FFPRI International Seminar

Resilient Mountains
Through Nature-BasedSolutions

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Nature-based solutions across spatial scales

Upland forests

Mangrove forests
Artificialreefs

Mangroveforests

Sandyshores

Naturalinland
wetlands

Riverfloodplains

Uplandforests

Sandy shores
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DISASTER RISK IN MOUNTAINS• High vulnerability• In the forefront of climate change• Provide crucial ecosystem services tobillions of people living downstream• Increasing exposure to hazards

THE TRADITIONAL GRAY APPROACH IS NOT ENOUGHADVANTAGES• Essential role in preventing floodwaters fromdamaging assets and harming people• Deep industry knowledge• High performance certainty and control

CHALLENGES• Alter natural flow regimes that cause endangerbiodiversity• Can increase flood risk over time
• Massive investment gap in flood infrastructureNATURE-BASED SOLUTIONS FOR DRR
Nature-based solutions protect, manage, enhance, and/or
restore natural or nature-based features to address climate
resilience and adaptation, while provisioning a wealth ofvaluable co-benefits.

Bishan Park(Singapore)

NATURE-BASED SOLUTIONS FOR DRR (2)Global evidence demonstrates that NBS have a large potential for
multi-hazard risk reduction and added benefits.

CBAs show that strategic
conservation of floodplains
can lead to avoided increasein the economic and humancosts of flooding whileproviding multiple benefits1

Nature-based solutions
can account for more than
30% of the emissions
reductions needed tomeet the Paris Accord.

Can empower communities
through participation in project
operations. This enhances
project sustainability as
long-term viability is highly
dependent on communitysupport.

In mountainous areas, NBS can bea cost-effective solution to reduceflooding, increase biodiversity,and reduced landslide risk alongwith erosion and sedimentation.

This can also extend the life ofhydropower infrastructure, support
agriculture, and protect transport
infrastructure.
Bishan Park(Singapore)ENHANCING THE BENEFITS OF NATURAL AND BUILT SOLUTIONSNature can provide additional value to grayapproaches:• Provide wide range of additional co-benefits• Ads cost-effectiveness• Can be designed as resilient, flexible, climate
adaptation measures• Allow natural ecosystems/watersheds to function
naturally.

FORESTS FOR DISASTER RISK REDUCTION IN MOUNTAINS
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3Snow avalanche risks
4

Rockfall risk
5Floods and debris flow risk
6Landslides

WHAT IS THE BUSINESS CASE FOR NBS?

REDUCEUPFRONTCAPITALINVESTMENTS

REDUCEOPERATIONAL &MAINTENANCECOSTS

AVOIDEDLOSSESPROVISION OF
MULTIPLE
BENEFITS

THE CATALYTIC ROLE OF THE WORLD BANK

Funding initial project steps and supporting
project design
Advocating for holistic landscape approaches
Building capacity
Providing catalytic capital in blended capital
strategies

De-Risking Investments in Nature-based andHybrid InfrastructureReforestation▪

Upstream watershed characteristics influence
downstream river floods
Reforesting areas over 25-40% have been shown todecrease the flood maximum by 20%1
Reduces land-use change that increases flood runoff▪
▪

Benefits

Considerations

▪

▪

▪
▪
▪

Soil production, reduced erosion,
landslide risk, and sedimentation
Habitat creation
Carbon sequestration
Increase resilience ofinfrastructure▪
▪

Poor designs lead to negligible
benefits (ex. targeted reforestation
vs simple reforestation)
Problems of scale and aggregate
costs; large private ownership ofland creates high costs
Importance of data and monitoring

Credit: Darshan Simha

The Himachal Pradesh State Roads Transformation Project is working to addressing thelandslides and flash floods that affects road connectivity in Himachal Pradesh. These events
block rural populations from accessing basic services, such as hospitals.

Using Nature to Reduce
To protect against landslides and floods, the project will implement engineering solutions thatnatural-based solutions, also known as bioengineering interventions, as well as control
Flooding and Landslide Risk include
vehicular emission to address climate risks. Women-led groups will receive 30% of the nonCase Study: Himachal Pradesh, India

mechanized maintenance contracts for the bioengineering solutions.

This project builds upon the work done in the previous Himachal Pradesh States Roads
project, which created the Himachal Pradesh State Road, used bioengineering, and upgraded
435 km of roads. The project saw reduced death rates and vehicle operating costs.

Terracing▪
▪
▪

There is a long history of civilization employing terracing
It reduces flooding by absorbing water and draining theexcess to the next step down; runoff and soil loss
reduced by more than 80% in one study in South Asia.
Considered one of the best techniques for erosion
control, terraces effectively trap sediment.

Benefits

Considerations

▪
▪
▪

▪

▪

Conservation of soil and water
Carbon sequestration
Enhancement of crop yield andfood security
Enhancement of biodiversity
compared to non-nature-basedfeatures▪
▪

Must understand the physicalprocesses to determine
maintenance criteria.
Labor-intensive
Choosing terrace design should beguided by level of rainfall andcontext-specific topographical, soil,
and other hydrological factors

Landscapes Restoration
for Multiple Benefits
Case Study: Burundi

The Burundi Landscape Restoration Project is working to support the development ofpolicies and capacities to plan and implement land preservation and restoration in thetargeted project areas, using a resilient and integrated landscape approach. Theinterventions include soil bioengineering, restoring degraded lands, and agroforestry.
Reforestation is expected to amount to $5.1 USD Million (NPV), and the internal rate of
return is 26%, which arises from direct income increase, avoidance of yield or income loss
that would occur without project, and flood risk reduction.

Thank youFor more information, contact:
Brenden Jongman:bjongman@worldbank.org