Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

Grounding nature-based climate solutions in sound biodiversity science

Nature Climate Change volume 9, pages 84–87 (2019)Cite this article

Subjects

The current narrow focus on afforestation in climate policy runs the risk of compromising long-term carbon storage, human adaptation and efforts to preserve biodiversity. An emphasis on diverse, intact natural ecosystems — as opposed to fast-growing tree plantations — will help nations to deliver Paris Agreement goals and much more.

The idea that natural ecosystems can help us fight both the drivers and impacts of climate change has been gaining traction over the past few years, including recent emphasis in the IPCC Special Report1. In particular, the Paris Agreement on climate change calls on all parties to acknowledge “the importance of ensuring the integrity of all ecosystems, including oceans, and the protection of biodiversity, recognized by some cultures as Mother Earth”, and 66% of signatories to the agreement commit to ‘green’ or ‘nature-based solutions’ in their climate pledges (see Nature-Based Solutions Policy Platform; www.nbspolicyplatform.org) (Box 1). Such recognition of nature’s value — in particular through policies promoting forests as carbon sinks — was hard-won by negotiators and non-state actors and is vitally important. However, we are concerned by aspects of the narrative reaching policymakers, and call on scientists studying biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services to fully engage with and inform the process by which high-level pledges are translated into on-the-ground actions.

Your institute does not have access to this article

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Buy article

Get time limited or full article access on ReadCube.

$32.00

Buy

All prices are NET prices.

References

  1. IPCC Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 °C (eds Masson-Delmotte, V. et al.) (World Meteorological Organization, Geneva, 2018).

  2. Dave, R. et al. Bonn Challenge Barometer of Progress: Spotlight Report (IUCN, Gland, 2017).

    Google Scholar 

  3. Le Quéré, C. et al. Earth Syst. Sci. Data 10, 405–448 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Mackey, B. et al. Conserv. Lett. 8, 139–147 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Chaplin-Kramer, R. et al. Nat. Commun. 6, 10158 (2015).

    CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Hulvey, K. B. et al. Nat. Clim. Change 3, 869 (2013).

    CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Frank, D. et al. Global Change Biol. 21, 2861–2880 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Oliver, T. H. et al. Trends Ecol. Evol. 30, 673–684 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Hutchinson, C. et al. Sci. Rep. 8, 15443 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Jactel, H. et al. Curr. For. Rep. 3, 223–243 (2017).

    Google Scholar 

  11. Watson, J. E. M. et al. Nat. Ecol. Evol. 2, 599–610 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Sakschewski, B. et al. Nat. Clim. Change 6, 1032 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Griscom, B. W. et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 114, 11645–11650 (2017).

    CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Mcleod, E. et al. Front. Ecol. Environ. 9, 552–560 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Leifeld, J. & Menichetti, L. Nat. Commun. 9, 1071 (2018).

    CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Dass, P. et al. Environ. Res. Lett. 13, 074027 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Veldman, J. W. et al. BioScience 65, 1011–1018 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Lavorel, S. et al. Global Change Biol. 21, 12–31 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Jones, H. P. et al. Nat. Clim. Change 2, 504 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Constanza, R. et al. AMBIO 37, 241–248 (2008).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Beck, M. et al. Nat. Commun. 9, 2186 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Biodiversity and Climate Change (UN, 2018); https://go.nature.com/2SJPzkc

  23. Cohen-Shacham, E. et al. Nature-Based Solutions to Address Global Societal Challenges (IUCN, Gland, 2016); https://portals.iucn.org/library/node/46191

  24. Nature-Based Solutions (European Commission, accessed 2018); https://go.nature.com/2SDqfws

  25. Increasing Ambition and Action in NDCs Through Forest Landscape Restoration (IUCN and Climate Focus, 2018).

  26. The Ministerial Katowice Declaration on Forests for the Climate (COP24, 2018); https://go.nature.com/2SISDNN

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nature-based Solutions Initiative, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom

    Nathalie Seddon, Beth Turner & Alexandre Chausson

  2. Environmental Change Institute, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom

    Pam Berry & Cécile A. J. Girardin

Authors
  1. Nathalie Seddon
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Beth Turner
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Pam Berry
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Alexandre Chausson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Cécile A. J. Girardin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nathalie Seddon.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Seddon, N., Turner, B., Berry, P. et al. Grounding nature-based climate solutions in sound biodiversity science. Nature Clim Change 9, 84–87 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-019-0405-0

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-019-0405-0

Further reading

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing