The COVID-19 pandemic reverberated around the world in 2020, with the most vulnerable populations have been hit the hardest. The aftershocks of COVID-19 are predicted to be felt for decades to come. Climate change adds layers of complexity and uncertainty to these compounding threats - as well as to discussions on green recovery.

Originally planned to be the “Super Year for Biodiversity”, 2020 has instead brought new global attention to the role biodiversity plays in securing human health, well-being and resilience – including how climate change, habitat degradation and land use changes both contribute to disease outbreaks and undermine our ability to respond and recover. Ultimately, both climate resilience and public health depend on strengthening the social and ecological resilience of communities. Ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) provides an integrated approach to do precisely that. With the planning of response and recovery initiatives around the world, EbA provides a key mechanism for green recovery by addressing underlying environmental and climactic drivers to support human health and livelihoods and build holistic resilience.

In this new Friends of EbA (FEBA) multimedia story, entitled “Ecosystem-based Adaptation and Green Recovery: Building back better from COVID-19”, experiences are documented from communities around the world who are bearing the brunt of the impact of the pandemic, thus, showcasing the potential of EbA for building resilience to complex crises:  including COVID-19.  These lived, front-line experiences demonstrate the ability of EbA to both provide green work and economic recovery to communities in the short term, as well as reduce the vulnerabilities of ecosystems and communities for their health, livelihoods and well-being in the long term.

The multimedia story “Ecosystem-based Adaptation and Green Recovery: Building back better from COVID-19” is available here.

For any further questions, please contact Emily Goodwin and Ali Raza Rizvi.

About Friends of EbA (FEBA): FEBA is a global collaborative network of 80+ agencies and organisations involved in Ecosystem based Adaptation (EbA) working jointly to share experiences and knowledge, to improve the implementation of EbA related activities on the ground, and to have a stronger and more strategic learning and policy influence on EbA. EbA has paved the way for the wide uptake of working with nature as a cornerstone of adaptation strategies to simultaneously address climate risks, the biodiversity crisis, and human wellbeing. FEBA works to synthesise multi-stakeholder knowledge on EbA; disseminate this knowledge by convening the global EbA community around high-level events, technical workshops, and expert working groups; and raise awareness and understanding of EbA in adaptation planning processes and multilateral policy frameworks. The CBD COP recognizes FEBA as a key partner “to support Parties in their efforts to promote ecosystem-based approaches to climate change adaptation” (Decision 14/5).