Podcast Series: Nature-Based Solutions for Enhancing Climate Resilience
Episode 1: Nature-Based Solutions for Enhancing Climate Resilience: Data Drives Impact
Measuring the impact of nature-based solutions (NBS) interventions takes consistent ground-level data alongside independent, verifiable, satellite-based data. When collected together, the door opens for more private sector investment, helping to close the nature finance gap that’s at least $700 billion large. We bring you examples from Bangladesh and India to explore how projects are enticing more resources through the capture and use of remote sensing data. Episode Guests include:
- Paulina Villalpando, Associate Director for Nature, HSBC
- Fred Stolle, Land & Carbon Lab Director of Impact, WRI
- Dipak Zade, Social Sciences Thematic Lead, WOTR
- Tapas Ranjan Chakrabotry, Climate Change Senior Programme Manager, BRAC
Or listen on:
- Transcript
Dipak Zade, Social Sciences Thematic Lead, WOTR (0:00 – 0:24)
Initially, when we were doing watershed development, we did not explicitly call it a Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) approach. But we now realize that it is, in a way, NBS approach itself. This is because watershed development leverages natural processes to address the environmental, societal, and economic challenges. And thus, it does align with NBS principles.
Gabby Nussbaum, Senior Manager of Sustainable Landscapes and Nature-Based Solutions, WRI (0:25 – 2:28)
Nature-based solutions, or NbS, are all about harnessing the power of the natural world to tackle some of our biggest challenges, like climate change and biodiversity loss. These solutions could look like reforesting areas to absorb carbon, restoring wetlands to manage floods, or creating green urban spaces to improve air quality. These approaches not only help the environment but also provide benefits for people, like cleaner water and healthier communities. It’s a win-win for people, nature, and climate!
Intro music
My name is Gabrielle Nussbaum, Senior Manager of Sustainable Landscapes and Nature-Based Solutions at World Resources Institute, or WRI for short. I’ll be your host for today’s episode of the Big Ideas Into Action Podcast, as we take a closer look at the importance of scalable, good-quality data. You’ll learn about the challenges and opportunities in implementing Nature-based Solutions, by hearing perspectives from multiple projects that are part of the Climate Solutions Partnership – a 5-year philanthropic partnership between HSBC, WRI, and WWF to help climate solutions become commercial reality and have real-world impact.
In this episode, we’re going to explore how projects around the world implement NBS and measure their impacts and benefits to nature and the communities in which they’re implemented. Measuring the impacts of nature-based solutions is extremely important because it helps us understand how effective these projects really are. By keeping track of things like carbon absorption, biodiversity changes, or vegetation expansion, we can see what NBS are working and which NBS might need tweaking. Clear measurements also help build trust with communities and other stakeholders, like funders and investors, showing them the real benefits of these initiatives...and which NBS to replicate and adapt in other areas.
Paulina Villalpando, Associate Director for Nature, HSBC (2:29 – 2:50)
Improved data can increase financing for nature-based solutions by providing concrete evidence of their effectiveness and financial viability, attracting investors and policymakers to support these solutions. Good quality, and reliable data cements trust between investors and projects because data-driven insights can help optimize project design and implementation, reducing risks and increasing the return on investment.
Gabby Nussbaum, Senior Manager of Sustainable Landscapes and Nature-Based Solutions, WRI (2:51- 3:13)
That was Paulina Villalpando, Associate Director for Nature at HSBC, explaining some of the challenges from the private sector point of view when it comes to financing Nature-based Solutions.
Before we explain how improved data can increase financing for NBS, I want to introduce you to my WRI colleague, Fred S, who works on creating and using data to understand changes in the environment.
Fred Stolle, Land & Carbon Lab Director of Impact, WRI (3:14 - 4:13)
I am Fred Stolle, I am the Director of Impact for Land & Carbon Lab at the World Resources Institute here in Washington, D.C. The Land & Carbon Lab is an initiative from the Bezos Earth Fund, together with the World Resources Institute, to do geospatial intelligence on land cover. So we’re trying to understand all land-cover changes that happen in a detailed, spatial way, and what the impacts are on carbon and biodiversity from these land-cover changes.
If you want to be global information, you have quickly think about birds-eye overview. We quickly understood that we need to have the latest satellite technology which you get a great overview of all the changes and extent of nature, but there’s also enough detail to understand what's happening in a geospatial way; where is deforestation happening? Where are some other issues happening; changes in agriculture, agriculture expansion, etcetera. So, that satellite data was really something that we as WRI embraced.
Gabby Nussbaum, Senior Manager of Sustainable Landscapes and Nature-Based Solutions, WRI (4:14 – 4:34)
The type of data that WRI is known for is usually captured through remote sensing processes. Remote sensing is the process of gathering information about an object or area from a distance, typically using satellites or aircraft equipped with sensors to capture data about the Earth's surface. And its capabilities have drastically improved over the years.
