#NbS4India Connect: Accelerating Nature-based Solutions (NbS) across urban India

SPECIAL FEATURE | India Forum for NbS: Inaugural Summit Highlights

The India Forum for Nature-based Solutions (NbS) held its inaugural summit on 6th August 2024. The Summit saw over 100 public and private actors, including participation from government representatives, civil society organizations, academicians, funders and financiers, come together to build synergies, foster dialogue, and draw focus to NbS.

Here are a few key takeaways from the day below:

• Addressing climate change challenges requires integrating NbS with modern technology and traditional wisdom. We must leverage both structural solutions, such as stormwater drains, and non-structural solutions, like wetlands, for effective outcomes.
• Integrating local communities to address capacity issues within NbS is pivotal, especially including women and our most vulnerable urban citizens, at all levels of decision-making and implementation.
• NbS help build our case to prioritise ecological concerns by emphasising how they align with “human” priorities.
• Financing NbS at scale requires a community-driven, multi-faceted approach involving government, impact investors, philanthropy, and eventually commercial capital.

The Summit culminated with the NbS awards, felicitating exemplary work across three categories –?Champion, Enabler, and Implementation. The winners are?Sudha S,?IFS (Champion),?GRRID Corps?(Enabler),?City of 1000 Tanks?(Implementation) and?YUVA?(Implementation).

Upcoming Events and Updates

In partnership with the?City of 1000?Tanks alliance, the Masterclass will acquaint participants with the Water Balance Model and the development of projects that use water as leverage for climate resilience impacts.

This Masterclass is for:

• City officials looking at planning, designing, delivering and maintaining water and wastewater projects.
• Urban planners, architects and urbanists working with cities and developers to deliver NbS and hybrid projects.
• Developers and businesses looking to deliver more water circular projects.

Register Today: https://bit.ly/3yBWLcC

To continue addressing the knowledge gaps and support local research on NbS in Indian cities, the India Forum for Nature-based Solutions launched the second edition of its Research Program at its inaugural summit 2024.

Research Topics:

1. Procurement guidance that will help cities onboard NbS: Identifying current institutional arrangements and processes, their alignment with different typologies of NbS, and what cities will need to consider ensuring delivery of quality NbS.??
2. Common MEL framework and standards for NbS: Identifying social, environmental and/or economic indicators to examine the effectiveness of nature-based solutions and determining benchmarks or standards.?

Last Date for Applications: 20th September 2024

Apply Today: https://www.nbs4india.org/launch-of-the-research-program-second-edition/

Report Launch

Launch of ‘Trends in Climate Philanthropy’ by India Climate Collaborative

In the News

1. Nature-based Solutions a Must for Flood Control Mitigation
2. Centre Approves ?15Cr to Develop Urban Forests
3. India Adds 3 New Ramsar Sites: What are Wetlands, Why Do They Matter for the Environment?
4. Mangrove Plantation Drive to Protect Coastal Ecosystems
5. Strategic Alliance between NMCG, IIT (BHU) and Denmark unveils innovative Smart Laboratory on Clean Rivers (SLCR) Project in Varanasi

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