An Indian think tank has launched a framework to try to drive investments in nature-based solutions (NBS) in the so-called Global South by measuring potential benefits.
The framework, from the New Delhi-based Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), aims to maximise the impacts of NBS in mitigating the effects of climate change on vulnerable regions.
The Effective Nature-based Solutions Utilisation and Resource Evaluation (ENSURE) framework is designed to map and estimate the value of NBS.
“Significant gaps and challenges hinder the scalability of NBS, particularly in the Global South. These include limited financial resources, lack of technical expertise, insufficient policy support, and socio-economic barriers,” CEEW said in the study.
The research aims to provide a “one-stop solution” to these issues through a unified framework for NBS benefits.
“This is a novel effort for the Global South, specifically addressing their unique needs. This approach will drive strategic investments, inform stakeholders, and enable the effective scaling of these solutions,” said Shreya Wadhawan, lead author and programme associate at CEEW.
ENSURE
The ENSURE framework sets out how to economically assess and implement an NBS intervention. It has three components for NBS projects:
- Identifying actions
- Describing benefits
- Estimating cost-to-benefit ratio
The report defined NBS as a range of strategies that use natural processes to reduce flooding, sequester carbon, preserve biodiversity, and enhance living standards.
“The absence of standardised measures and reporting on the impacts of NBS make it difficult to evaluate their effectiveness and, consequently, hinder investments in this sector and the scaling up of successful projects,” CEEW said.
“A unified framework is urgently needed to guide stakeholders in mapping and estimating the benefits of NBS.” The framework must be flexible to enable it to apply to different ecosystems, it said.
GREEN CREDITS
Private entities, governments, and agencies implementing NBS projects can use the framework, it said. The private sector can use it to inform investment decisions while leveraging mechanisms such as tradable “green credits” generated through NBS activities.
The Indian government announced the Green Credit Scheme in mid-2023 with plans for crediting across planting trees, water conservation, sustainable agriculture, and mangrove conservation.
However, for the time being, only regulations concerning tree plantations have been released. These guidelines led to an outcry earlier this year, with several environmental experts calling the scheme “disastrous” as it could damage ecosystems.
“By applying ENSURE, private entities can accurately quantify the environmental benefits of their projects and potentially convert them into green credits,” CEEW said.
CHALLENGES
The report identified two main challenges for NBS in the Global South: implementation barriers due to a lack of knowledge and tools, and investment barriers from uncertain market value and benefits.
“The lack of knowledge and technological resources, and the absence of guidelines on integrating NBS into policy regimes, pose challenges for countries in providing substantial evidence on the effectiveness of NBS,” CEEW said.
“In turn, this hinders their ability to attract potential investors for NBS projects. This further impacts replicability and hinders the rapid uptake of NBS across regions with similar geographies and socio-economic conditions.”
The challenges are reflected in how high-income countries, such as those in the US and Europe, receive approximately 75% of total NBS investments, the report said, citing UN Environment Programme research from 2022.
Low-income countries receive only a fraction of investments, despite being more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, it said.
“If current patterns persist, the Global South is poised to incur an average annual loss of $160 billion by 2030 due to climate impacts, implying that this region, in particular, is disproportionately vulnerable to the effects of climate change,” CEEW said, citing World Bank research published in 2022.
Researchers also emphasised the role of local factors of influence in the success of implementing NBS implementations including social, economic, cultural, environmental, livelihood-related, and species-related aspects.
By Thomas Cox – t.cox@carbon-pulse.com
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