Fred Stolle, Land & Carbon Lab Director Of Impact, WRI (4:35 – 5:27)
We have global data for the last 20 years on a 30x30 meter resolution. That is the size of a big meeting room, one pixel on that area. So, if it’s smaller than that, let’s say a car, you cannot detect that car, it’s not big enough. Now, on a 10x10 meter resolution, you can detect that car. You can imagine in a tree cover, you can see there’s a forest on 30x30 meter. On 10-meter, you can see there is a tree. And on 1x1 meter, you can actually see, well that’s a small tree.
So, having that resolution increase, you can see more and more. That doesn’t mean that we always need 1-meter data, because think about one million hectares of forest. You just need to know if there’s a forest. You don’t need to know if it’s a small or big tree. So, you have to think about what you’re going to use your data for.
Gabby Nussbaum, Senior Manager of Sustainable Landscapes and Nature-Based Solutions, WRI (5:28 – 6:01)
As Fred was saying, we can now capture images with much finer detail, allowing for more accurate mapping and analysis of land use. We can also now capture images more frequently, enabling more powerful analysis and modeling of how land is changing or being changed through project interventions. By providing more accurate and timely information, satellite data is empowering scientists, policymakers, NGOs and businesses to make informed decisions that address pressing global challenges and can help us plan where NBS projects could have the greatest impact.
Fred Stolle, Land & Carbon Lab Director Of Impact, WRI (6:02 – 6:25)
You can get an overview over time and space. So you can see what happened there before, and, you know, has there been fires coming close? Has there been a lot of changes in the landscape around it? So having that overview and understanding of what happened over the course of time, I think is very important to understand where you should put your NBS area and also what are the threats of that NBS area?
Gabby Nussbaum, Senior Manager of Sustainable Landscapes and Nature-Based Solutions, WRI (6:26 – 6:30)
But for effective monitoring, NBS projects can’t rely on remote sensing alone.
Fred Stolle, Land & Carbon Lab Director Of Impact, WRI (6:31 – 7:07)
Remote sensing always has to be linked to that ground data. And as I said, remote sensing is independent, but also has limitations. You can basically see cover, but you cannot see intention of issues. Maybe a tree fell because there was a fire or maybe there was a tree gone because of sickness, not due to any part of the project. That is, of course, not what remote sensing can see.
Also what remote sensing, of course, cannot see is like what happens under the canopy. There’s a lot happening in the canopy and forests, so having that information is vital for understanding better what happens in the project.
Gabby Nussbaum, Senior Manager of Sustainable Landscapes and Nature-Based Solutions, WRI (7:08 – 7:39)
With that, we’re headed to Bangladesh, home to the world’s largest mangrove forest. Bangladesh sits on a delta where three powerful rivers converge, the Ganges, the Brahmaputra and the Meghna. Mangroves play an important role here to help protect against the impact of cyclones that affect the area, to protect against flooding, and mangroves are an important habitat to a diverse range species, including fish, crabs, shrimp, birds, and endangered animals like the Bengal tiger.
Tapas Ranjan Chakrabotry, Climate Change Senior Programme Manager, BRAC (7:40 – 8:14)
So mangroves are very necessary for the country because of climate change. Due to climate change, the intensity, here in Bangladesh, of cyclone storm surges has increased. So mangroves can save us, and we have good examples in 2007 and 2009. Two super cyclones hit Bangladesh, but the thing is that the Sundabarans (mangrove area) saved it. Same as in our other coastal areas.
Gabby Nussbaum, Senior Manager of Sustainable Landscapes and Nature-Based Solutions, WRI (8:15 – 8:35)
That was Tapas Ranjan Chakrabotry, Senior Programme Manager of the Climate Change Programme at the BRAC, an international development organization founded in Bangladesh. Tapas and his team work on biodiversity-related projects, including restoring and planting vital mangroves along Bangladesh’s coast.
Tapas Ranjan Chakrabotry, Climate Change Senior Programme Manager, BRAC (8:36 – 9:05)
This is a plantation in a reclaimed land. The government is using industrialization, so the areas where there are industries on the shoreline, the government mandate is to make those industries carbon-neutral. That’s why we are planting mangroves there. And the thing is that mangroves can sequester more carbon dioxide than comparing with terrestrial plants.
Gabby Nussbaum, Senior Manager of Sustainable Landscapes and Nature-Based Solutions, WRI (9:06 – 9:44)
Ground measurements are essential for determining how much carbon mangroves and other trees can store, but it’s difficult to do so over areas as large as 26 hectares. Collecting this data in such a large area is labor-intensive and costly. That’s where satellite data comes into play. For example, to measure carbon sequestration of a particular tree we’d need to measure the circumference and height of the tree to calculate the biomass. For an entire forest, that can take a long time to do. Using satellites, we extrapolate the ground measurements over massive areas saving precious time and resources.
Tapas Ranjan Chakrabotry, Climate Change Senior Programme Manager, BRAC (9:45 – 10:33)
And another thing is minimizing the cost. When you can use remote sensing, definitely our investment on the human resources or other things, it definitely goes down. So those are the things; for the accuracy, for maintenance, for efficiency, remote sensing is the best way.
For counting the carbon, you need very precise information and very accurate data. Otherwise, no one will believe your carbon sequestration rate, or even in the carbon market, you can’t even get. So we are hopeful that we can develop our GIS and remote sensing unit quite stronger.
Gabby Nussbaum, Senior Manager of Sustainable Landscapes and Nature-Based Solutions, WRI (10:34 – 11:06)
Measuring stored carbon is valuable to potential project investors as it could help accurately demonstrate a project's environmental impact and can lead to other financial benefits like carbon credit generation and reducing regulatory risk.
Consistency is also really important when it comes to collecting data to prevent discrepancies and errors, particularly human error. Remote sensing helps provide a more objective view of what’s happening, leading to more accurate data. Which speaks to another challenge of collecting ground data...
Tapas Ranjan Chakrabotry, Climate Change Senior Programme Manager, BRAC (11:07 – 11:41)
Manual entry of this data. I mean, this area is quite big! Now it is 26 hectares of mangrove plantation. We don’t have that many staff in the field. So they are entering this data manually. And sometimes we have to hire the researcher for data collection. And getting the right people and asking them to work in a remote area is one [challenge]. And inconsistency, we found data inconsistency is a serious challenge for us.
Gabby Nussbaum, Senior Manager of Sustainable Landscapes and Nature-Based Solutions, WRI (11:42 – 11:49)
That’s where organizations like WRI can offer their expertise and resources; sharing satellite imagery to pair with on-the-ground efforts.
Tapas Ranjan Chakrabotry, Climate Change Senior Programme Manager, BRAC (11:50 – 12:32)
See that in Bangladesh, most of the organizations, even the big organizations and small organizations, their monitoring unit is not that equipped at using the remote sensing and such technologies. So, if there is someone who can take responsibilities to build capacities of organizations or communities, who can use such a good opportunity from remote sensing and GIS (Geographic Information Systems), for the monitoring, then it will benefit not only the organizations, communities, ecosystem, and finally the earth.
Gabby Nussbaum, Senior Manager of Sustainable Landscapes and Nature-Based Solutions, WRI (12:33 – 12:40)
Beyond offering environmental benefits, restoring and planting mangroves also provides benefits to the local communities nearby.
Tapas Ranjan Chakrabotry, Climate Change Senior Programme Manager, BRAC (12:41 – 13:42)
They are being trained on [earning] alternative income from the mangroves. So bees are helping on their pollination of crops, so crop production has increased. Another thing is that the coastal community, because of this mangrove, the fisheries population has increased there. But another one, there’s the mangrove villas. The community is earning from the nypa plantations. They’re selling fruits. And also, they can make sugar from the nypa mangrove.
But the indirect benefit, I mean the fishery production, very significantly, has increased. And one thing we have yet to start, but it’s a decision from the local yeomen in our mangrove plantation areas, they say this is a good opportunity of promoting the ecotourism.
Gabby Nussbaum, Senior Manager of Sustainable Landscapes and Nature-Based Solutions, WRI (13:43 – 13:51)
Sustaining this work requires more funding – NBS projects are severely underfunded around the world – but better data can help.
Tapas Ranjan Chakrabotry, Climate Change Senior Programme Manager, BRAC (13:52 – 14:40)
To know the current status and its benefit or contribution to the entire system. Like, OK, there is this particular mangrove, how it is contributing to the people, to the atmosphere, or how it’s helped coping with climate change and other things. So, this is possible from remote sensing.
And linking with the finance is that assessing of the contribution, the value of particular forests, or value of a thing. If you invest into something, but you don’t know the value of it, the monetary value of this, or ecosystem value of this, it’s not quite easy to attract the finance. So this is how it’s possible.
Gabby Nussbaum, Senior Manager of Sustainable Landscapes and Nature-Based Solutions, WRI (14:41 – 15:01)
We also talked with Dipak Zade who works with the Watershed Organization Trust, or WOTR, which works on water and food security along with poverty reduction to support vulnerable communities in rural India. WOTR is also implementing and using data to monitor its Nature-based Solutions projects.
Dipak Zade, Social Sciences Thematic Lead, WOTR (15:02 – 15:40)
My name is Dipak Zade, and I represent the Watershed Organization Trust, in short WOTR. And I’m working as the thematic lead in the domain of social sciences and WCRS. What we call as Water Cetner for Resilient Studies. It is the applied research unit of water.
It was established in 1993, and it is well-recognized for its pioneering work in watershed development and ecosystem restoration. WOTR’s work, the core work involves restoring the degraded landscape through integrated natural resources management.
Gabby Nussbaum, Senior Manager of Sustainable Landscapes and Nature-Based Solutions, WRI (15:41 – 15:53)
Dipak and the WOTR team are using data to enhance their Ecosystem-Based Adaptation approach to discover and deliver low-cost solutions to help communities adapt to climate change and enhance resiliency.
Dipak Zade, Social Sciences Thematic Lead, WOTR (15:54 – 17:03)
The very first component is about enhancing adaptive capacities of the communities towards climate change adaptation; the programs that we do related to, say, climate-resilient agricultural practices, sustainable water management. Second is about restoring the degraded ecosystems using watershed development approach, and also enhancing the biodiversity both in terms of the quality and quantity. And the third and important pillar is about participatory governance, where in we work with the communities, especially the local governance bodies, about enhancing their capacities so that they’re in a position to address these challenges even after we withdraw from the communities.
