{"id":11433,"date":"2021-01-26T15:14:16","date_gmt":"2021-01-26T14:14:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.iucn.nl\/nature-based-solutions\/"},"modified":"2026-01-15T09:09:33","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T08:09:33","slug":"nature-based-solutions","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.iucn.nl\/en\/our-work\/nature-based-solutions\/","title":{"rendered":"Nature-based solutions: using the power of nature"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Headerphoto: \u00a9 Vlad Hilitanu via Unsplash<\/mark><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Traditionally, social issues related to safety and food security are resolved using ‘hard’ resources: concrete, machines and chemical substances. For example, river dikes to prevent flooding and pesticides to protect crops from pests. Since the waning years of the 20th century, it has become increasingly obvious that these technological interventions involve major disadvantages: dikes are expensive and require a lot of maintenance, pesticides not only kill pests but also soil life.<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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What are nature-based solutions?<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Nature-based solutions (NbS) reverse this rationale: it is often more effective to work with nature rather than against it. The power of nature is used as an ally in solving diverse environmental issues such as subsidence, coastal erosion, weakened agricultural land, drought, flooding and pests. Nature-based solutions often go hand-in-hand with tackling the causes and consequences of climate change (ecosystem-based adaptation [1]<\/sup><\/a>Ecosystem-based adaptation focuses specifically on climate adaptation. Ecosystem-based adaptation deploys nature-based solutions to reduce the negative impacts of climate change – storms, … Continue reading<\/span><\/span><\/span>