Nature-Based Solutions in Sub-Saharan Africa for Climate and Water Resilience

The document outlines a methodology for tracking nature-based solutions (NBS) investments in sub-Saharan Africa by scanning multilateral development bank portfolios. Between 2012 and 2021, the World Bank and African Development Bank led 85 NBS-related projects with combined total budgets of $12.1 billion, of which $4.5 billion was specifically for NBS components. The research identifies Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo as the countries with the highest project counts and notes that NBS are being used to address urban flooding, coastal flooding, and water security while providing co-benefits for biodiversity and carbon sequestration.

• Between 2012 and 2021, the World Bank and the African Development Bank led 85 projects implementing nature-based solutions (NBS) for climate and water resilience in sub-Saharan Africa. The World Bank led 46 projects with total budgets of $7.9 billion ($2.5 billion for NBS components), while the African Development Bank led 39 projects with total budgets of $4.2 billion ($2 billion for NBS components).
• The highest concentrations of these NBS projects were found in Ethiopia (10), Ghana (7), Malawi (7), Tanzania (6), Uganda (6), and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (5).
• NBS projects in the region are being utilized to combat water security, coastal flooding, and urban flooding, while simultaneously providing co-benefits such as carbon sequestration, livelihoods, and biodiversity.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). Nature-Based Solutions in Sub-Saharan Africa for Climate and Water Resilience. https://www.wri.org/research/nature-based-solutions-sub-saharan-africa-climate-and-water-resilience

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Nature-Based Solutions in Sub-Saharan Africa for Climate and Water Resilience. n.d. https://www.wri.org/research/nature-based-solutions-sub-saharan-africa-climate-and-water-resilience.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Nature-Based Solutions in Sub-Saharan Africa for Climate and Water Resilience |url=https://www.wri.org/research/nature-based-solutions-sub-saharan-africa-climate-and-water-resilience |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendnaturebased, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Nature-Based Solutions in Sub-Saharan Africa for Climate and Water Resilience}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://www.wri.org/research/nature-based-solutions-sub-saharan-africa-climate-and-water-resilience}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }