Nature Based Solutions for Disaster Risk Reduction: Concepts and Overview

Increased frequencies of extreme climate events have been a matter of grave concern for the South Asia region. Disasters and environment have been well observed for being interlinked in multiple ways. Deforestation and forest degradation, rapid land-use change, and overexploitation of natural resources are compounding natural vulnerabilities. For reducing disaster risk and human well-being there has been increased national as well as international attention on the role of healthy ecosystems. Scientists have explored and identified profound linkages between faulty environmental management practices and increasing disaster risks. This understanding so far has been crucial to address and manage disaster intensity and frequency that augments environmental damage affecting quality of life. Nature based Solutions (NbS) can be considered as a broad overarching concept and approach that substantially addresses disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation. NbS has full potential as a tool to help India in achieving the targets of Paris Climate Agreement, 2015 and other relevant goals of international agreements. It is pertinent to understand the environment-disaster interface so that NbS can be integrated in ongoing developmental planning. There has been substantial progress made across the world related to NbS as a concept, policies, and also its implementation. Present paper takes stock of knowledge available about the growing importance and application of NbS across India through various examples and ongoing efforts. Study attempts to provide the comprehensive international and national overview on NbS for EcoDRR. Paper presents a synthesis of robust understanding about NbS for EcoDRR and targets to attract policy makers as well as important stakeholder groups in protection and management of environment to include NbS as an important approach to meet targets of an array of international agreements by using a common approach.