Six new countries and the UN Environment Programme joined the ENACT Partnership during COP28 in Dubai.

The new partners include France, the US, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Pakistan.

Enhancing Nature-based Solutions for an Accelerated Climate Transformation (ENACT) was launched by Germany and Egypt, along with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) during COP27 in Egypt in 2022.

Canada, the European Union, Spain, Malawi, Norway, South Korea, Japan and Slovenia were also founding members of the partnership.

IUCN hosts the ENACT Secretariat, which is leading the implementation of the initiative.

The ENACT initiative aims to:

i) Enhance the protection from and resilience to climate impacts of at least one billion vulnerable people, including at least 500 million women and girls.

ii) Secure up to 2.4 billion hectares of healthy natural and sustainable agricultural ecosystems, through protection of 45 million hectares, sustainable management of 2 billion ha, and restoration of 350 million hectares.

iii) Significantly increase global mitigation efforts through protecting, conserving and restoring carbon-rich terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems.

Seven areas of focus have been identified to structure the work of ENACT.

They are:

i) Food security and land productivity.

ii) Adaptation and disaster risk reduction.

iii) Oceans and sustainable blue economy.

iv) Urban resilience.

v) Green-grey infrastructure.

vi) Nature-based Solutions (NbS) in national and sub-national mitigation strategies.

vii) Mobilising private investment in NbS.

viii) Health, climate and NbS.

Nature-based Solutions (NbS)

• In 2022, the United Nations Environment Assembly adopted the first multilaterally agreed definition of Nature-based Solutions (NbS), building on earlier definitions adopted by IUCN and the European Union. 

• It is defined as “actions to protect, conserve, restore, sustainably use and manage natural or modified terrestrial, freshwater, coastal and marine ecosystems, which address social, economic and environmental challenges effectively and adaptively, while simultaneously providing human well-being, ecosystem services and resilience and biodiversity benefits”.

• NbS have the potential to save up to 10 gigatonnes of CO2 per year, more than the emissions from the entire global transportation sector, as well as the potential to reduce the intensity of climate hazards.

• When implemented properly, NbS can enhance the resilience of ecosystems and the societies that depend on them. 

• NbS can support adaptation to climate hazards such as sea level rise and more frequent and intense flooding, droughts, heatwaves and wildfires, while delivering significant biodiversity benefits in a manner that safeguards and promotes the rights and interests of vulnerable and historically marginalised communities.

• A growing number of countries are incorporating NbS into national commitments and strategies.