Global recognition that ecosystems are key to human resilience in a warming world

Ecosystems are not merely vulnerable to climate change but, if sustainably restored and protected, are a major source of human resilience. Not only is the science evidence-base for this perspective growing rapidly, but ecosystems are featuring with increasing prominence in global climate change policy. Of 167 climate pledges submitted by the signatories of the Paris Climate Change Agreement (representing 194 nations), 103 include commitments to the restoration, management or protection of natural habitats in their adaptation strategies (of which 70 are aimed at protecting human communities from climate change hazards, i.e. ecosystem-based adaptation). A further 27 describe similar actions in their mitigation plans. In total, 65% of Paris Agreement signatories commit to restoring and/or protecting natural ecosystems. However, commitments rarely translate into robust science-based targets. As the world takes stock of the Agreement in 2018 and climate pledges are revised, we urge the science community to work closely with policy makers to identify meaningful adaptation targets that benefit both people and the ecosystems on which they depend.


What is Ecosystem-based Adaptation?
Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) is formally defined by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) as the use of ecosystems and biodiversity to help human communities adapt to the effects of climate change 4 (Box 1). Examples include the restoration of coastal ecosystems to protect communities from storm surges and erosion [5][6][7] , agroforestry to stabilise crop F | 2 yields in drier climates 8,9 , and forest restoration in headwaters and riparian zones to secure and regulate water supplies and protect communities from flooding, soil erosion, and landslides [10][11][12] . While the evidence base is variable and still developing, it is clear that, in many cases, EbA can provide low cost, low risk and low maintenance solutions for managing many climate change related hazards 13,14 . Most significantly, and in contrast to engineered solutions to the same hazards, EbA and socalled 'hybrid' (i.e. grey and green together) approaches can provide multiple co-benefits in addition to adaptation, such as access to food and water, carbon storage, and diversified livelihoods [15][16][17][18][19] (Box 1).
EbA complements conventional approaches to natural resource and biodiversity management and broadly speaking is a type of "nature-based solution" 20 to the effects of climate change. However, it is distinctive from traditional conservation because it focuses on adaptation needs and co-benefits (rather than prioritising conservation outcomes) and places these in the context of an overall adaptation strategy, through participatory, community-centric processes 21,22 .
The fact that EbA can be low risk, low cost and provide a wide range of cobenefits 13,16 , suggests it should feature prominently in national climate change plans and policy processes. To get a global sense of the extent to which this is the case, we reviewed the prominence of EbA in the climate pledges of all signatories to the Paris Agreement of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Adaptation in the Paris Agreement
The Paris Agreement of UNFCCC has huge political momentum, having been signed by 197 nations and ratified by 181 (as of September 2018). To date, most analyses and debates have focused on the Agreement's mitigation targets and whether they are sufficiently ambitious to limit global warming to 1.5 o C above preindustrial levels 23 . However, the Agreement also addresses adaptation and emphasises "enhancing adaptive capacity, strengthening resilience and reducing vulnerability to climate change, with a view to contributing to sustainable development and ensuring an adequate adaptation response in the context of the temperature goal" (Article 7.1). It calls on its parties to pursue actions "on the basis of equity, and in the context of sustainable development and efforts to eradicate poverty" (Article 4.1). Effective EbA has the potential to support these calls for increased adaptive capacity and resilience, as well as sequestering carbon, and contributing to sustainable development 24 (Box 1). As such, the proper implementation of EbA can help countries to meet both mitigation and adaptation obligations under the Paris Agreement (and a number of other international agreements) 25 .
The Agreement requires all Parties to set out current and future mitigation and adaptation actions in the form of a Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) document submitted to UNFCCC. Ratifying nations must submit new NDCs every five years, in which they are required to report on progress towards achieving the purpose of the Agreement. To determine the extent of commitment to EbA explicitly or otherwise we conducted an in-depth textual analysis of all 167 NDCs currently available, broadly reflecting the climate mitigation and adaptation plans of 194 nations.
Analysis. Of these 167 NDCs, 166 were submitted to UNFCCC 26 by signatories of the Paris Agreement (including one submitted on behalf of all 28 European Union member | 3 states) and one was produced by Taiwan (which is not a signatory). Within each NDC adaptation component, we noted whether a country articulated a high-level commitment to EbA (i.e. their "adaptation vision") and whether such a commitment was substantiated with tangible actions. An EbA action was defined as the protection and/or restoration of natural ecosystems explicitly aimed at (i) dealing with the hazardous effects of climate change (including delivering broader socioeconomic co-benefits), and/or (ii) involving participatory, community centric approaches. If actions lacked both these characteristics, we classified them as "traditional conservation". In the NDCs, ecosystem-orientated activities, whether EbA or traditional conservation, were described to take place in one or more of five broad, non-mutually exclusive types of ecosystem: (i) coastal and marine habitats (i.e. corals, mangroves, seagrass meadows and saltmarshes), (ii) terrestrial forests or woodlands (excluding mangroves), (iii) river catchment habitats (including wetlands), (iv) grasslands and rangelands, and (v) montane habitats. Agroforestry (including conservation agriculture and permaculture) was also classified as EbA. We noted whether EbA actions are currently underway or included as part of future plans, and whether targets are quantitative (and hence measurable), longterm and/or costed. We also analysed whether any EbA visions or actions were described within the mitigation component of the NDCs. For the full final dataset and details of methods used, see Supplementary Material available online and via the Nature-based Solutions Policy Platform (www.nbspolicyplatform.org).
We acknowledge that countries may be doing far more on adaptation than described in their NDCs and that many have other policy processes addressing climate change, such as National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) i.e. formal, country specific medium-and long-term plans on which greater emphasis may be placed. Consequently, for some countries we may underestimate the true extent of ecosystem-based approaches in adaptation planning. However, rather than providing detailed insight into the plans of all countries, the overarching objective of our analysis was to present broad overview of global commitment to EbA through the lens of the Paris Agreement of the UNFCCC, a legally-binding policy process that has considerable political momentum and an inbuilt mechanism for reporting on progress towards goals (i.e. the "global stocktake" every five years). Within this broad objective, our specific aims were to (i) gauge high-level interest in EbA using a standardised approach across all countries, (ii) highlight best practice in the treatment of EbA in the NDCs in order guide their revision in 2018-2020; and (iii) provide the basis for guidelines on how we might scaleup and mainstream EbA into national policy.