Because we cannot be there for the communities in the long-term, so we enhance their capacities through trainings, various workshops, so that they are able to inculcate these practices and then actually implement them whenever we withdraw from the project, from the communities.
Gabby Nussbaum, Senior Manager of Sustainable Landscapes and Nature-Based Solutions, WRI (17:04 – 17:18)
The sustainability of this approach relies on capturing accurate data. Dipak explained how WOTR pairs ground-monitoring with satellite data to overcome the pain points of expensive and time-consuming manual data collection.
Dipak Zade, Social Sciences Thematic Lead, WOTR (17:19 – 18:45)
The remote sensing data that we collect is very valuable for us, basically, because it allows us to monitor vast areas over extended periods of time and this is very particularly useful for projects that focus on ecosystem restoration, climate-resilience, or watershed management. Basically, because these are large-scale projects in terms of their geographical scale. For example, when we are using satellite imagery, we can track land-use change over time. We can also identify, say, deforestation, soil-erosion, or changes in the water bodies. This large-scale view is something that we might not be able to get from on-the-ground monitoring alone.
Just to give an example, the NDVI [Normalized Difference Vegetation Index] data that we collect, the values basically, the NDVI values might indicate healthy vegetation cover in the villages, but without ground-proofing of the data, we may not fully understand whether that vegetation cover is really beneficial. Like, if it is a native species, or if it is an invasive species. So for that, we need to match the satellite data with the on-field-collected data.
Gabby Nussbaum, Senior Manager of Sustainable Landscapes and Nature-Based Solutions, WRI (18:46 – 18:53)
Much like the BRAC project in Bangladesh, villages in India receive numerous benefits from successful NBS interventions.
Dipak Zade, Social Sciences Thematic Lead, WOTR (18:54 – 19:53)
Successful watershed development programs, I’ve learned it helps to reduce the soil-erosion and halt the process of land-degradation in the communities. It also helps to increase the water availability for the people, both surface water and also the ground water tables in the villages. It helps to increase all the green cover and also, to some extent, enhance the biodiversity that is available within the communities both in terms of quantity, qualitatively and quantitatively.
Our projects involve an integrated approach towards rural development. Through our projects, we’re also able to come up with alternative livelihoods for the communities, both in terms of on-farm and off-farm livelihood activities. Basically, we emphasize livelihood diversification of the communities.
Gabby Nussbaum, Senior Manager of Sustainable Landscapes and Nature-Based Solutions, WRI (19:54 – 20:18)
Tracking data and indicators over time is important to help us understand how project outcomes have sustained – and using satellites we can do new analyses over past imagery to better understand these changes and outcomes. For example, Dipak explained how WOTR used satellite imagery to better understand the effects of a project they implemented in the 1990s.
Dipak Zade, Social Sciences Thematic Lead, WOTR (20:19 – 21:31)
In one of the villages in Maharashtra, where we did watershed development projects around...’97 or ‘98, we collected periodic data, satellite data over a period of time, and we then did a decadal analysis of that data. So what we observed is that over a period of time, there has been an increase in the green cover, the vegetation cover in the village, because the watershed development that we implemented in the project, even after the project has been completed, people took up good ownership of the project and they have sustained and maintained, so that helps to conserve and preserve the impacts over a period of time.
And then we just did a small study about detecting LST, that is called Land Surface Temperature. What we found is that over the, say, two or three decadal data points, there has been a significant decrease in the Land Surface Temperature because there has been an increase in vegetation cover, as compared to neighboring or surrounding villages where we have not done our interventions.
Gabby Nussbaum, Senior Manager of Sustainable Landscapes and Nature-Based Solutions, WRI (21:32 – 21:41)
Because of the approach taken by WOTR, benefits go directly to the communities carrying out the work and can be sustained after the project ends.
Dipak Zade, Social Sciences Thematic Lead, WOTR (21:42 – 23:03)
Most poor & marginalized communities should also get the benefits, so whenever we do watershed development in these projects, we form what we call as Village Development Committees (VDCs). In each of our project villages and in these communities, we ensure that all categories of farmers, all sections of the communities, rich, very poor, poor, they get representation. Also in terms of gender; male and female. Also in terms of caste communities like especially in India, we have tribal communities in certain geographies.
So, we ensure that all these communities secure representation in the VDC, that we call as Village Development Committees. And then these VDCs do have a legal status in the village. That is, they are, by constitution a subset of the Gram Panchayat, so the decisions that they make are kind of applicable to the whole village. So then by this process, we ensure that all the sections of the communities get involved in the decision-making process and also the benefit-sharing processes of the communities. So these are tangible benefits.
Gabby Nussbaum, Senior Manager of Sustainable Landscapes and Nature-Based Solutions, WRI (23:04 – 23:12)
But caring for the ecosystem requires that more financial resources can be directed toward the areas that deliver the most impact.
