Nature-based Future Challenge
In 2023 Wageningen University & Research launches a new initiative, The Nature-based Future Challenge. Its goal is to visualize the potential of the nature-based solutions to respond to the biggest challenges of the 21st century: climate change and biodiversity loss.
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In this Challenge student teams will develop a nature-inclusive future vision for the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna Delta in Bangladesh. Inspired by the project The Netherlands in 2120, they will imagine how the Bangladesh Delta landscape could look by the year 2100, if nature-based solutions are prioritized. In the process they will consult WUR experts involved in the project The Netherlands in 2120, local stakeholders and partners of the Challenge.
The results of the Challenge will provide inspiration and transformative pathways for decision-makers and a hopeful perspective for future generations.
The Challenge will run from November 2023 – June 2024. Registration will open in 2023. For more information: visit the website.
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What are nature-based solutions and why are they important?
Nature-based solutions are alternative approaches to address environmental issues, based on the principle of working with nature, rather than against it. They are win-win solutions that involve protecting, restoring, and sustainably managing ecosystems to address society's challenges and promote human well-being. They are valid alternatives to purely technological solutions, which generally rely on finite resources and often need to be improved and replaced.
Nature-based solutions have the potential to provide over one-third of the cost-effective climate mitigation needed between now and 2030 to stabilize warming to below 2°C.
Read an introduction to nature-based solutions on climateseed.com.
Examples of nature-based solutions
Below a selection of resources on nature-based solutions can be found. They include many inspiring examples.
- This is how green the Netherlands (and the world) could look in 2120 (video)
- The many values of large-scale nature-based solutions
- TEDx: Let's make climate action sexy! (video)
- Oyster reefs in the Oosterschelde
- Nature-based Solutions for water management
- 5 Things you need to know about Nature-based Solutions (video)
- Mangroves : Reducing the Risk of Disaster through Nature-Based Solutions (video)