Prominence of EbA in the NDCs
Twenty-one countries explicitly recognise the importance of, or state a high-level commitment to, EbA in their NDCs ( Figure  1). For example, Costa Rica has "committed to develop its adaptation practice from an ecosystem based adaptation focus", while Armenia "embraces the ecosystem approach for adapting to climate change". Mexico and South Sudan are the only countries to adopt the official CBD definition of EbA (Box 1), with Mexico listing EbA as one of three broad areas of adaptation, ranking it alongside "adaptation for the social | 4 sector" and "adaptation of strategic infrastructure and productive systems".
A further 29 countries acknowledge, albeit with a varying degree of detail, the importance of the interdependencies between natural ecosystems and human adaptation without explicitly using the term EbA. One example of "implicit" visions for EbA comes from Ethiopia, which aims to "enhance the adaptive capacity of ecosystems, communities and infrastructure through an ecosystem rehabilitation approach"; another example comes from Cambodia, which commits to "promoting and improving the adaptive capacity of communities, especially through community based adaptation actions, and restoring the natural ecology system to respond to climate change" (see Table S1 for all EbA vision statements).
We found mismatches between adaptation visions and actions in many of the NDCs. Specifically, of 51 NDCs with an adaptation vision that includes EbA, explicitly or otherwise, only 35 then go on to describe tangible EbA actions (Table S2). The remainder either describe traditional conservation activities with no obvious characteristics of EbA (7 NDCs) or entirely lacked reference to ecosystems in their adaptation plans (9 NDCs). A further 35 countries, though lacking an EbA vision, nonetheless describe EbA actions. For example, Sudan commits to introducing "agroforestry in areas vulnerable to climate change to enhance agricultural production as well as empower vulnerable communities through their involvement in community forests activities / products" (see Table S2 for all EbA actions described In total, 70 countries commit to EbA actions within the adaptation component of their NDC (Figure 1). An additional 33 propose conservation activities such as the establishment of protected areas or habitat restoration but without any explicit links to enhancing social or ecological resilience to climate change or the involvement of local communities. For example, Bahrain refers to "a mangrove transplantation project for the cultivation of plants and planting mangrove seedlings in order to rehabilitate degraded coastal areas" and Tunisia commits to "conservation of the ecological functions of low-lying coastal areas". We classified these actions as traditional conservation activities based on review of the limited information available in NDCs but we recognise that some of these may have EbA characteristics if a more detailed analysis of actions beyond the NDCs were undertaken. Of the 33 nations committing to traditional conservation actions, three also refer to community-based adaptation (CbA), whether as part of a high-level vision or commitment, or as tangible actions. In such cases, greater coherence among conservation and adaptation planning represents a potential quick win for these countries to scale up EbA.