Dipak Zade, Social Sciences Thematic Lead, WOTR (23:13 – 24:06)
Good quality data is very essential for us when it comes to securing finance for projects or scaling our projects to larger areas. Firstly, because data provides accountability. Funders, whether they are, say, from private sector or government agencies, or say international organizations, they want to see tangible proof of the outcomes in the projects that they have been investing in. So detailed and reliable data allows us to demonstrate not just simple outputs, like the number of trees that we have planted, but actual outcomes also; such as improved groundwater levels, enhanced biodiversity, or increased crop productivity due to sustainable practices.
Gabby Nussbaum, Senior Manager of Sustainable Landscapes and Nature-Based Solutions, WRI (24:07 – 24:24)
Verifying productivity of NBS projects on a regular basis means that financiers are more likely to invest in a project over a long period of time, something WOTR has seen across their projects, and which is good not just for villages in India, but all over the world.
Dipak Zade, Social Sciences Thematic Lead, WOTR (24:25 – 24:58)
In today’s world, where climate finance has really become very important, investors are increasingly looking for projects that can offer them measurable, and data-backed environmental and social returns. So having robust monitoring systems in place, not only helps to track progress of the project, but also positions WOTR as a credible partner for those who are looking to fund high-impact or scalable projects.
Gabby Nussbaum, Senior Manager of Sustainable Landscapes and Nature-Based Solutions, WRI (24:59 – 25:28)
Scalability is crucial for implementing nature-based solutions because it allows for the rapid deployment and expansion of these solutions to address widespread environmental challenges. At WRI, we often are the link between impact implementation efforts and the systems that support such work. In the case of the NBS, we’ve been exploring how to encourage more private sector investment. Fred Stolle from WRI highlighted the importance of data to prove impact and benefits to the financial sector.
Fred Stolle, Land & Carbon Lab Director Of Impact, WRI (25:29 – 26:15)
I think one thing where remote sensing, and as we call it, Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV), is the idea that it’s paying for performance. And I think many companies, they love to invest in restoration, but they want to make sure it’s real. So making sure that they actually invest in something and they see these things, growing trees, see this area as preserved is a lot of what other companies will be able to put investment in.
Having that pay-for-performance and having that MRV, in detail and also on a high-quality standard, is I think what makes a lot of companies invest in this; that they know it’s for real. I think it’s the worst thing and the same thing as we as consumers, if you pay for something, and you don’t get the quality you want, you’re not paying it again.
Gabby Nussbaum, Senior Manager of Sustainable Landscapes and Nature-Based Solutions, WRI (26:16 – 27:14)
MID-MUSIC BUMP
We’ve heard from two projects working on implementing Nature-based Solutions and learned how they are collecting data and measuring the impacts of those interventions. They are not only collecting information on the ground but are also taking what they know about conditions in the community and matching that with satellite imagery to monitor opportunities and track progress. Using satellite data helps scale this monitoring, which can help attract more significant private sector funding.
That does it for this episode of WRI’s Big Ideas Into Action podcast, which was produced and edited by Daniel Baker. Thank you to all our guests who made this episode possible. This is Gabrielle Nussbaum at WRI.
To hear our other episodes, visit wri.org/podcasts. Don’t forget to leave us a 5-star rating on whatever podcast streaming platform you listened to this episode on. Every review counts. Thanks for listening!
Episode 2: Nature-Based Solutions for Enhancing Climate Resilience: Restoring India's Landscapes
Healthier ecosystems are crucial for ensuring the wellbeing of local communities. In India, more than 700 million people depend on forests and agricultural lands for sustenance. In this episode, we explore how investment in landscape restoration as a nature-based solution (NbS) to the climate and biodiversity crises can help conserve India’s forests and farmlands while boosting local economies. Episode Guests include:
- Siddharth Edake, Senior Manager, Food, Land, and Water Program at WRI India
- Romit Sen, Senior VP, Corporate Sustainability at HSBC India
Or listen on:
- Transcript
Nicholas Walton, Communications Manager, WRI Europe (00:04 -00:19)
Hello and welcome to the Big Ideas Into Action podcast from the World Resources Institute. In this episode, we are in India looking at why nature-based solutions are an effective tool for local communities that depend of forests and farmlands.
Romit Sen, Senior Vice President, Corporate Sustainability, HSBC India (00:20 – 00:27)
Nature-based solution we see as an approach that builds on local knowledge, local skills, local needs.
Siddharth Edake, Senior Manager, Food, Land and Water program, WRI India (02:19 -04:24)
We mobilise communities, we involve them in decision-making to ensure that the local development plans are inclusive.
Intro Music
Anjali Koppala, Communications Manager, WRII
Hi Everyone, welcome to Big Ideas Into Action, the podcast where we explore ideas at the nexus of people, nature and climate. I'm Anjali Koppala, Communications Manager at World Resources Institute Private Limited, and I'll be your host today. Let's talk about something that impacts over 700 million people in India, forests and farmlands. Healthy ecosystems aren't just vital for the planet, they are the backbone of local communities, especially in rural India where people depend on them for their livelihoods and sustenance. But here's the challenge. We are in the middle of a climate and biodiversity crisis. That's where nature-based solutions (NbS) come in. These are the strategies that use natural systems to tackle environmental issues, while reducing carbon emissions and helping communities build resilience against climate risks.
