Nature-based Solutions for Peace: Emerging Practice and Options for Policymakers
Facing acute pressures from the combination of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution, policymakers around the world have been paying increasing attention to Nature-based Solutions (NbS) as part of their development and resilience-building strategies [1] [2]. NbS are characterized by actions to protect, conserve, restore, sustainably use and manage natural resources while simultaneously providing benefits for human well-being. The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has been a leader in this field, supporting a wide range of NbS programming worldwide.
Responding to the growing use of NbS in a variety of settings, in 2022 the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA) called on UNEP to compile examples of best practice in the field. This policy brief responds to the growing interest in NbS across the globe, including in contexts affected by conflict, instability and crisis.
Recognizing the wide range of positive outcomes that NbS can generate, this brief focuses on the specific link between NbS, conflict prevention, conflict resolution, and peacebuilding. Drawing on a compilation of 40 case studies (see Annex 1), a review of relevant scholarship and expert interviews, this brief examines how NbS approaches in fragile and conflict-affected settings have helped to reduce the risks of violent conflict or build more stable, resilient societies, and provides a set of emerging good practice in the field of “Nature-based Solutions for Peace.
” This policy brief is designed to contribute to ongoing efforts to harness the potential of nature for resilience, peace and development within UN programming and beyond, as articulated at the Conference of Parties (COP) of the three Rio conventions on biological diversity, climate change and desertification held in 2024. Its core purpose is to highlight how NbS can and to contribute to peaceful outcomes, offering an analysis of the conditions and lessons that contribute to its effectiveness in a wide range of settings.