Quick wins: capitalising on EbA and conservation commitments in a mitigation context
Twenty-seven countries, though lacking reference to EbA or traditional conservation in the adaptation component of their NDCs, refer to such actions or broad commitments in the mitigation components. Of these, seven refer to actions or commitments that although are not technically EbA, on the basis that they are not designed to address adaptation needs, are "EbA-like" in that they meet other criteria for EbA. For example, Vietnam lacks specific EbA actions in the adaptation component of its NDC but in its mitigation component seeks to "manage and develop sustainable forest, enhance carbon sequestration and environmental services; conservation of biodiversity associated with livelihood development and income generation for communities and forest-dependent people". These ecosystem-based commitments, although not specifically targeting adaptation needs, could still benefit communities by increasing their resilience to a changing climate, thus achieving the same outcomes as EbA. By examining these planned actions and adjusting them for greatest effectiveness in addressing climate vulnerability, countries can achieve adaptation as well as mitigation.
In total, we found that 103 countries have committed to EbA and/or traditional conservation in their adaptation plans, while 27 do so in their mitigation plans. In other words, a total of 65% of all signatories to the Paris Agreement (and 78% of associated climate pledges) have committed to managing, restoring and/or protecting natural ecosystems to address the causes and consequences of climate change.

Regional variation in commitment to EbA actions
Commitment to EbA actions in the NDCs is more apparent in low and lower middleincome countries. While EbA actions are included in the adaptation plans of 77% of low-income countries and 55% of lower middle-income countries, this is true of only 29% of upper middle-income countries and only 12% of high-income countries ( Figure  1;

Types and strength of EbA activities
To highlight any potential biases in implementation and identify contexts in which EbA action may need to be enhanced, we reviewed the types and strengths of current or planned EbA activities across the globe. The most commonly implemented or planned EbA action is agroforestry (highlighted in 39 of 70, i.e. 56% of NDCs with EbA actions); followed by the protection and/or restoration of terrestrial forests or woodlands (46%), coastal and marine habitats (24%), and river catchments (including wetland) (20%; (Figure 2, Table  2). Far rarer, overall, are plans to restore and protect montane habitats (4%) or grasslands and rangelands (11%); we note that almost all examples of grassland or rangeland EbA actions come from Africa, despite the extensive presence of these habitats on other continents.
In Africa, there is a focus is on agroforestry and, to a lesser extent, the protection and/or restoration of terrestrial forests or woodlands. Out of the 35 African countries implementing or planning for EbA action, 27 include agroforestry and 16 include forest protection and/or restoration. In the Asia and Pacific region, the most common EbA action is the restoration and/or protection of terrestrial forests or woodlands, often through community management (11 out of 16 countries stating EbA actions). However, we note that this contributes to and has crossover with other EbA actions, particularly in particular the protection of ecosystems within river catchments. For example, Thailand has committed to increase "national forest cover to 40% through local community participation, including in particular headwater and mangrove forests to enhance adaptive capacities of related ecosystem[s]".
Of the 70 NDCs with EbA actions, only 25 could be classified as "robust" i.e. with evidence of the ecosystem-based action being both community-centric and prioritizing adaptation and other socioeconomic benefits to people, with over half of these involving terrestrial forest conservation and agroforestry (Table S2, Figure 2). Of particular note was that despite widespread anecdotal association of EbA with coastal areas (for example the use of mangroves as coastal defences) 5-7 , we found that ecosystem-based activities followed the more traditional model of | 7 conservation: out of 46 NDCs describing ecosystem-based activities in the coastal zone, only 17 included actions with EbA characteristics. Instead, of all habitats referred to in the NDCs, terrestrial forest conservation was where EbA actions were most numerous and well-defined (Table 2).

