Tools for ecosystem-based adaptation: new navigator now available
Ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) can help governments, civil society and communities manage climate change impacts. EbA is a nature-based approach that uses biodiversity and ecosystem services to help people adapt to the adverse effects of climate change. Although there are hundreds of tools and methodologies available to support the integration of EbA into adaptation strategies, information about these tools and how to use them is not always easily accessible to those who need it.
The new EbA Tools Navigator will help practitioners and policymakers include EbA into their climate adaptation planning.
The navigator is a searchable database of tools and methods relevant to EbA, providing practical information about more than 240 tools, methodologies and guidance documents. The tools featured cover an array of topics, including planning and assessments, implementation and valuation, monitoring and mainstreaming.
The navigator has been developed by partners IIED, IUCN, UNEP-WCMC and GIZ. It has been designed to help users find the most appropriate tools and methods to support their work and put them into practice. Detailed information is provided about each tool and how to apply it. Users can also add information about new tools not yet included, as well as their own experiences in applying particular tools for EbA.
Members of the GIZ-supported international EbA community of practice and the IUCN-supported Friends of EbA (FEBA) network provided valuable feedback on early versions of the navigator.
The navigator has now been released in its final form, and the partners are encouraging EbA practitioners and planners to use it for their own work.
How to access the navigator
The navigator is currently available as an Excel database file, with partial versions also available in French and Spanish. An accompanying tutorial provides guidance for making the most of it:
- Download the navigator, including search functionality (Excel .xlsm) | en français (Excel .xlsm) | en español (Excel .xlsm)
- Download the navigator (Excel .xls) | en français (Excel .xls) | en español (Excel .xls)
- Download the navigator tutorial (PDF) | en français (PDF) | en español (PDF)
About the project partners
The EbA Tools Navigator has been developed through a collaboration between two International Climate Initiative (IKI) funded projects:
- Ecosystem-based approaches to climate change adaptation, implemented by IIED, IUCN and UNEP-WCMC, and
- Mainstreaming ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA): strengthening EbA in planning and decision-making processes, implemented by GIZ.
Both projects aim to show climate change policymakers and adaptation practitioners when and why EbA is effective – the conditions under which it works, and the benefits, costs and limitations of natural systems approaches. They also promote the better integration of EbA principles into policy and planning.
Contact
Xiaoting Hou Jones (xiaoting.hou.jones@iied.org), researcher (biodiversity), IIED's Natural Resources research group
Charlotte Hicks (charlotte.hicks@unep-wcmc.org), senior technical officer, climate change and biodiversity, UNEP-WCMC