Search Climate Insights Directory

The document outlines the eligibility criteria, team composition requirements, and financial guidelines for small grants aimed at implementing Ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) projects in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). It emphasizes a transdisciplinary approach, requiring teams to include both university stakeholders and community members. Projects must support EbA objectives, specifically helping people adapt to climate change, utilizing biodiversity, and integrating into urban territory adaptation strategies. The grants support a project duration of 18 months, with a focus on strengthening university-community partnerships and the EPIC-N model.

The document examines the critical state of biodiversity in Latin America and the Caribbean, highlighting threats such as 'empty forest syndrome,' gold mining in the Amazon, and the impact of global commodity trade. It emphasizes the vital role of ecosystem services—such as water regulation in Andean páramos and soil health for agriculture—and argues for a shift from an extractivist logic to an inclusive conservation model that integrates indigenous knowledge and territorial rights. The text also explores the nexus between biodiversity and human health, the potential of a sustainable blue economy, and the risks associated with the 'green extractivism' of lithium mining for the energy transition.

The project investigates governance modalities that incorporate local and traditional knowledge to improve biodiversity conservation. Using a 'decentralizing academia' approach, the team established Communities of Practice Collaborators (CCP) to foster co-learning between academics, farmers, and local knowledge keepers. The research identifies plurality, power asymmetries, and conflict as key facilitators or barriers to conservation and is producing a collaborative book featuring local voices from Colombia, Chile, and Uruguay.

The document identifies the IAI Directorate and members of its Science-Policy and Scientific Advisory Committees attending UNFCCC COP28. The delegation includes experts in climate and health, science diplomacy, adaptation for rural and indigenous communities, carbon emissions, and marine governance.

The document lists the IAI delegation and advisory committee members attending COP28, detailing their professional focuses and areas of expertise. Key personnel include Executive Director Anna Stewart Ibarra, Science Director Edwin Castellanos, and Deputy Executive Director Marcella Ohira, alongside advisory members specializing in climate policy, ecosystem services, regional climate scenarios, and marine ecology.

The report examines the role of South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTC) in fostering sustainable urban development and climate resilience in the Global South. It highlights the importance of the New Urban Agenda and the 2030 Agenda, arguing that traditional North-South cooperation is insufficient. Through various case studies from Africa, Asia, and Latin America, the document demonstrates how cities share knowledge on green transportation, water management, and urban planning. Key examples include Shenzhen's carbon trading, India's water resilience efforts, and Mexico City's green bonds. The report concludes that while cities are critical to the 'climate battle,' they often face institutional and financial barriers that SSTC can help overcome through peer-to-peer learning and innovative financing.

The document assesses the critical loss of biodiversity in Latin America and the Caribbean, highlighting the 'empty forest syndrome' and the desertification of the Amazon due to gold mining. It emphasizes the vital role of ecosystem services, such as the water-regulating capacity of Andean páramos and soil organic matter for sustainable agriculture. The text argues for 'inclusive conservation' that integrates indigenous territories and traditional knowledge, noting that indigenous lands often maintain higher biodiversity. It also discusses the 'blue economy' potential of the region's marine ecosystems and the risks of 'green extractivism,' specifically how lithium mining for the global energy transition threatens Andean water resources. Finally, it examines how international trade in commodities, such as soy and leather from the Gran Chaco, drives deforestation, and advocates for the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the Escazú Agreement to ensure environmental justice and peace.

The document outlines how climate change threatens South African agriculture through rising temperatures, water scarcity, and extreme weather, disproportionately affecting small-scale farmers, women, and children. It warns of ecological degradation, including soil erosion and loss of biodiversity, and predicts food price increases. To mitigate these risks, the author advocates for nature-aligned farming, equitable redistribution of land and water, and a transition away from greenhouse gas-intensive production, particularly in livestock and transport.

The CAPA Initiative, funded by Global Affairs Canada, implements nature-based solutions (NbS) to protect biodiversity and strengthen climate resilience. In Belize, activities focus on reforestation in the Maya Forest Corridor and coral reef health in marine reserves. In Fiji, interventions include flood mitigation buffers and sustainable fisheries. In the Greater Virunga Landscape (Uganda), the project focuses on restoring agricultural lands and promoting climate-resilient livelihoods. In the Kavango–Zambezi Landscape (Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia, and Angola), efforts target forest restoration and the stabilization of wetlands and headwaters. Global-level support is provided by IISD through research, capacity strengthening, and gender-responsive approaches.

