Natural Solutions: Building Resilience for a Changing Pacific
Momentum has been gathering around the world to find natural solutions to the issues and impacts of climate change. Ecosystem services have become increasingly recognised as a fundamental approach to combat these threats to the Pacific environment and its communities. Climate change is predicted to have a range of impacts on island ecosystems and natural resources that are critical to current and future development. Some of these impacts are anticipated to be severe. It is increasingly recognised that a relevant response to these predicted impacts is the application of ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) approaches. That is, the use of biodiversity and ecosystem services as part of an overall adaptation strategy to the adverse effects of climate change.
By taking into account the ecosystem services on which people depend for their livelihoods and social and economic security, EbA integrates sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystem services in a comprehensive adaptation strategy (CBD 2009)[1]. Nature conservation and its role in sustainable development, growth of blue and green economies and community resilience is a key element in EbA approaches.