FEATURE: IDENTIFYING NBS POTENTIAL

One objective of the NBS Project is to embed NBS into World Bank strategies. To support this, the project provides technical assistance to teams on how to incorporate NBS components when preparing Country Climate and Development Reports (CCDRs).



Here are a few examples:

• In Tanzania, NBS Invest is supporting the analysis of how the land sector could mitigate climate change impacts under the CCDR scenarios. The project is also supporting a background note on potential impacts and opportunities for tourism by assessing how the impact of climate change on land cover (out to 2050) could affect the tourism potential key wildlife habitats.
• In Togo, the project is supporting a geospatial analysis in rural areas to identify locations and opportunities where NBS investment could help address climate adaptation and mitigation priorities.
• In Sierra Leone, the team is conducting a deep dive on potential NBS options to help address climate risks in key sectors covered by the CCDR.

PROGRESS UPDATE: INTEGRATING NBS INTO IDA INVESTMENTS

Since commencing work mid-2023, NBS Invest has made considerable progress towards the goal of integrating NBS into World Bank investments. Working with over 20 projects in the IDA pipeline, NBS Invest is providing technical assistance and capacity building to help teams include NBS interventions as part of the projects. Notable results include:

• In Burundi, the Climate Resilience Project secured GEF endorsement for $20 million from the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF) to support NBS activities. This project received approval in February, 2024, and is scheduled for Bank Board approval in July 2024 as a $120 million IDA/LDCF blended operation. Further details can be found here.
• In Zambia, the Sustainable Management of Ecosystems in Miombo project was approved for preparation. NBS Invest facilitated the preparation of the LDCF ($7.2M) and GEF ($2.8M) package. Further details can be found here.
• NBS Invest is currently assisting the preparation of the Food Systems Resilience Program in Sierra Leone and Sao Tome and Principe Climate Resilient Roads Project for LDCF council approval in June 2024.
• With NBS Invest support and funding, the Global Program on Nature Based Solutions is preparing NBS opportunity scans for the Timor-Leste Blue Economy Development ASA and Nepal Urban Governance and Infrastructure Project.
• Seven awards for technical assistance/capacity building were reviewed and approved in IDA operations in the following countries: Burundi (ENB GP), Ethiopia (AG GP), Lao (Water GP), Cambodia (ENB GP), Malawi (ENB GP), Burkina Faso (Urban GP), and Senegal (AG GP).

Freetown, Sierra Leone (World Bank Flikr, 2024)

EVENTS

Coming Up:

Accelerating Nature Based Solutions (Zambia, MAR 2024): Members of the NBS Invest team will participate and present at this global conference, the world’s largest land restoration programming conference.

Internal (contact for more information):

Training Session: Accessing Funds from the GEF Least Developed Countries Fund (FEB, 2024)

NBS Invest Project Launch (SEP, 2023)

Partner events:

Results and Impact of the Global Program on NBS for Climate Resilience (NOV, 2023)

Lessons Learned: Implementing Nature based Solutions for Coastal Resilience and Adaptation (OCT, 2023)

NBS IN THE NEWS

From tree planting to ‘sponge cities’: why nature-based solutions are crucial to fighting the climate crisis (The Guardian, NOV 2023)



Nature-based Solutions professional certificate on IUCN Global Standard™ - 5th edition (IUCN, JAN 2024)

New tool aims to make nature-based solutions projects in SE Asia a better sell (Monga Bay, DEC 2023)