IISD - International Institute for Sustainable Development

10/29/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/29/2024 13:25

COP 16 | The Value of Nature-Based Solutions for Cultivating Resilient Food Systems

About the event

Adopted at COP15 in December 2022, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) aims to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030. With focus now shifting to implementation, this side event will examine the role and business case for nature-based solutions (NbS) in fostering resilient food systems and advancing the goals of the GBF.

More specifically, the event will review the potential of agroforestry, through integrating trees and shrubs into agricultural landscapes, as a powerful strategy for enhancing biodiversity, improving climate resilience, securing rural livelihoods, safeguarding food and nutrition, and mitigating water scarcity. This event will unpack key findings from new reports by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD). IFAD will present a review of its agroforestry projects and efforts to pilot enhanced economic analysis for agroecology, while IISD will highlight results from two new integrated cost-benefit analyses of IFAD agroforestry projects in Kenya and eSwatini, developed by the Nature-Based Infrastructure (NBI) Global Resource Centre. Learnings from a past water stewardship project in Indonesia, developed with UNIDO, will also be showcased.

Using these case studies, the event will explore the economic value of NbS and how agroforestry practices can lead to increased, more sustainable agricultural productivity, reduce costs through natural resource management, mitigate water scarcity, and create new income streams from diversified farming systems. The discussion will emphasize the importance of creating supportive economic and policy frameworks to incentivize the adoption of these practices on a larger scale.

The panellists will share their experiences and discuss relevant examples. This side event aims to provide stakeholders with practical insights into how new approaches to valuing NbS can make the investment case for supporting agroforestry and sustainable food systems that both work towards the targets of the GBF and enhance food security.

Speakers

Facilitator

  • Benjamin Simmons, Director, Sustainable Infrastructure and NBI Global Resource Centre, IISD

Panellists