Both the public and the private sector are increasingly turning towards NbS for these reasons. And in India, landscape restoration is a major nature-based solution that's gaining popularity in the government and, from both businesses and financial institutions. To explore how we can conserve India’s forests and farmlands, while boosting local economies, we're joined today by Siddharth Edake, Senior Manager, Food, Land and Water program at WRI India and Romit Sen, Senior Vice President, Corporate Sustainability at HSBC India.
So Siddharth, my first question to you is - Can you help us understand what landscape restoration is and why is it important for people, nature and climate?
Siddharth Edake, Senior Manager, Food, Land and Water program, WRI India (02:19 -04:24)
Almost 30% of India's total land area is degraded and the research is also showing that 45% of this agricultural land also has poor soil health. So as you rightly mentioned, at the start, landscape restoration is a nature-based solution that's gaining a lot of global recognition. It's very effective and cost efficient in tackling climate change. But to break it down, I would say that landscape restoration is not just about planting trees, which many of us think it is. It actually takes many forms. For example, developing water resources, practising sustainable agriculture, conserving soil moisture. We are talking about agroforestry where we grow trees along with crops or silvopasture where we are also going trees on buns and boundaries along with grazing lands.
So, these are different forms of landscape restoration, but what's exciting is the return on investment. A WRI report actually estimates that for every dollar you invest in land restoration, we can generate up to $7.00 to $30.00 in value, and when you actually scale these efforts, the impact is immense. We're talking about water availability for all, improving soil health, that means better food and nutritional security. We are talking about boosting rural livelihoods and helping communities to adapt to climate risks. At the national level, it's also very crucial for India's global commitment. As most of us know that we have pledged the Nationally Determined Contribution under the Paris Climate Agreement. Our Prime Minister has taken the net zero pledge by 2070. We are also signatory to the Bonn challenge. We have taken Land Degradation Neutrality challenge. So definitely, landscape restoration is supporting all these global commitments as well as the Sustainable Development goals and hence I would say it is a win-win situation for everyone.
Anjali Koppala, Communications Manager, WRII (04:25- 05:12)
To summarise, landscape restoration is about more than just planting trees. It's about regenerating ecosystems using different integrated approaches and when done at scale, this can conserve biodiversity, improve rural livelihoods, boost local economies and sequester carbon.
When you think about where this is happening in India, Madhya Pradesh really stands out. It showcases the maximum scope for restoring landscapes. So, we turn to Sidhi district in MP where WRI India has initiated a pilot project under Climate Solutions Partnership in collaboration with the district administration, local implementing partner Action For Social Advancement, with the support of HSBC. So Siddharth, can you tell us what is so unique about Sidhi’s landscape restoration model?
Siddharth Edake, Senior Manager, Food, Land and Water program, WRI India (05:13 – 06:03)
To find the right pilot site for demonstrating an integrated landscape approach that I just spoke about some time back, WRI India used a multi-criteria classification system. This includes factors like restoration potential, watershed principles and socio-economic indicators. As you pointed out, Sidhi district is in the eastern part of Madhya Pradesh in central India and it borders Uttar Pradesh. It ranks very high in terms of climate vulnerability, poverty and fares poorly on the developmental indicators as a whole. But despite these challenges, we saw the district has immense potential for forest protection and landscape restoration that we identified through Restoration Opportunities Atlas, developed by WRI India and its Partners.
Anjali Koppala, Communications Manager, WRII (06:04- 06:08)
So, can you tell us how did the team get started with the actual work in Sidhi?
Siddharth Edake, Senior Manager, Food, Land and Water program, WRI India (06:09 – 07:45)
The starting point for us was adopting the Restoration Opportunity Assessment Methodology (ROAM), a product that was developed by WRI Team. The analysis revealed that there is almost 3,00,000 hectares of land in Sidhi that can be restored through tree-based interventions like agri-horti forestry model, popularly known as Wadi, or planting trees on field, boundaries, developing watershed structures, focusing on sustainable agriculture and soil moisture conservation. So, from there the findings were implemented with strong support from the Department of Panchayat Raj and Rural Development. They are under the aegis of government of Madhya Pradesh and along with Sidhi district administration. We leveraged funding from multiple government schemes like the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), the Livelihood Mission and the watershed development programs.
So this collaboration was formalised through an MOU with the state government and the idea was to showcase a pathway for scaling landscape restoration. What we focused was on fostering collaborative planning, addressing implementation and barriers for restoration. And building the capacity of restoration enterprises and farmer producer companies, while we continue to pilot landscape restoration projects and focusing a lot on robust monitoring techniques.
Anjali Koppala, Communications Manager, WRII (07:46- 07:50)
That's fantastic. Can you share some of the tangible outcomes?
