Development projects in urban and rural communities focused on traditional gray infrastructure, such as seawalls, dams, and water treatment plants, especially in Asia and the Pacific, with limited consideration of biodiversity and climate impacts.

Nature-based solutions (NBS) improved infrastructure development by considering ecological services and valued biodiversity's benefits. Integrating NBS shifted development from purely gray infrastructure toward nature-positive investments. Nature-based solutions helped reduce disaster risks, increased water and food security, protected and restored biodiversity, minimized pollution, and contributed to carbon sequestration, among other advantages.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB), The Nature Conservancy, and Monash University organized a hybrid public lecture series followed by an internal project design clinic called “Nature and Climate Nexus: Nature-Based Solutions for Urban and Rural Landscapes” from 17–19 September 2024. This event shared good practices and how nature-based solutions could be further integrated into ADB investments, particularly in urban and rural development projects. It also aimed to improve projects with NBS components. It helped advance ADB’s role as the climate bank of Asia and the Pacific in enhancing climate and nature resilience across the region.

Objectives

• Explored opportunities for nature-based solutions to enhance water security and create climate-resilient cities.
• Aimed to understand the development of watershed investment programs, evaluate the return on investment for nature-based solutions, and review enabling regulatory frameworks.
• Improved project design skills by integrating nature-based solutions and gray infrastructure in ADB pipeline projects.

Nature-based Solutions Lecture Series 
17–19 September 2024, 9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m., Hybrid (ADB Multifunction Halls 2–3 and Zoom) 
 
Experts from ADB, The Nature Conservancy (TNC), and Monash University discussed nature-based solutions (NBS), water security challenges affecting the rural-to-urban continuum, and how to incorporate NBS into project preparation. They covered the development process for watershed investment programs, integrating NBS into urban water management, and evaluating return on investments for NBS and water security. The seminars also addressed policy and regulatory frameworks for NBS, various case studies, and NBS resources. Concrete examples of NBS for water security, biodiversity management, and climate adaptation were also presented.

Nature-based Solutions Project Design Clinic 
17–18 September 2024, 2:00–5:00 p.m., Hybrid (Multifunction Halls 2–3 and Zoom)
 
This in-depth NBS training was conducted for selected ADB staff (both from HQ and resident missions) and counterparts involved in project design and implementation. Participants learned what was needed to prepare investments integrating NBS that could be implemented at scale, including designing governance and funding packages and delivering measurable results.

Speakers 

Yoko Watanabe | Director, Environment, Climate Change, Resilience, and Environment, Climate Change and Sustainable Development Department, ADB

Yoko Watanabe is the Director for Environment at ADB. She heads the environmental sustainability work, including biodiversity conservation and ecosystem restoration, air quality, circular economy, and nature-based solutions and investment. She has over 25 years of experience working on biodiversity and natural resources management. She has held key positions at the Global Environment Facility (GEF), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), World Bank, and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). She has strategically managed large teams and has experience working in nearly 130 countries globally. Yoko is a Japanese national and holds a master’s degree in international development with a focus on environment management.

 
Brooke Atwell | Associate Director (Resilient Watersheds), The Nature Conservancy

As the associate director for TNC’s Resilient Watersheds strategy, Brooke conserves watersheds worldwide by developing sustainable watershed investment programs that meet the needs of biodiversity and communities. She develops and executes a global strategy to mainstream nature-based solutions in the climate and water sectors and manages the strategy’s portfolio of flagship programs. Brooke has a strong background in collaborative strategic planning, program management, economic and financial analyses for NBS, strategic communications, and operational and relationship management in cross-cultural, multidisciplinary settings. She has a Bachelor of Science in environmental sciences from the University of Virginia.

 
Erik Spiro-Larrea | Senior Engagement Manager (Nature for Water Facility), The Nature Conservancy

Erik is a senior project lead for TNC’s Nature for Water Facility, a specialist team that helps local programs analyze, develop, and execute NBS for water security. Erik led Nature for Water’s first project and has since directly supported 15 NBS programs worldwide with various detailed analyses. As a trained economist, he typically focuses on return on investment, economics, sustainable finance, and governance, as well as developing “program intelligence” analyses and dashboards. Before joining TNC, Erik worked at Pegasys, a management consultancy based in Cape Town. There, he worked with organizations such as the African Development Bank, Gates Foundation, and the World Bank. Erik is based in New Zealand but was born in Spain and grew up in the United Kingdom.

 
Lyndon DeSalvo | Urban Conservation Program Manager, The Nature Conservancy

Lyndon works to advance NBS in cities and communities to maximize outcomes for people and nature. He leads efforts to implement and scale nature-based and green infrastructure projects that improve water quality and provide local communities with climate resilience and other co-benefits. He collaborates closely with government agencies and the water sector, including utilities, researchers, and policymakers. Lyndon is a city and environmental planner who can work at multiple scales, from watershed-wide planning to site-specific design. He integrates solutions informed by stakeholder input and the urban ecological landscape. He holds a Master of City Planning degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Arts from Carleton College.

 
Ben Furmage | Chief Executive Officer, Water Sensitive Cities Australia

Ben is the founding CEO of Water Sensitive Cities Australia, continuing his work from his time as CEO of the Cooperative Research Centre for Water Sensitive Cities (CRCWSC), where he also served as the Chief Operating and Finance Officer. He leads multidisciplinary projects on water-sensitive city approaches. Before CRCWSC, Ben spent ten years on Melbourne Water’s executive team, handling water resource and sewerage system planning, regulation, customer service, public affairs, and research and development. His career includes roles at the Productivity Commission, National Competition Council, and Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences. Ben holds an honors degree in Economics and an MBA and completed the Executive Fellows Program at the Harvard Kennedy School.