Key Barriers to Advancing Climate Change Adaptation through Nature-based Solutions

The document outlines four critical barriers to the adoption of nature-based solutions (NbS) for climate adaptation: lack of awareness, policy and governance gaps, knowledge and capacity deficits, and financial challenges. It argues that NbS, also known as Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA), are underutilized despite their ability to reduce disaster risk and enhance resilience. To address these issues, WWF and partners are developing a global NbS platform to provide tailored technical assistance to governments, particularly in the Global South, to help them mainstream NbS into national strategies like NDCs and NAPs.

• There is a significant gap between current public adaptation finance and the actual annual requirement; while funding rose to $28 billion in 2022, the needed amount is estimated between $215–387 billion.
• Nature-based solutions are frequently overlooked or undervalued in favor of conventional 'built infrastructure' like dams, which decision-makers often perceive as more reliable.
• Policy and governance barriers include a tendency to prioritize engineered solutions, institutional weaknesses, fragmented policies, and a lack of inclusive governance involving Indigenous Peoples and local communities.
• Knowledge and capacity gaps persist due to limited data on the long-term cost-efficiency and performance of NbS under future climate scenarios, as well as a lack of technical expertise in many countries to design these strategies.
• Financial barriers to scaling NbS include a preference for traditional manufactured infrastructure in funding decisions and a lack of technical capacity in countries to create 'bankable proposals' for multilateral donors, leading to a reliance on short-term, fragmented external aid.
• WWF and the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Center are creating a global NbS platform to provide on-demand technical assistance to governments, specifically targeting the needs of the Global South to bridge the gap between global policy and local action.

APA

WWF International (n.d.). Key Barriers to Advancing Climate Change Adaptation through Nature-based Solutions. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/1669/26_2919_Large-scale_Adaptations_Technical_Briefs_Brief_0_110625.pdf

Chicago

WWF International. Key Barriers to Advancing Climate Change Adaptation through Nature-based Solutions. n.d. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/1669/26_2919_Large-scale_Adaptations_Technical_Briefs_Brief_0_110625.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=WWF International |title=Key Barriers to Advancing Climate Change Adaptation through Nature-based Solutions |url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/1669/26_2919_Large-scale_Adaptations_Technical_Briefs_Brief_0_110625.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{wwfinternationalndkey, author = {{WWF International}}, title = {{Key Barriers to Advancing Climate Change Adaptation through Nature-based Solutions}}, institution = {WWF International}, url = {https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/1669/26_2919_Large-scale_Adaptations_Technical_Briefs_Brief_0_110625.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }