Are ‘nature-based solutions to climate change’ the best?

This episode focuses on mangrove restoration and the effectiveness nature-based solutions to climate change.

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The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a New report last month, and its findings have been described as “a dire warning about the consequences of inaction,” as global warming is already having dangerous and widespread impacts on planet Earth and affecting the lives of billions of people around the world.

But the IPCC report also says that nature has huge potential to be part of the solution, not only for reducing the impacts of climate change but also for improving people’s lives. The report identifies nature-based solutions (NBS), such as restoring forests and other crucial ecosystems, as being key. They are believed to be more resilient to climate change and provide other services, such food, water, and carbon sequestration. IPCC Working Group II Co-Chair Hans-Otto Pörtner said in a Statement accompanying the report that “By restoring degraded ecosystems and effectively and equitably conserving 30 to 50 per cent of Earth’s land, freshwater and ocean habitats, society can benefit from nature’s capacity to absorb and store carbon, and we can accelerate progress towards sustainable development, but adequate finance and political support are essential.”

The IPCC report also reveals that nature-based solutions are not the panacea for climate change. They can also have detrimental effects on our planet and our human livelihoods if they are not done properly. For instance, the report notes that restoring forests in areas where they previously existed can have numerous benefits, but planting trees where they haven’t naturally grown in the past can lead to severe unintended consequences, such as increased carbon emissions, negative impacts on wildlife, and decreased food availability for local communities.

We speak with Alfredo Quarto today, co-founder, program and policy director at the Mangrove Action Project. He tells us about the ongoing destruction of mangrove forests around the world, why it’s so important to restore these coastal ecosystems, and what makes for successful mangrove restoration projects.

We also spoke today with Norah Birk, a policy advisor for climate change and forests at The Rainforest Foundation UK. She explains that nature-based solutions have a problem in that they are often used as carbon offsets by corporations. She also discusses why land titling for Indigenous communities and local communities is the solution to climate changes that we should be focusing our attention on.

Continue reading:

• “At a plantation in Central Africa, Big Oil tries to go net-zero” (20 January 2022).

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Banner image: Merritt island National Wildlife Refuge in Florida. Photo by Melodi Bobs.

Follow Mike Gaworecki via Twitter: @mikeg2001

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