Countries are facing a pressing, complex and interlinked set of environmental crises. While significant government resources and capacities need to focus on managing the social and economic consequences brought on by efforts to manage the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, the global environmental challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss remain urgent. Recent major international reports (e.g. IPCC (2018, 2019), IPBES (2019)) have highlighted the extent and severity of the climate impacts the world faces even if stringent mitigation action is implemented, with the possibility of far worse outcomes under higher emissions trajectories. At the same time, global biodiversity is rapidly declining and ecosystem health deteriorating due to human activities. This policy paper focuses on the role of nature-based solutions (NbS) in limiting and managing the current and future impacts of climate change, focusing on water-related risks. It will highlight how NbS may also support a greening of the recovery from the COVID-19 crisis.
