Posts in the 'Nature-Based Solutions' category
India experienced almost one extreme weather event per day in the first nine months of 2022. And the state of Rajasthan is no stranger to this phenomenon, with its capital city, Jaipur, ranking 22nd on the Global Climate Vulnerability Index. ...
Over the past two decades, Rwanda – the land of a thousand hills – has made remarkable strides: poverty has significantly declined and quality of life has improved. The service, industrial and agricultural sectors have flourished. Even in the aftermath ...
Whether one seeks an escape from Delhi’s scorching summer heat or a winter afternoon basking in the sun, Sanjay Van National Park, one of the city’s few surviving urban forests, comes to mind. Mangalavanam in Kochi or Shalimar Bagh in ...
Many people point to forest restoration as a way to curb climate change, where replanted forests sequester carbon in trees and soils. But emerging evidence shows that restoration can provide non-carbon climate benefits, too — in particular, reducing heat and regulating rainfall. Here’s what ...
Mayors from Latin America, Africa and Asia will be welcoming more than 90% of the new urban inhabitants in the next decade. Governing these ballooning cities is a continuing challenge, not just in terms of urban design and revitalization, but ...
A New Yorker may not think about the forested Catskills Mountain Range upstate as she pours a glass of water. Londoners probably don’t consider the Amazon rainforest as they watch the rain falling on city parks. And folks in Addis ...
Global forest loss remains high. In 2021, the tropics lost 11.1 million hectares of tree cover, according to WRI’s latest analysis. This annual figure included 3.75 million hectares of loss within tropical primary rainforests, resulting in 2.5 gigatons of CO2 ...
Cities and communities around the world are stepping up to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and prevent dangerous climate change impacts. Their strategies typically focus on reducing emissions from sectors such as transportation, energy, housing and waste. But there’s one sector many communities ...
The new Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report highlights the enormous potential of nature to reduce the risks of climate change and build resilience. Political momentum is building for this approach. For example, 137 countries committed in 2021 to collectively end forest loss and land ...
Costa Rica is world-renowned for its biodiversity, and eco-tourism is a large contributor to the national economy and local livelihoods. Many visitors may catch only a glimpse of Costa Rica’s cities through a car window while being whisked between the ...
The world’s forests face a dire threat. Each year, 6 to 9 million hectares (15 to 22 million acres, an area roughly the size of Denmark) of forests are permanently cleared and many millions more are degraded. But many decisions affecting forests ...
Water for human consumption is increasingly inaccessible, due to poor management, degradation of water sources, the effects of climate change and more. Marginalized groups — such as minorities, rural communities and women — are disproportionately affected by water security issues, and women often play a key ...
A decade ago, the South African city of Durban was facing severe water shortages. Dam reservoirs were decreasing at alarming rates, and were 20% lower than average levels. At least one in four residents were already living in water-stressed informal settlements. ...
The COVID-19 pandemic did not break the world, but rather revealed a world already broken. COVID-19 and the climate crisis exposed the fragility of economies and societies, upending the lives of people worldwide and, in particular, harming vulnerable communities and countries already facing ...
The climate change crisis continues to create unprecedented risk for humanity. Extreme weather threatens food security, increases poverty and inequality and contributes to the spread of disease. Now, also faced with the economic fallout from COVID-19, billions of people are struggling to ...
