The COVID-19 pandemic has reverberated around the world in 2020, resulting in over 1.47 million deaths, surpassing 63 million confirmed cases of infection and causing unprecedented economic impacts with nearly 500 million people out of work. The most vulnerable populations have been hit the hardest: it is projected that COVID-19 could push up to 100 million people into extreme poverty, and it has increased the number of people experiencing crisis-level food insecurity to up to 265 million people – an 82% increase since the start of the pandemic – as a result of reduced access to essential goods and services such as hygiene, nutrition, water and more. The aftershocks of COVID-19 are predicted to be felt for decades to come. Climate change adds layers of complexity and uncertainty to these compounding threats - as well as to discussions on green recovery.

Originally planned to be the “Super Year for Biodiversity”, 2020 has instead brought new global attention to the role biodiversity plays in securing human health, well-being and resilience – including how climate change, habitat degradation and land use changes both contribute to disease outbreaks and undermine our ability to respond and recover. Ultimately, both climate resilience and public health depend on strengthening the social and ecological resilience of communities. Ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) provides an integrated approach to do precisely that. With the planning of response and recovery initiatives around the world, EbA provides a key mechanism for green recovery by addressing underlying environmental and climactic drivers to support human health and livelihoods and build holistic resilience.

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