The Philippines faces a plethora of problems across various fronts. Many, however, are societal problems tied to environmental problems—and the Forest Foundation Philippines has proposed before the House Committee on Sustainable Development on Tuesday a solution that could hit the two birds with a single stone.

What is NbS?

A good deal of innovations today, now obscured in the mundane, draw from nature, one way or another. Some are “nature-inspired,” which the Forest Foundation defines as borrowing ideas from nature. Examples of this include modeling aircraft wings from bird wings in flight and deriving the idea of absorbing energy from the sun, as solar panels do, from the process of photosynthesis in plants.

Others are “nature-derived” or utilize objects in nature to address a need, as in the case of plant-based medicines, clothing, and so on.

Meanwhile, for a solution to be “nature-based,” it must use and simultaneously benefit nature, more specifically, an ecosystem.

“They are not just using nature, but we also think about how we can give something back… It is a more symbiotic relationship, and it refers to actions of living organisms working on an ecosystem,” Atty. Alaya de Leon of the foundation explained during the House hearing.

To know whether an act is a nature-based solution (NbS), one can ask the following questions:

• Does it address societal challenges?

• Does it work on an ecosystem?

• Does it provide benefits for human wellbeing and biodiversity?

How has NbS been used?

Nature-based solutions have been implemented in other ASEAN nations already. In Vietnam, the Mekong River Delta has been used for both flood-based agriculture and mangrove-shrimp farming.

The wetland agriculture and livelihood model used three systems: floating rice systems, lotus farming systems, and rice aquaculture systems. The practices implemented were not “top-down” decisions imposed by authorities, but instead relied on local farmer knowledge—a key feature of NbS: locally-designed and informed by community experiences.

The setup addressed the risk of drought, flood management, and crop concerns amid the changing climate. Additionally, it strengthened community resilience and provided sustainable livelihoods while improving and protecting the wetlands ecosystem for other organisms.

Lotus farming along the Mekong river delta in Vietnam. Photo from Panorama Solutions

Meanwhile, in Ca Mau province, a mangrove ecosystem along the same river delta underwent restoration and was also transformed into a shrimp farm via a recirculatory aquaculture system.

The restoration resolved the loss in mangrove ecosystem services (these act like barriers against storms and erosion and store carbon dioxide, among other things), land subsidence or the gradual sinking of the ground’s surface, and water pollution. This setup also slows down the “coastal squeeze,” a phenomenon that occurs when coastal habitats are trapped between rising sea levels and human development on land.

Mangrove shrimp farm along the Mekong river delta in Vietnam. Photo from the Business Partnerships Platform

One great model of urban NbS is the Benjakitti Forest Park in Thailand. Previously an abandoned tobacco factory, it was converted into an extension of the existing Benjakitti Water Park near the central business district of Bangkok. The NbS implemented included the use of “blue infrastructure” or in-land wetlands, peatlands, swamps, and moors, community gardens and allotments, green areas for water management, and parks and urban forests.

The park became a green space, which provided flood protection, management, and storage—de Leon described this as a “sponge city,” designed to retain 200,000 cubic meters of storm water from the surrounding area due to its porous landscape and wetlands. Moreover, it helped increase social interaction and recreation alongside environmental education, while becoming a hub for animals and plant life.

The Benjakitti Forest Park in Thailand. Photo from World Landscape Architecture

How do we implement NbS here in the Philippines?

In order to successfully implement good nature-based solutions locally, there is a critical need for science- and evidence-based approaches devised at scale, ensuring economic viability, and striking a balance between trade-offs. Furthermore, the effectiveness of the initiative must be evaluated constantly and adjustments made as necessary.

“‘Yung isang criterion natin is ‘adaptive management’: to be able to ensure success and sustainability, we have to continuously understand, ‘Effective ba?’ and adjust as needed,” de Leon said.

Another way to achieve a beneficial NbS is to conduct comprehensive or national land use planning.

“That’s really one way to understand: where can we build? Where should we not build? What areas should be reserved for natural flood plains? What areas are safe to build on—whether we’re talking about floods, earthquakes, typhoons, drought,” she explained.

The NbS must also be aligned and integrated with existing climate- and biodiversity-related policies, programs, and commitments, supported by institutional policies and mechanisms that promote the adoption and mainstreaming of high-integrity, gender-responsive NbS.