Working with Nature to Strengthen Climate Resilience in Southern Africa’s Marine and Coastal Zones

This fact sheet describes a project implemented by the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) from January 2022 to June 2023. The project aims to enhance the resilience of coastal and island states in Southern Africa by integrating ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) into national climate policy responses.

• Ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) uses biodiversity and ecosystem services to help communities adapt to climate risks by governing and managing ecosystems to enhance their resilience to climate stresses, which in turn supports social outcomes, sustainable development, and livelihood opportunities.
• Critical marine and coastal ecosystems, including wetlands, coastal dunes, sea grasses, mangrove forests, and coral reefs, continue to degrade and are often not fully integrated into sectoral and national policy frameworks, especially in developing countries and small islands.
• The project 'Marine and Coastal Ecosystem-based Adaptation in the National Climate Responses of Coastal and Island Countries in Southern Africa' is implemented by the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) from January 2022 to June 2023. It is part of the Global Climate Change Alliance Plus (GCCA+) Programme, funded by the European Union and implemented under the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
• The project focuses on four thematic areas: financing for climate change adaptation in marine and coastal resources, job and livelihood opportunities via scaling EbA, the governance of EbA with an emphasis on community participation, and strengthening the uptake of EbA in climate policy. It also intends to create a regional Community of Practice on marine and coastal EbA in Southern Africa.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2022). Working with Nature to Strengthen Climate Resilience in Southern Africa’s Marine and Coastal Zones. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/SADC_EbA-Project-Poster.pdf

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. Working with Nature to Strengthen Climate Resilience in Southern Africa’s Marine and Coastal Zones. 2022. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/SADC_EbA-Project-Poster.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=Working with Nature to Strengthen Climate Resilience in Southern Africa’s Marine and Coastal Zones |date=2022 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/SADC_EbA-Project-Poster.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2022working, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{Working with Nature to Strengthen Climate Resilience in Southern Africa’s Marine and Coastal Zones}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2022}, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/SADC_EbA-Project-Poster.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }