This article originally appeared on WRI.org
Nature-based solutions are key to advancing climate adaptation. These are approaches that work with nature, not against it — from restoring wetlands, which can protect against storms, to conserving forests that stabilize soil and runoff during floods. Mangrove forests, for example, save an estimated $80 billion per year in avoided losses from coastal flooding globally, and protect up to 18 million people. Additionally, nature-based solutions can provide many co-benefits — for nature, economies, communities, culture and health.
But despite these extensive benefits, new research finds that as little as 1.5 percent of all public international climate finance has gone to support nature-based solutions for adaptation in developing countries. Just a handful of major bilateral donors and multilateral institutions have driven public funding for these approaches.