Project
Towards Climate Resilience: The nature-based adaptation planning toolbox
Nature-based solutions (NBSs) have emerged as a promising approach to enhance urban climate resilience while delivering multiple co-benefits. However, there remains limited empirical evidence on their effectiveness in addressing compound and cascading risks, particularly with respect to their associated co-benefits and the socioeconomic implications for different stakeholders. This gap is largely due to fragmented methodologies in assessing NBSs, which lack standardized and comprehensive frameworks or toolboxes. This project aims to demonstrate the utility and applicability of data-driven methodologies to support decision-making in nature-based adaptation planning. Our focus is on evaluating the feasibility of implementing NBSs, assessing their effectiveness in mitigating climate risks, and identifying the socioeconomic winners and losers associated with these interventions.
We applied data-driven approaches to evaluate the feasibility of green infrastructure projects, considering both environmental and socio-economic factors. Using Accra, Ghana, as a case study, we identified viable locations for green infrastructure implementation. Additionally, we developed methods to quantify the effectiveness of reforestation in mitigating flood risks. This approach provided tangible evidence, including the number of people and houses that could benefit, as well as reductions in inundated areas. The coastal areas of West Africa served as a case study, where fluvial flooding poses significant risks and presents substantial opportunities for reforestation. Moreover, we explored the development of ex-post methodologies to identify winners and losers of NBS projects, focusing on health and economic outcomes. Due to the lack of comprehensive databases on NBS projects, we used protected areas as a proxy.