Siddharth Edake, Senior Manager, Food, Land and Water program, WRI India (07:51 – 08:56)
I'm very happy to share that till date, we have created around 405 soil and moisture conservation and water resource development structures. Under this Initiative, 5 water groups have been formed to ensure the upkeep of these structures. And financially, for every one rupee that we've invested in this initiative, we managed to leverage close to ₹7.00 of public funding through various government schemes. Since the project inception,13,000 households have received jobs or work opportunities under MGNREGS and more than 4000 farmers have benefited from technical support and capacity building programmes. Of course, focusing on land restoration, we are also promoting a farmer producer organisation in Sidhi and we have facilitated an MOU between the FPO and Oriental Paper Mill for the sale and purchase of bamboo and other suitable species.
Anjali Koppala, Communications Manager, WRII (08:57- 09:16)
Sidhi is a great example of what's possible. It highlights the economic potential of nature-based solutions while addressing key challenges like climate risk and rural livelihoods. So, Romit, from HSBC perspective, how do you think this project aligns with your broader strategy of promoting nature based solutions that can tackle climate risks?
Romit Sen, Senior Vice President, Corporate Sustainability, HSBC India (09:17 – 12:14)
I would say that climate change impacts are real. We know that this is something that communities, businesses, people all around the world and particularly in our country, are facing it almost on a daily basis. Historically, from a more development paradigm point of view, the approach has been to look at solutions to address climate risks. But as we evolved our thinking, there was a growing understanding and a desire to look at solutions that are not only cost effective but are contextualised in the local context. For a country which is as large as India with 16 ecological zones, also looking at the way people live, the social, cultural behaviour solutions that are contextualised and are relevant to the local needs becomes very important.
When you were to look at managing climate risks or any other development or environmental challenge, nature-based solution is a key theme around our Climate Solutions Partnership programme, which was HSBC’s flagship global programme launched in 2020. We realised that identifying solutions which have deep rooted understanding of the local complexity but is also in sync with what local people needs.
How the solutions will fit into the larger public development programme context is a key, you know? Sidharth spoke about the leveraging bit. It could have only been possible because the solutions that were identified and demonstrated as part of the programme in Sidhi were developed in sync or resonated with the larger developmental programmes that the government had there. So primarily, nature-based solution we see as an approach that builds on local knowledge, local skills, local needs, but with a lot of scientific rigour. I'm aware that this whole programme and initiative has been able to not only look at methodologies, but also into implementation and monitoring, because measure of success is an important feature of all the programmes that we do. But how, using our approach, which is deep rooted in science, backed by evidence generated through the on-ground implementation, has demonstrated a solution.
So that's where we look at NbS as a larger theme to address some of the climate risks. And also I would say not only climate, but also let us look at life. This whole initiative has created so much opportunities for people to enhance their livelihood and income, because as a developing country, the development imperatives of household becomes very important. So centering ecology, environment, climate with a strong integration with livelihood and human well-being have only been possible because of the nature based-solution framework that we explored as part of this project.
Anjali Koppala, Communications Manager, WRII (12:15- 12:48)
That's a fantastic perspective, Romit, specially the bit about livelihoods and solutions with scientific rigour, while keeping people at the centre are quite integral to the success of these initiatives. and we've seen that there's a persistent challenge of integrating public funds across various government departments and existing schemes. And these kind of impede the uptake of integrated landscape restoration. So Sidharth I would like to draw this question to you - how has the Sidhi pilot tried to address these barriers to bringing public private capital.
Siddharth Edake, Senior Manager, Food, Land and Water program, WRI India (12:49 – 13:53)
So in Sidhi, we adopted an integrated landscape approach that moves away from the fragmented piece meal work often carried out by individual agencies or government departments. Typically, agencies like MGNREGS or the state of livelihood mission, the watershed mission, departments like forest, agriculture, horticulture, which are very key departments when we talk about landscape restoration, tend to work in isolation and on small and disconnected projects. So what we've done in Sidhi is to bring these efforts together under the broader umbrella of nature-based solutions. Aligning them to a landscape level planning approach at the heart of this is convergence. As you both pointed out and what I've been saying is that it's essentially pooling financial resources from different schemes and different administrative departments to implement landscape restoration at scale.
Anjali Koppala, Communications Manager, WRII (13:56- 14:00)
That sounds like a lot of coordination. So, how did you get all these stakeholders on the same page?
Siddharth Edake, Senior Manager, Food, Land and Water program, WRI India (14:01 – 14:52)
So coordination is of course the key, and it actually starts with robust analysis to identify what sort of barriers exist for restoration. And of course in the local context. We then collaborate with stakeholders to co-create solutions through what we call Restoration Dialogues. These Dialogues ensure that all the voices are heard and the solutions are both practical and locally relevant on the ground. We are partnering with organisations like Action For Social Advancement to support community-led innovation. So, a bottom-up approach is very critical here because we mobilise communities, we involve them in decision-making to ensure that the local development plans are inclusive and they reflect the realities and priorities of people. So this makes the process more holistic and sustainable.
Anjali Koppala, Communications Manager, WRII (14:53- 14:59)
I actually love this emphasis on Community involvement, Siddharth. Can you just elaborate how does this tie to the larger planning process?
