The document "Pathway for Increasing Nature-based Solutions in NDCs" provides a seven-step roadmap to support governments in strengthening their climate ambitions through Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) within Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). NBS in Agriculture, Forestry, and Other Land Uses (AFOLU) represent a cost-effective opportunity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while supporting improved livelihoods, biodiversity, and resilience.
Although the role of NBS is widely recognized, their integration into NDCs faces numerous hurdles, including limited data, institutional challenges, land-use competition, and financial shortfalls. The proposed roadmap includes seven key steps to overcome these challenges:
- Step 1: Establish an understanding of the national greenhouse gas accounting context.
- Step 2: Identify and review NBS actions within existing legal and institutional frameworks.
- Step 3: Review the NBS actions being included in the current NDC.
- Step 4: Conduct a rapid analysis to estimate the potential for climate mitigation and adaptation.
- Step 5: Compare the NBS solutions with existing actions and identify opportunities to improve the NDC using spatial data.
- Step 6: Integrate measurable NBS actions into the NDC.
- Step 7: Improve facilitation, including mobilizing finance, strengthening political support, and promoting inter-sectoral coordination.
This roadmap is flexible, not requiring a rigid structure, allowing countries to adapt based on their specific context, capacity, and priorities to ensure climate commitments are both ambitious and highly practical.
