During the meeting, the Hub’s Steering Committee and Advisory Committee were established, and its vision, mission and work plan were also discussed.

The NbS Asian Hub, supported by IUCN and MNR, facilitates sustainable development through NbS research and international cooperation. It promotes ecological conservation and green development across Asia, including in China, by providing knowledge, capacity building and solutions for global challenges. The Hub’s priorities include establishing guidelines, promoting case studies, and conducting trainings.

Dr Luo Ming, Executive Director of the NbS Asian Hub, outlined the vision of NbS. “The Hub is to create a sustainable future with nature as our ally, where people and nature live in harmony.” To realize this vision, the Hub will focus on conducting research, implementing practices, fostering international cooperation on NbS. Furthermore, Dr Ming highlighted the priority work plan for the first year, including the best practice guidelines on NbS, exemplary case studies, the organisation of the annual NbS conference in Asia, and training and capacity building initiatives. 

Mr Raphaël Glemet, Senior Programme Officer for Water and Wetlands and Nature-based Solutions at the IUCN Asia Regional Office, and Chair of the Advisory Committee of the NbS Asian Hub, emphasised the value of collecting lessons learned at the regional level and replicating the wide range of experiences across Asia. He especially pointed out that “it is very important to gather support from a wide range of Asian countries to enhance cooperation. The hub should also initiate dialogues and guidelines around the policy and financial dimensions of NbS.”

Mr Charles Karangwa, Global Head of the IUCN Headquarters NbS Management Hub and a member of the NbS Asian Hub’s Steering Committee, stated that “for the future work of the Hubs, we need to enhance intercontinental collaboration and learning between Africa, Asia and Europe as well as Americas, specifically with regards to the upcoming NbS Regional Hub for Europe, and the NbS Regional Hub for Africa”. “The exchange between these regional Hubs will not only enhance learning but also catalyse opportunities for scaling up high integrity Nature-based Solution actions across various sectors including finance, policy and academia.”

The NbS Asian Hub promotes strong partnerships, knowledge sharing, and innovative solutions in order to address pressing environmental challenges and mainstream NbS across the Asia Region. By engaging with a wide range of stakeholders and harnessing collective expertise, the Hub strives to propel NbS forward and effectively contribute to the global efforts to make progress on climate, biodiversity and sustainable development agendas.