There's definitely greater momentum
in terms of recognizing that you have to work with nature
to address the climate crisis, the water crisis,
the food crisis.
But just what are nature-based solutions
and how do they work?
- Yeah, this word has (laughs) come out of nowhere
and taken the world over.
I think it's worth recognizing
that the NbS, or the nature-based solutions, word
really came through the COP system
to address mitigation issues,
to deal with those solutions that we could employ
that would help bring us to 1.5
sucking carbon out of the environment, et cetera.
But of course, there's another side to that
that's a resilience side.
And the nature-based solutions
in restoration and protection
has been something that's been in my world
for many, many years,
ecosystem-based adaptation or restoration.
But NbS as a tool of thinking
about how can you work with nature
or build back with nature
to absorb the impacts of a changing world.
And that could be things like wetland restoration,
aquifer recharge, river restoration, mangrove restoration.
There's so many different tools at our disposal
in building back with nature.
And of course, there's an affordability to it
that is cheaper than gray infrastructure.
That's not to say that gray infrastructure
isn't going to be needed,
but I think there's also a realization
of the limits of gray infrastructure,
and in fact, that in many places,
gray infrastructure is either failing or fading
or just not able to do the job
the way that an absorbing nature and ecosystem can.