Guidelines for Integrating Ecosystem-based Adaptation into National Adaptation Plans

The Guidelines aim to help adaptation practitioners at national and local levels to factor ecosystem functions and services into a country's National Adaptation Plan processes and instruments. The Guidelines detail the multiple benefits as well as the challenges of adopting ecosystem-based approaches to climate change adaptation.

Strategies that use natural solutions to counter the effects of climate change are known as Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA). Ecosystems provide a wide range of services vital to adaptation and resilience and need to be protected and included in national adaptation planning. The Guidelines cover what information planners and countries should collect, what expertise is needed, and which stakeholders they should engage to successfully integrate ecosystem-based adaptation into the processes of National Adaptation Plans.

In detail, the publication provides guidance on:

1. Making the case for mainstreaming ecosystem-based adaptation and nature-based solutions in adaptation planning processes as benefit multipliers 
2. Engaging stakeholders including key decision-makers and the private sector for budgeting and financing ecosystem-based adaptation
3. Steps for integrating ecosystem-based adaptation at any stage along the National Adaptation Plan process: formulation, implementation and review
4. How to identify entry points for ecosystem-based adaptation within the national and local adaptation planning process
5. An enabling environment for factoring in ecosystem-based adaptation

On the Guidelines, you will also find:

• Examples from a number of countries implementing EbA approaches as part of their adaptation planning and case studies on economic valuation of ecosystem-based approach, Green-grey infrastructure, mapping different types of ecosystems providing adaptation services and using climate science for ecosystem-based adaptation.
• A number of tools for advancing ecosystem-based adaptation. 

The Guidelines have been developed under the National Adaptation Plan Global Support Programme (NAP-GSP), implemented jointly by UNDP and UNEP, which supports the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) to identify technical, institutional and financial needs to integrate climate change adaptation into medium- and long-term national planning.

The programme supports countries in formulating and implementing the National Adaptation Planning under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. In doing so, the NAP-GSP works with development partners to implement the Nationally Determined Contributions and promotes ambitious climate action in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals.

 

Further Resources

• UNEP Web Story: New guidelines to help states adapt to climate change
• Learn more about UNEP's work in ecosystem-based adaptation here.
• National Adaptation Plan Global Support Programme (NAP-GSP)
• Official launch event at the 2021 IUCN World Conservation Congress session: Raising global ambition on climate change and biodiversity through Nature-based Solutions 
• What are National Adaptation Plans?
• UNFCCC Guidelines for National Adaptation Plans
• 2020 Adaptation Gap Report