Fig. 2. Numbers of NDCs committing to different types and strengths of EbA actions in five broad ecosystems types.
Traditional conservation is defined as actions taken to restore and/or protect natural habitats that prioritize positive outcomes for nature without explicit regard for climate change impacts on human communities. EbA actions, by contrast, are defined as activities that restore and protect natural ecosystems (i) with the explicit aim of protecting humans from the impacts of climate change and providing other socio-economic benefits, and/or (ii) involving participatory, community-centric approaches. A basic EbA action as one that involves (i) or (ii); a robust EbA action has both attributes.

EbA as a future priority, pending funding
Only 23% countries with EbA actions describe current initiatives or projects. For example, Peru refers to the United Nations Environment Programme's "Mountain EbA Project" and the Seychelles declares that it "is currently implementing three ecosystem-based adaptation projects… [which] focus on management of coastal ecosystems, protection of mangroves, and sustainable watershed management collectively". The majority (77%) present EbA as a future priority, and one that is conditional on external financing. In other words, though the finding that 70 countries include tangible EbA actions in their NDCs is encouraging, the concern is whether these plans will get translated into action on the ground. A major issue is that only a handful of countries describe distinct technical and financial needs for specific EbA activities. One example comes from Afghanistan which, in stating an action for the "regeneration of at least 40% of existing degraded forests and rangeland areas", refers to technology needs of "forestry and rangeland management tools and methods", capacity building needs of "practitioners group built in university, government and local delivery levels" and finance needs of "USD 2.5 billion". Far more countries outline broader technology, capacity development and finance needs required across all adaptation actions, not only EbA. Attention is needed to make sure that resources provided in response to these general needs generate suitable increases in capacity than can be applied to EbA.

Need for clear and measurable targets
Many countries articulate a theoretical commitment to adaptation actions, including EbA, but this rarely translates into clear targets. Even where measurable targets are set, it is unclear whether they will be sufficient to meet the adaptation needs of the communities and ecosystems involved. Of the 70 countries that commit to one or more EbA actions in the adaptation component of their NDCs, only 18 provide either time-bound or quantitative targets and, of those, only 12 are broadly measurable and so could be tracked in theory (SOM Table S2 for key actions).
Measurable targets generally concern the protection or restoration of specific areas of habitat within given timeframes. For example, Bolivia states that it will "increase forest areas with integrated | 8 and sustainable community management approaches with 16.9 million hectares in 2030, in reference to 3.1 million hectares by 2010" (Table S2). Some targets also include the types and numbers of communities involved: Burkina Faso states that "200 rural communes [will] develop and implement […] assisted natural regeneration projects with the participation of at least five village communities each" involving an area of 800,000 hectares. Other targets centre on agroforestry. For example, Ghana is aiming for "modified community-based conservation agriculture [to be] adopted in 43 administrative districts, and Rwanda "intends to mainstream agro ecology technologies in its current agriculture intensification programme and other natural resource-based livelihood programmes. 100% of the households involved in agriculture production will be implementing agro forestry sustainable food production by 2030". The remaining NDCs that provide either time-bound or quantitative targets (6) outline targets that are more difficult to measure. For example, Guinea-Bissau aims to "develop a national reforestation and sustainable management of forest and agro forestry ecosystems programme by 2025".

