Fersiwn Gymraeg ar gael yma
It's possible to tackle the big environmental challenges facing us and future generations whilst restoring our natural world through ‘Nature-based Solutions’.
These are essentially solutions that use nature itself to tackle environmental and social challenges like air pollution, climate change and water quality, reversing the declines of disappearing wildlife. There is a tendency to think of Nature Based Solutions solely as solutions to climate change. RSPB Cymru is challenging this and raising awareness of how nature-based solutions can be implemented to tackle environmental, social and economic challenges together.
Investing in peatlands is an excellent example. Funding restoration of peatlands is vital if we are going to meet our climate change targets in Wales. More than 90% of Welsh peatlands are degraded, emitting more carbon than will be captured by even the most ambitious tree planting scenarios. However, restoring our peatlands will not only help tackle climate change by storing more carbon it will also improve water storage, reducing flood risk and enhance valuable habitats for vulnerable species like curlew.
We think investment in Nature-based Solutions is a win-win-win for nature, economy and society. You can find out more about these solutions via our Nature-Based Solutions Story Map.
Investment for nature
Why we must invest in nature has also recently been the focus of a major review. The landmark Dasgupta review (a report on the economics of biodiversity) has called for transformative change in how we value nature, measure economic success and protect our natural world.
The RSPB has strongly welcomed the findings of this review and we urge governments to take notice and take decisive action to transform our economy so that our dependence on nature is reflected in the economic decisions we make.
An example of action that the government could take to better reflect our reliance on nature in economic policy would be to invest in a National Nature Service. This would provide green jobs and skills by rebuilding our natural environment to restore wildlife and revive carbon sinks, enhance natural flood defences, and ensure a transition towards a nature positive, low carbon future. A recently published RSPB report found that the right investment in nature could provide almost 7,000 green jobs in Wales.
To watch the recording of the event please visit the RSPB Cymru YouTube channel.
Images:
Curlew - Jake Stephen Photography
RSPB Scientists - Ray Kennedy (rspb-images.com)