Nature-based green infrastructure: A review of African experience and potential

This report explores the existing and potential role of NBS-GI in disaster risk management and climate change mitigation and adaptation, as well as wider development objectives. The research focuses on the application, financing and efficiency of NBS-GI in African contexts, as well as on the motivations for selecting NBS-GI investments in Africa.

Some of the key messages from the report include:

• Green infrastructure can support disaster risk reduction efforts for low-intensity hazards. It may be useful in mitigating the risk of high-impact events, if used in combination with built infrastructure for such purposes.
• Stakeholders are likely to recognise and prioritise the multifunctional benefits of NBS-GI when development and DRR needs are mapped in a cross-sectoral, highly consultative way.
• The financial case for governments and donors to invest in NBS-GI is often made on the basis of avoided disaster losses. Investing in green infrastructure to reduce disaster risk may be shown to cost less to the public purse than addressing losses and damages later – if the project did not take place.