Reflections from the IUCN Global Youth Summit:
Nature-based Solutions or Nature-based Excuses?
Youth4Nature joined forces with the Global Youth Biodiversity Network and YOUNGO to put together this event, which served as a launching pad for our recently published Nature-based Solutions Information Brief, and for our upcoming Global Youth Consultation and Youth NbS Position Statement. The event came in two sessions:
Session one profiled Y4N, GYBN, and YOUNGO’s co-authored information brief - an entirely by-youth, for-youth guide to all things Nature-based Solutions. Representatives from all three groups went through the highlights of the information brief, including both the opportunities that NbS presents and the risks of co-option and greenwashing, and answered questions from participants about some NbS basics. Session two took the form of a panel with NbS experts on all sides of the issue. Speakers included:
Beth Turner: Researcher, Nature-based Solutions Initiative
Evelyn Teh: Senior Researcher, Third World Network
Radhika Murti: Director, IUCN Global Ecosystem Management Programme
Simone Lovera: Executive Director, Global Forest Coalition
The panel was a dynamic debate that shed light on both the controversies and the potential of NbS in a nuanced and engaging way. Some key takeaways include:
The IUCN Global Standard for Nature-based Solutions is meant to build upon the Ecosystem Approach, a concept defined by the Convention on Biological Diversity. The hope for NbS is for it to build off of the Ecosystem Approach, and bring nature into development spaces.
Nature-based Solutions have been “misused” in global environmental policy spaces (especially in climate contexts) to apply to activities that do not fit within the concept’s original intention. Guidelines have since been developed by a group of research institutions and civil society in the attempt to limit or eliminate this misuse and to ensure NbS can be effective for people and nature.
The popularity of Nature-based Solutions have also brought serious concerns about co-option and greenwashing, especially by corporations. Many in the biodiversity community in particular are concerned that Nature-based Solutions, which are considered to be vague and without a legal backing, will replace the Ecosystem Approach, which does have a legal backing and incorporates safeguards for nature and people.
One of the most significant points of contention for those critical of Nature-based Solutions is concerning offsets - because the IUCN Global Standard does not explicitly address offsets, Nature-based Solutions is seen by some as a tool of large corporations and powerful global actors to legitimize carbon markets and continue with business as usual through the commodification of nature.
Be sure to check out our Information Brief for more information about Nature-based Solutions. If you are interested in our upcoming work to launch a Global Youth Consultation on Nature-based Solutions and develop a Youth Position Statement, please fill out this form!
More from our time at the IUCN Global Youth Summit:
