Mainstreaming Nature-based Solutions for Resilient Cities

New Delhi, August 6, 2024: The India Forum for Nature-based Solutions (NbS) today held its inaugural annual summit. India’s first national-level consortium for urban nature-based solutions, launched in 2022, is a coalition of research, practice and finance organizations working to shape climate resilient cities and communities in India.

The inaugural summit of the Forum saw over 100 public and private actors come together to build synergies and foster dialogue, across the ecosystem, to increase awareness on NbS.

Climate-related disasters incurred costs exceeding USD 630 billion globally between 2016 and 2018. (Morgan Stanley, 2019) and the ripple effects are exacerbating vulnerabilities across social and ecological systems.

While delivering the keynote address, Ms. Debashree Mukherjee, Secretary, Ministry of Jal Shakti, pointed out the need to broaden the scope for managing climate risks. She said, “Flood management is not just about storm water management but also about managing water bodies and ground water recharge potential, as well as steering knowledge among multiple stakeholders.”

The Summit saw participation from government representatives, civil society organizations, academicians, funders and financiers keen to collaboratively strengthen mechanisms for adoption. One of the key highlights of the Summit was recognizing individuals and organizations involved in furthering NbS interventions across India.

Rahul Kapoor, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, said, “The challenges for NbS implementation are similar to the challenges experienced across sectors. There’s a need to look at the existing regulatory and institutional frameworks that can bring together fragmented efforts, document them, and convey them to wider audiences.”

The Summit culminated with the NbS awards ceremony felicitating exemplary work across three categories – Champion, Enabler, and Implementation. The winners are Sudha S, IFS (Champion), GRRID Corps (Enabler), City of 1000 Tanks (Implementation) and YUVA (Implementation). The Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), a Forum coalition partner, launched its report, ‘Accelerating Investments for the Nature-based Solutions in the Global South: A Unified Framework for Mapping and Estimating Benefits’, introducing a 3-step framework to support stakeholders towards accelerating much-needed investment in NbS.

The Summit engaged participants in discussions on decision-making tools and methods for choosing and evaluating solutions, unlocking investment and financial opportunities, and developing actionable strategies for cities that support adoption of NbS at scale. During the event, the second call for proposals for the ‘Forum Research Program’ was announced along with the launch of a monthly masterclass series focusing on strengthening NbS action for city adaptation and resilience.

The Forum partners released a joint statement on the occasion stating that more institutional partners and task force members are welcome to join the Forum and combine their strengths and resources to unlock urban NbS’ potential in achieving India’s climate goals.

Dr. Krishna Vatsa, Member, National Disaster Management Authority, said, “NbS still needs to be defined better, with more components on bio-engineering to be explored. This would ensure the right kind of technical expertise to support NbS.”

Ms. Claudia Lopez, former Mayor of Bogotá, Harvard 2024 ALI Fellow and Advisor to WRI recommended building for proximity and integrating care-based mobility within city design.

She said, “The size of the opportunity is directly correlated to the size of the challenge,” and advocated for more regional networks, and governments to support community-based interventions.  She added, “Land for trees and for greening is crucially important. It is not a luxury. Changing mindsets, and the redistribution of public space is critical. The stark disparity in access to public spaces needs to be narrowed.”

Rajeev Ranjan Mishra, Chief Advisor, NIUA, said, “Evidence-building, bridging silos and co-creating knowledge are essential. Establishing standards for Nature-based Solutions (NbS) is crucial, as is developing these standards, replicating successful models and scaling up programs from pilot phases.”

Dr. Debolina Kundu, Director, National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA), said, “India’s rich heritage and natural resources offer opportunities. We have made strides in integrating NBS, for example, AMRUT 2.0 uses urban aquifers to turn cities into ‘sponge cities’ and is taking a holistic approach to reviving 2,300 water bodies.”

Jaya Dhindaw, Executive Director, Sustainable Cities, WRI India, encouraged wider ecosystem participation, saying, “The climate crisis will not only impact people’s health, productivity and livelihoods, but will also affect nature and biodiversity. Development models, based on blended grey, and green solutions hold promise and understanding and deploying them prudently is the need of the hour. Stakeholder partnerships that the India Forum is fostering will be key to driving policy, governance reforms and financing the uptake of such solutions at scale.”