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NIUA’s C-Cube and WRI India launch the India Forum for Nature-Based Solutions

NIUA’s C-Cube and WRI India launch the India Forum for Nature-Based Solutions
29 Jun, 2022

National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) and World Resources Institute India (WRI India) launch national platform to mainstream ecosystem-based services and nature-based solutions (NbS) to build urban climate resilience

Katowice, June 29, 2022: The National Institute of Urban Affairs’ Climate Centre for Cities (NIUA C-Cube), World Resources Institute India (WRI India) and their partners today launched India’s first national coalition platform for urban nature-based solutions (NbS) at the 11th World Urban Forum in Poland.

Ecosystem-based services and NbS are fast emerging as cost-effective and sustainable ways to address climate change induced challenges such as heat, urban flooding, air and water pollution and storm surges. Along with mitigating the impact of climate change, NbS also helps in providing multiple ecosystem benefits along with addressing various societal challenges including building resilience of the underserved and vulnerable urban communities who are most affected by climate change induced catastrophes.

The India Forum for Nature-based Solutions aims to create a collective of NbS entrepreneurs, government entities and like-minded organisations, to help scale urban nature-based solutions by -

  • Defining a shared language and by communicating benefits that inform actions at the local level including scaling up of existing NbS interventions.
  • Driving investment and strengthening delivery mechanisms through multistakeholder coordination.
  • Mainstreaming urban ecosystem-based services and nature-based solutions in India through informing policy, plans and project interventions

At the platform launch event, Mr. Hitesh Vaidya, Director, NIUA said, “It is important that we have a low-cost and sustainable approach when we work on climate action and increasing our green cover. It is here that nature-based solutions (NbS) should be prioritized as part of India’s resilience and adaptation strategy.”

The event saw representatives, from core partner organisations such as GiZ India, India Climate Collaborative, The Nature Conservancy, WWF India and Wetlands International, pledge their efforts towards collaboratively achieving the Forum’s objectives.

Speaking about the Forum, WRI India CEO, Dr. OP Agarwal noted, “Combining the strengths and resources of the Forum’s core partners can tackle key capacity challenges faced by the entire ecosystem. This will enable a more focused approach in mainstreaming and scaling urban NbS, while also helping amplify individual organizational efforts.”

‘India Forum for Nature-based Solutions’ is led by the National Institute of Urban Affairs’ Climate Centre for Cities (NIUA C-Cube) and anchored by World Resources Institute India (WRI India) under the Cities4Forests initiative. It is supported by Caterpillar Foundation, Department of Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA), Govt. of United Kingdom and Norway’s International Climate and Forest Initiative (NICFI). Know more about ‘the India Forum for Nature-based Solutions on our website: www.nbs4india.org

About National Institute of Urban Affairs’ Climate Centre for Cities (NIUA C-Cube)
NIUA is India’s leading national think tank on urban planning and development. C-Cube has been established at NIUA to create synergy across all climate actions which are being undertaken in Indian cities by various stakeholders. The Centre will work with a range of stakeholders and partners to focus on strengthening capacities of cities to understand, implement and monitor and actions needed for addressing climate change impacts locally. For more details visit: www.niua.in | www.niua.org/c-cube/

About World Resources Institute India (WRI India)
WRI India provides objective information and practical proposals to foster environmentally sound and socially equitable development. Our work focuses on building sustainable and liveable cities and working towards a low carbon economy. Through research, analysis, and recommendations, WRI India puts ideas into action to build transformative solutions to protect the earth, promote livelihoods, and enhance human well-being. We are inspired by and associated with World Resources Institute (WRI) a global research organization. Explore our work on our websites: wri-india.org I wricitiesindia.org

Media contact:
Ila Singh | NIUA
isingh@niua.org
+91 9899136663

Nitya Kaushik | WRI India
nitya.kaushik@wri.org
+91 9819902763