Siddharth Edake, Senior Manager, Food, Land and Water program, WRI India (15:00 – 15:39)
One of the key components of the Sidhi pilot is mainstreaming, planning and execution through a landscape approach that I've been talking about. It means that we take an integrated and collaborative view of the entire landscape. And we look at different land uses land cover types, the landownership pattern in that area, to enhance both ecological and social functions. We also link our efforts to the farmer producer organisations and the women's Self Help Groups because these groups play an important role in ensuring that restoration efforts are sustainable and the economic benefits reach the communities today.
Anjali Koppala, Communications Manager, WRII (15:40- 16:14)
In India, public funding has always been the backbone of landscape restoration efforts, and this is something that Siddharth, I believe you would have also experienced it during your implementation of this initiative? But here's the thing, if you really want to scale up initiatives like the one in Sidhi, we can't really rely on public funding. Private investment has to play a much bigger role. Which brings me to you, Romit. In your opinion, what needs to change in order to boost public private funding? How can we make landscape restoration a commercially viable solution for tackling the challenges that we just mentioned?
Romit Sen, Senior Vice President, Corporate Sustainability, HSBC India (16:15 – 18:54)
I think on private financing, let's just look at it across two things. But before that, let's also recognise the fact that according to the government data, 92% of the development finance will still and continue to be from public sector. The remaining 8% will be contributions from bilaterals, CSRs and others non-public side of things. So unlocking public sector finance using private sector capital, CSR Philanthropy is one bit. I'll touch upon the commercial bit also, which is going to be the key theme to kind of demonstrate and take forward the whole, you know development route.
You will have to, as I said, unlock public capital using private capital to mainstream solutions, to scale-up solutions. Let’s look at private financing side across the two following segments. One part of the private capital is funds that is coming through corporate social responsibility and the approach you know that the WRI team has adopted I think is critical. To present a viable case to CSR to look at landscape restoration, where there is a soundproof of concept. There are clear outcomes in terms of what's working, what's not working and another bit is any initiative like this, which we have partnered together requires investment over time. Within the CSR construct, where we have organisations doing CSR programmes look at programme with a certain time frame, with a certain impact.
How do you kind of project the whole landscape restoration concept with two milestones over a period of time will demonstrate for CSRs to invest in a landscape restoration initiative. So that's the CSR part of the private capital that I am talking about. The other piece is the commercial capital. Financial institutions have something called priority sector lending, which is a commercial side of it. You know agriculture, it is something that is mandated by the guidelines prescribed by RBI and lending for agriculture is an important aspect of that. Businesses are lending on PSL. It's a large part of their balance sheets, financial institutions are doing it. So, we'll have to look at private financing within these two frameworks - CSR and priority sector lending.
Anjali Koppala, Communications Manager, WRII (18:55- 19:20)
I think it's clear from our conversation so far that financing restoration efforts is going to become critical in the coming years as our efforts to mitigate climate risk advances. Siddharth, what insights have emerged that give you the confidence that these kind of initiatives can be scaled across Madhya Pradesh or to even other parts of central India?
Siddharth Edake, Senior Manager, Food, Land and Water program, WRI India (19:21 – 20:57)
We had some great learnings. The Restoration Opportunities Atlas of India highlights that our country, specifically Madhya Pradesh, has enormous potential for forest protection and landscape restoration. There is significant scope for carbon sequestration, which makes this approach even more valuable in addressing climate changes. From the Sidhi experience, I can say that it's possible to design a scale-up strategy and that will be built upon the interest and the momentum we have created. The demonstration effect of this model, the way it is shown tangible on ground results, we believe that they can spark similar efforts in other districts and states.
The scaling strategy, of course, will focus on adapting and integrating key learnings from the Sidhi pilot that include multi scaler governance, leveraging policy incentives, fostering collaborative partnerships and the most importantly, aligning public funding for restoration across districts in Madhya Pradesh and beyond. It will also deploy assets that we have created from the Climate Solutions Partnership, such as the Citizen Science Mobile app, a very important scalable impact monitoring methodology. As a whole, I can see that at the national level, the emphasis will be on replicating these learnings through knowledge creation and targeted communication to drive scaling up, scaling out and scaling deep.
Anjali Koppala, Communications Manager, WRII (20:58- 22:11)
Thank you so much Siddharth for putting this together. Sidhi landscape restoration model is a great example of how we can scale such efforts. This model has established strong connections between on-ground implementation and policy level interventions that makes it right for scaling and replication. The challenges and opportunities may vary across regions.
But nature-based solutions are critical to unlocking benefits for nearly 3/4 of a billion people in India. So that does it for this edition of WRI’s Big Ideas Into Action podcast. Thank you, Romit, and thank you Siddharth, for joining us and sharing your valuable insights. It was a pleasure talking to you both.
And if our listeners are interested in learning how nature-based solution projects can use ground data and satellite data to encourage more investment, check out our recent podcast episode. This episode was produced and edited by Nicholas Bolton and is part of the Climate Solutions Partnership, a five-year philanthropic partnership between HSBC, WRI and WWF to help climate solutions become commercial reality.
And have real world impact to hear other WRI podcasts, visit wri.org podcast. Thank you for listening.