Nature and human well-being are inextricably linked. However, human actions in recent decades have substantially diminished the capability of nature to provide vital services today and in the future.
The WWF report identifies structural barriers and systemic enablers to unleash the power of nature-based solutions. Given their importance and viability for change, the report focuses on three categories of structural obstacles – sociocultural, institutional and economic barriers. It then presents a set of policy levers organized around three overarching categories of systemic enablers: inclusive governance, smart planning and progressive economic regulation. Together, action in these three areas represent an important step towards an integrated whole-of-government approach to social and economic policy, which is the most powerful way to power nature-based solutions.
The report also includes topics such as the role of landscape-level planning, ecological connectivity and climate-smarting interventions for more effective and more scalable nature-based solutions; the central role indigenous people and local communities have in strengthening the concept and its evolution; and the importance of aligned national and international policy frameworks to unleash private finance.