Integrating science and local knowledge into adaptation planning
Compared to mitigation where there is substantial effort to measure and monitor progress towards country targets 23, 28 , much less headway has been made on measuring and tracking adaptation 29 . Without specific, measurable targets and suitable indicators, progress towards broad adaptation goals cannot be assessed. Even where such targets are set, how do we know whether they are sufficient to meet the adaptation needs of the communities and ecosystems they involve? There is an opportunity for countries to design specific EbA projects as part of their national adaptation strategies, explicitly addressing nationally relevant climate change risks while actively contributing to other development priorities.
EbA activities should be designed in light of the best available science and local knowledge but it is unclear whether the EbA targets set out in the NDCs derive from an understanding of the effects of different management practices on ecosystems or take into account future climate change scenarios. A number of NDCs recognise that action plans addressing climate threats should be science-based and make highlevel commitments to this. For example, Antigua and Barbuda states that its NDC is "fair, ambitious and science-based" and the Bahamas commits to "enhancing the science base to better understand the relationship between climate change and health outcomes". More interestingly, 100 of the 166 NDCs submissions include current or planned research or monitoring measures, such as the development of climate information (e.g. monitoring of climate variables, development of future climate change scenarios or climate modelling for projections) and research into more effective processes or measures (e.g. climate risk and vulnerability assessment processes and adaptation technologies). Such actions will be critical in strengthening the scientific basis for future adaptation planning, including the design and implementation of EbA actions. We note that research actions are proposed for ecosystems where EbA actions are currently limited in scale, such as montane areas. For example, India has "launched [the] National Mission on Himalayan Studies […] with the objective of building a body of scientific and traditional knowledge along with demonstrating replicable solutions to […] natural resource management, capacity building, long-term | 9 ecological monitoring". The integration of local needs and knowledge into the development of ecosystem and climate science will be a critical basis for future EbA and broader adaptation planning. Considerable effort is underway to track the mitigation targets in the Paris Agreement 23 . The same attention must now be given to setting and tracking targets for adaptation, and this is going to take the full engagement of the science community.

Conclusions and next steps: embedding EbA in the 2030 development agenda
Our analysis reveals that the protection and/or restoration of natural ecosystems is central to the adaptation ambition of many countries across the globe. However, some of the most biologically diverse and climatevulnerable countries do not refer to EbA in their NDCs, including many LDCs with limited capacity to adapt to the adverse effects of climate change. Of those countries implementing or planning to implement EbA actions, very few include clear and measurable science-based targets towards which progress can be assessed. Given growing evidence that EbA is a low cost, low risk adaptation option that provides a wide range of co-benefits and offers protection against multiple hazards 17 , efforts to engage all countries in EbA should be stepped up to inform the continuing development of NAPs and the next iteration of NDCs, with much greater engagement from the ecosystem and conservation science community.
We found that for many nations there is a mismatch between high level visions and on-the-ground actions. In a handful of such cases, detailed plans are instead provided in other national policy documents (e.g. NAPs), suggesting the need for greater coherence among different national policy processes. For the majority, however, the mismatch indicates a lack of understanding of how best to integrate EbA within adaptation planning processes, and underscores the need for better support to policymakers and planners in translating theoretical EbA approaches into locally relevant actions. More broadly, the high variance in what different nations term as 'actions' (some being broader and visionlike and others closely defined with tangible outputs) make them difficult to compare effectively. The lack of consistency, and thus comparability, between the adaptation components needs to be addressed as NDCs are revised in 2018-2020 (see Box 2 for policy recommendations).
As more countries pledge to protect and restore their natural ecosystems (e.g. The Bonn Challenge, New York Declaration on Forests, Aichi Biodiversity Targets, CBD post 2020 Biodiversity Framework) and prioritise measures that can deliver both mitigation and adaptation benefits, EbA could become a powerful and attractive option that can help countries deliver on international commitments, meet the Sustainable Development Goals with limited finance and ultimately achieve sustainable and equitable development in a warming world. The key challenges are to clarify and properly disseminate understanding of what makes EbA effective, to build capacity among practitioners across the globe to develop robust adaptation plans fine-tuned to local socio-ecological contexts, access suitable levels of adaptation finance and/or technical support and ultimately implement effective EbA for the benefit of people and the planet.

