The consequences of the climate crisis, along with biodiversity loss, and the accelerated degradation of ecosystems, are affecting societies in ways that are much more severe, and multifaceted, than previously predicted. While an integral part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), global collaboration on climate issues has historically developed in parallel to the 2030 Agenda, culminating with its own global framework, the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change. In spite of governments’ concerted efforts, however, it is increasingly clear that the global community is unlikely to achieve most targets under both agendas, especially in light of the unprecedented impact of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Furthermore, it is not clear how Nationally Determined Contributions strategies under the Paris Agreement interact with different SDGs, and what adaptation measures best enable achievement of both.  

The Climate-SDG Integration project aims to develop a better understanding of this interaction, and of the role Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) could play in strengthening synergies across the two frameworks. Human-centred, and nature-based EbA measures, such as restoration and preservation of micro-watersheds, sustainable forest management or mangrove restoration are examples of win-win strategies that can help countries effectively scale up climate change adaptation measures, while meeting the goals of environmental conservation, and socio-economic development.  

This project entails a series of inclusive and participatory multi-stakeholder dialogues at both the local and national/ state levels in Guatemala and India, through which TMG Research and its partners seek to identify promising EbA initiatives. An important aspect of these processes is to identify the enabling environment within each country that contributed to such success. The project brings together key decision-makers and experts from government, private sector, civil society, international cooperation, and research institutions, to discuss lessons learnt from these local experiences that can be further scaled up, or applied to other contexts. These stakeholder dialogues are expected to contribute to building the required political, and societal support for EbA at the country level, and have culminated in the joint development of roadmaps for scaling EbA in Guatemala and India.