The Climate Adaptation and Protected Areas (CAPA) Initiative implements nature-based solutions for climate adaptation across the Kavango-Zambezi (KAZA) landscape, which spans Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The initiative focuses on restoring forest cover, stabilizing water sources, and restocking native wildlife, while providing technical and financial training to women, youth, and persons with disabilities. Specific project sites include the Cuando River basin in Angola, the Sioma Ngwezi and Mosi-Oa-Tunya ecosystems in Zambia, Bwabwata National Park in Namibia, and areas around Hwange and Chizarira National Parks in Zimbabwe.

The document argues that Manitoba's wetlands are critical 'green infrastructure' that regulate water, filter pollutants, and support biodiversity. It details the severe loss of these ecosystems—exceeding 90% in parts of the Red River watershed—and discusses the consequences, including increased flooding and nutrient runoff into Lake Winnipeg. The text highlights the versatility of cattails for food and bioenergy, and outlines provincial strategies and local projects aimed at wetland protection and restoration.

The document outlines the vulnerabilities of Canada's built infrastructure—including wastewater, stormwater, buildings, water supply, transportation, and energy/communications systems—to climate hazards such as extreme heat, permafrost degradation, and storm surges. It provides a matrix of resilience options, ranging from nature-based solutions like urban forests and salt marshes to engineering adaptations such as heat-tolerant pavement, microgrids, and the burial of electrical lines.

A fact sheet detailing the Sustainable Asset Valuation (SAVi) assessment of nature-based solutions (NbS) implemented by SUNCASA in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia, projecting significant economic and environmental benefits between 2025 and 2050.

This fact sheet presents a Sustainable Asset Valuation (SAVi) assessment of nature-based solutions (NbS) implemented by SUNCASA in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia, projecting economic, social, and environmental benefits between 2025 and 2050.

The document identifies nature-based solutions to address climate hazards in Canada, categorizing interventions by environment (coastal urban, riverine, and rural) and listing specific co-benefits such as carbon sequestration and food production.

The guide outlines a five-step methodology to integrate nature-based solutions into project lifecycles, moving from qualitative systems thinking to quantitative economic valuation. It emphasizes the use of systems mapping, climate data analysis, and scenario modeling to compare NbS against traditional 'grey' infrastructure and 'business as usual' scenarios. The framework concludes with strategies for identifying financing structures and communicating findings to diverse stakeholders.

The Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly identifies coastal erosion, flash floods, windstorms, erratic rainfall, droughts, and heat waves as its main climate hazards. Key sensitive sectors include agriculture, forestry, infrastructure, tourism, and water/health. Proposed adaptation measures focus on coastal protection, enforcing building codes and mining laws, nature-based solutions like mangrove planting, and improving early warning systems and irrigation.

The fact sheet highlights a growing trend of incorporating nature-based solutions (NbS) and ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) into National Adaptation Plans (NAPs). While most NAPs identify biodiversity and ecosystems as priority sectors and a high percentage link climate change to biodiversity loss, there is a gap in referencing national biodiversity strategies. The document provides data on the specific ecosystems and types of actions (such as sustainable management and restoration) most frequently mentioned in NAPs and suggests action points to improve coordination and investment in under-represented ecosystems.

A statement submitted on 13 December 2024 by a coalition of civil society organizations, including Natural Justice and SAFCEI, providing critical comments on South Africa's Draft Article 6 Framework. The coalition argues that carbon markets are fundamentally flawed and risk enabling human rights abuses, land grabs, and the evasion of actual emission reductions.

The Biodiversity Law Centre and Natural Justice provide detailed feedback on a draft White Paper for biodiversity conservation in South Africa. While supporting the document's transformative goals and Afrocentric approach, they argue for stronger constitutional grounding in 'ecologically sustainable development,' clearer definitions of key terms like 'conservation area' and 'wildlife,' and the explicit inclusion of indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLC). They specifically call for the integration of climate change into the problem statement and the removal of GDP as a metric for biodiversity success, warning that such a measure encourages unsustainable growth.