries in Latin America and the Caribbean are including Nature-based Solutions in their Nationally Determined Contributions to secure biodiversity benefits and equity

Nature-based solutions (NbS) have emerged strongly in recent years as a response to multiple societal challenges (food security, water security, human health, among others), and have gained momentum as an approach that brings together a series of established and innovative concepts based on the multiple services that ecosystems provide to society and people. This approach incorporates widely known actions in conservation, management and restoration of natural ecosystems, novel measures in the use of "natural infrastructures", and specific emerging issues such as climate change and its effects on water and food security. Ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) is an essential part of the broader NbS "umbrella".

However, the concept has also been criticised, mainly by actors linked to civil society, indigenous peoples and some countries in the global south. It is therefore necessary to address these concerns in order to generate a better understanding of their potential contribution to multiple development agendas. It is also relevant to highlight the contributions that NbS bring to international agreements (SDGs, UNFCCC, CBD, UNCCD). GIZ has a long and solid experience in the field of NbS, as it has long incorporated ecosystem-based approaches in hundreds of projects worldwide and is championing the incorporation of innovative approaches in the use of ecosystems for climate and biodiversity actions that ensure benefits for key ecosystems worldwide and equitable outcomes for local and indigenous communities.

The GIZ team in the framework of the EUROCLIMA+ programme has analysed the updated NDCs of 16 Latin American and Caribbean countries to determine how these NDCs address the use of nature to respond to climate challenges while safeguarding biodiversity benefits and equity through NbS. Given that there is no homogenous understanding of NbS concepts, methodologies and definitions among actors in the climate and biodiversity agendas, the objective of this analysis is to contribute to building a common understanding of the types of NbS for climate action through a novel classification/categorisation that identifies and categorises the NbS-focused commitments present in the updated NDCs of countries in the region. The taxonomy incorporates the assessment of potential biodiversity benefits and the participation of vulnerable groups as fundamental requirements for the implementation of robust and sustainable NbS over time.

In this side event at COP15 on Biodiversity, this analysis will be presented together with real cases of NbS in Latin America.

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