Tools for ecosystem-based adaptation: new navigator now available

IIED and partners have released a navigator that catalogues ecosystem-based adaptation tools for planning and decision-making.

News, 18 September 2019
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UN Climate Action Summit 2019
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Mangrove roots

Mangroves line India's Kaveri river. Mangrove forests can protect coastal areas from erosion, support fish stocks and store carbon dioxide (Photo: Avinash Bhat, CC BY-SA 2.0

Ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) can help governments, civil society and communities manage climate change impacts. EbA is a nature-based approach that uses biodiversity and ecosystem services to help people adapt to the adverse effects of climate change. Although there are hundreds of tools and methodologies available to support the integration of EbA into adaptation strategies, information about these tools and how to use them is not always easily accessible to those who need it. 

The new EbA Tools Navigator, developed by partners IIED, UNEP-WCMCIUCN and GIZ will help practitioners and policymakers include EbA into their climate adaptation planning.

The navigator is a searchable database of tools and methods relevant to EbA, providing practical information about more than 240 tools, methodologies and guidance documents. The tools featured cover an array of topics, including planning and assessments, implementation and valuation, monitoring and mainstreaming. 

It has been designed to help users find the most appropriate tools and methods to support their work and put them into practice. Detailed information is provided about each tool and how to apply it. Users can also add information about new tools not yet included, as well as their own experiences in applying particular tools for EbA. 

Members of the GIZ-supported international EbA community of practice and the IUCN-supported Friends of EbA (FEBA) network provided valuable feedback on early versions of the navigator.

The navigator has now been released in its final form, and the partners are encouraging EbA practitioners and planners to use it for their own work. 

How to access the navigator 

The new EbA Navigator can be found on the Friend of EbA page.

About the project partners

The EbA Tools Navigator has been developed through a collaboration between two International Climate Initiative (IKI) funded projects: 

Both projects aim to show climate change policymakers and adaptation practitioners when and why EbA is effective – the conditions under which it works, and the benefits, costs and limitations of natural systems approaches. They also promote the better integration of EbA principles into policy and planning.

Contact

Xiaoting Hou Jones (xiaoting.hou.jones@iied.org), researcher (biodiversity), IIED's Natural Resources research group

Charlotte Hicks (charlotte.hicks@unep-wcmc.org), senior technical officer, climate change and biodiversity, UNEP-WCMC