As climate change intensifies, urban areas face severe consequences due to dense populations, concentrated economic activities, and infrastructure exposure. Floods inundate streets, heatwaves strain public health systems, and droughts threaten water security.
Traditional grey infrastructure, concrete and heavy solutions like dam and levees has proven inadequate in addressing these multifaceted threats. The question arises: what if nature itself holds the key to a sustainable future?
Nature-based Solution (NbS) – when implemented through participatory and holistic approaches, offers a “One4All” strategy to multiple climate hazards such as flood, heatwave, and drought. By integrating green infrastructures like forests, wetlands, and vegetation, NbS reduce flood risks, create cool urban environment, enhance groundwater recharge, and bolster economic resilience.
It is time to explore how NbS can transform urban and rural landscapes, supported by robust policies and community engagement to create a resilient, sustainable future.
Addressing climate hazards holistically
Rapid urbanisation has disrupted natural ecosystems, replacing permeable landscapes with impervious surfaces like concrete and asphalt. This concretisation increases surface runoff, exacerbates flooding, and intensifies the urban heat island effect, where cities become significantly warmer than surrounding areas.
The failure to integrate NbS into urban planning and development has hindered sustainable progress. However, green infrastructure such as urban forests, green roofs, permeable pavements, and restored wetlands, offers a comprehensive solution to these challenges.
Trees, for example, are powerful allies in climate adaptation. Their canopies intercept rainfall, reducing runoff by up to 20 per cent, while their roots improve soil infiltration and stabilise riverbanks. Urban tree cover can lower temperatures by 3–5°C, mitigating heat stress during heatwaves.
Deep-rooted species, such as certain native grasses and shrubs, enhance groundwater retention, alleviating drought impacts. A United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report notes that NbS remain underutilised in water management, often overshadowed by grey infrastructure.
Yet, interventions like bio-dykes, vegetated embankments combining native plants with engineered structures, have proven effective in preventing flood intrusion, protecting agricultural lands, and stabilizing riverbanks in regions like South Asia and Europe.
Selecting climate-resilient vegetation is critical. Heat-resistant and water-retaining species, such as drought-tolerant grasses or mangroves in coastal areas, can address extreme heat and water scarcity simultaneously.
Hybrid approaches that combine NbS with engineered solutions, like green roofs paired with stormwater systems, create resilient urban ecosystems. Beyond environmental benefits, NbS can enhance livelihoods.
Agroforestry, for instance, integrates trees into farmland, boosting crop yields and providing income through timber or fruit production. In rural areas, such initiatives strengthen economic resilience, while in cities, they improve liveability. By restoring natural hydrological cycles and addressing multiple hazards, NbS offer a holistic path to climate resilience.
Policy imperatives and community engagement
The effectiveness of NbS as a climate adaptation strategy depends on robust policies and contextual evidence. Policymakers must prioritise understanding local ecosystems, such as groundwater recharge systems, to design risk-informed interventions.
Urban planning frameworks should mandate green spaces, like parks and green corridors, to manage stormwater and reduce heat. Cities like Singapore and Copenhagen exemplify this approach, using NbS like rain gardens and urban wetlands to enhance resilience and biodiversity. Evidence-based policies that prioritize long-term sustainability over short-term fixes are essential for scaling NbS globally.
Community engagement is equally vital. Local participation ensures that NbS are tailored to specific environmental and cultural contexts, enhancing their sustainability. For example, community-managed watershed restoration in Ethiopia has revitalized degraded landscapes, improved water availability, and empowered farmers through cooperative management.
In urban settings, community gardens and participatory tree-planting initiatives foster ownership and accountability. Collaboration between policymakers, researchers, and communities bridges knowledge gaps, ensuring that NbS address local needs while mitigating climate risks.
Training programs and awareness campaigns can further empower communities to maintain green infrastructure, ensuring long-term effectiveness. By strengthening policy frameworks and fostering inclusive engagement, cities and rural areas can build greener, more resilient environments.
One solution for a sustainable future
Climate change poses unprecedented threats to urban and rural sustainability, demanding innovative, scalable solutions. NbS offer a nature-based approach to tackle multiple hazards with a single, integrated strategy.
Urban forests reduce flood risks and cool cities, wetlands recharge groundwater and support biodiversity, and permeable pavements manage stormwater while reducing heat. These solutions are not only environmentally effective but also socially and economically beneficial. For instance, urban green spaces improve mental health, increase property values, and create recreational opportunities, enhancing liveability.
For long-term sustainability, NbS must be designed as win-win solutions that benefit both people and ecosystems. Agroforestry and eco-tourism, for example, provide economic opportunities while restoring degraded landscapes. Collaboration is critical to scaling these solutions.
Governments must integrate NbS into urban planning and disaster risk reduction frameworks, allocating budgets for green infrastructure. Researchers can provide data-driven insights to optimize NbS design, such as selecting native species suited to local climates.
Communities, as stewards of local ecosystems, must be empowered to participate in planning and implementation. Cities like Melbourne, Australia, have successfully adopted NbS through collaborative efforts, transforming urban spaces into resilient, liveable environments with green roofs, urban forests, and restored waterways.
NBS are not just an option – they are a necessity. It is time to act.
