Blue Solutions side event at COP25 in Madrid

On the 6^th of December, during the UN Climate Change Conference COP 25 (2 – 13 December 2019) in Madrid, the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) organized a side event on marine nature-based solutions for NDCs. Blue Solutions (GIZ, IUCN, GRID, and UNEP) as well as Rare, the Blue Action Fund and the Save Our Mangroves Now! Initiative (WWF and IUCN) co-organized this event.           

Take-away messages

• While the political process is still debating the outcome document of this year’s COP, many stakeholders are in full action mode. Coastal and marine NbS are a viable option climate response, with various benefits to nature and people.
• The event highlighted the need for integrated planning and implementation approaches. The necessity to tackle issues such as climate change, biodiversity and resilience in a holistic manner was emphasized. Practical examples as those presented by Vanuatu, Kenya, Indonesia and Tanzania, showed the complexity, yet also the possible ways forward on how to set up proper partnerships, truly engage the local community and policy reforms to generate positive impact on the ground.

Blue Solutions, as one of the co-organizers, provided a platform for government representatives and development partners to come together and explore nature-based solutions for coastal communities. Practitioners discussed how to implement and up-scale solutions which contribute to NDCs and climate adaptation and mitigation. The side event highlighted success stories of tangible and workable solutions, inspiring local and international partners to take the lead on climate action.

The Side Event was moderated by Dorothée Herr (Blue Solutions Team member from IUCN). Vanuatu’s Ms. Pauliane Basil, CC Adaptation and DRM Officer, Ministry of Climate Change, presented a Blue Solution on Coral Gardening as an example of marine NbS in the context of climate change.

German Ministry of Environment invests two million Euros in the PANORAMA Initiative

The new funding from Germany’s Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) will strengthen the PANORAMA – Solutions for a Healthy Planet initiative, a global learning and knowledge partnership, aiming to support the promotion and uptake of existing replicable solutions. Through investment in core functions, including partnership coordination and business development, the programme will better enable PANORAMA to support global learning from successful practices in biodiversity conservation and climate change adaptation and mitigation among practitioners and decision-makers.

The funding will significantly support the PANORAMA secretariat, which is currently hosted by GIZ and IUCN, for the coming four years. The new flow of income will strengthen the long-term sustainability and strategic advancement of the initiative. PANORAMA is promoting solutions that demonstrate how well protected biodiversity and well managed ecosystems help address societal challenges, increase resilience and adaptation to climate change and thereby achieve development benefits.

A strong focus will be on improved impact monitoring with the intention of having a better understanding of existing solutions and best practices. A more in-depth analysis of solutions will help to crystallize further building blocks and key trends, which will result in better communication of lessons learnt. Enhanced political processes and advocacy activities will make the PANORAMA initiative and its diverse set of solutions more visible to potential stakeholders and decision-makers.

The increased visibility of PANORAMA will prospectively attract co-funding from other donors who can simultaneously benefit from its broad collective of solutions and expertise. Ultimately, the funding of the German ministry will facilitate an improved interaction between solution providers and users promoting the 550+ solutions on a bigger scale and contribute to the long-lasting sustainability of the PANORAMA platform.

Blue Solutions coordinates the Marine and Coastal Portal of the PANORAMA platform and promotes currently more than 220 solutions to address challenges in the coastal and marine realm.

Congratulations to PANORAMA and its partners on this new support!