BRICS IN TRANSITION: National Strategies, Global Leadership, and the Future of Nature-based Solutions and Bioeconomy Cooperation
Authors: Trajber Waisbich, Laura, Cheng, Han
Type: Publication
Published: 2026-06-19
Keywords: BRICS, Nature-based Solutions, bioeconomy, biodiversity, ecosystem restoration, climate finance, sustainable development, South-South cooperation, nature-positive transition, environmental governance

<p>This report examines how eight selected BRICS countries—Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)—are advancing Nature-based Solutions (NbS) and the bioeconomy to address climate change, biodiversity loss, and sustainable development. It argues that these countries possess the natural assets, policy capacity, and growing international influence needed to drive a global nature-positive transition, but that cooperation remains fragmented, underfunded, weakly standardized, and poorly connected to implementation.</p>
<p>The selected BRICS countries encompass some of the world's most important ecosystems, including the Amazon, Southeast Asian forests, African landscapes, mangroves, and arid environments. Each country follows a distinct pathway: Brazil integrates biodiversity conservation with bioeconomy policies; China embeds NbS within its Ecological Civilization framework; Ethiopia has developed a national bioeconomy strategy; Egypt and Ethiopia promote ecosystem-based adaptation; India combines afforestation with rural development; Indonesia prioritizes peatland and mangrove restoration; South Africa links ecosystem restoration to employment and a just transition; and the UAE invests in technological innovation to support nature-based adaptation in desert environments.</p>
<p>Internationally, these countries increasingly shape global agendas through climate, biodiversity, agriculture, and restoration initiatives. Brazil has advanced bioeconomy and tropical forest finance through the G20 and COP30. China promotes environmental standards in overseas investments and expands climate-smart agriculture cooperation. India strengthens South-South partnerships, while Indonesia and the UAE lead global blue carbon initiatives. South Africa promotes circular and blue economy approaches, and Egypt and Ethiopia contribute to pan-African restoration and climate adaptation initiatives.</p>
<p>Despite this growing momentum, NbS and bioeconomy policies remain less politically prominent and institutionally developed than clean energy agendas. Significant barriers persist, including financing gaps, governance fragmentation, insufficient data, land-use conflicts, unequal benefit sharing, and tensions between economic development and ecosystem conservation.</p>
<p>The report identifies opportunities for stronger BRICS cooperation in ecosystem restoration, climate-smart agriculture, blue and circular economies, and nature-based adaptation. It recommends integrating nature into economic decision-making, expanding nature finance through the New Development Bank (NDB), strengthening national development finance institutions, harmonizing standards, launching pilot projects, and creating dedicated mechanisms for knowledge exchange. Collectively, these measures would enable BRICS countries to strengthen global leadership on climate, biodiversity, and sustainable development while accelerating a more inclusive and resilient nature-positive transition.</p>