Box 1 What is EbA and is it effective?
The widely adopted Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) definition of EbA is: "the use of biodiversity and ecosystem services ... to help people adapt to the adverse effects of climate change" which "may include sustainable management, conservation and restoration of ecosystems, as part of an overall adaptation strategy that takes into account the multiple social, economic and cultural co-benefits for local communities." 4 It is often defined as being an alternative to "grey" engineering although really there is a spectrum of interventions which include components of both (i.e. hybrid or "grey-green" approaches). Evidence about the effectiveness of different adaptation approaches is dispersed across different literatures and weakened by multiple framings and a lack of standardized metrics. Although much work is underway to test EbA and hybrid approaches 30 , data collection and monitoring is rarely planned when projects are designed, and there are currently no standards to ensure that monitoring will be effective and allow comparison with other options. Much currently available evidence is anecdotal, not peer-reviewed and does not record failures 13 . To enable broad comparisons, a recent semi-quantitative review compared EbA, hybrid and engineered approaches to reducing risks to people from extreme weather events (coastal and riverine flooding, heatwaves, drought) using a combination of literature and expert scores and opinion 17 . This assessment compared the effectiveness of each option (encompassing both magnitude of the event against which the intervention can be effective and spatial scale over which it is effective) versus its affordability (combining both initial and long-term (to 2050) costs of intervention) (Fig. S1). It also scored intervention with respect to the number of co-benefits it brought (Fig. S2).
The assessment found that engineered approaches have immediate, measurable impacts and are particularly effective in reducing the impacts of specific hazards over the short-term. However, they are expensive and deliver few if any co-benefits. In contrast, EbA is affordable,

| 15
provides a wide range of ecosystem services and offers protection from multiple hazards, which is important as hazards seldom occur in isolation but can take place simultaneously or in a cascade. For example, coastal forests can protect against coastal and inland flooding, strong winds, and high temperatures, whilst providing a range of ecosystem services and supporting more diverse livelihoods. In contrast to engineered approaches, EbA also involves and benefits local people, can be more adaptive to new conditions, and is less likely to create a false sense of security. Set against these merits, EbA tends to be less effective than engineered structures over the short-term (i.e. effects are hard to quantify and can take time to manifest themselves), can take up larger areas of land, and involve the use of ecosystems that are themselves vulnerable to climate change. Meanwhile, hybrid approaches are intermediate in terms of effectiveness and affordability, but often have positive additional consequences. For example, two of the most affordable and effective hybrid options against drought are using 'sustainable agro-ecosystem management practices' and 'soil and water conservation'. These are bundles of separate, mutually reinforcing, small interventions, involving some EbA elements, changes to agricultural practices and low-tech engineering, which can be tailored to local contexts. Overall, hybrid approaches have the most positive consequences, and are marginally higher than ecosystem-based approaches for all the factors considered in the assessment (Fig. S2).

Fig S2. Additional consequences of different categories of adaptation options
Average impact score of ecosystem-based (green), engineered (grey) and hybrid (orange) options, across all types of extreme event considered, on each additional consequence assessed. ©Royal Society 2014 The assessment concluded that despite the shortcomings of EbA and in the face of uncertainty around both risks and effectiveness, EbA is a 'low risk' or 'no regret' option that provides more positive consequences than those that are engineering-based. On the basis of the assessment, policy recommendations were to: (1) consider defensive options beyond traditional engineering approaches (e.g. EbA and hybrid approaches that offer additional benefits to people) including the conservation of natural ecosystems which are difficult or impossible to restore; and (2) monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions, in particular of EbA, and apply the results to improve future decision-making.

BOX 2: Actions needed to scale-up and mainstream EbA into national policy
National governments are strongly encouraged to: 1) establish measurable and meaningful EbA targets in national plans, drawn on best available scientific evidence, local knowledge and best practice; 2) report on progress towards targets these in the NDCs, NAPs and other climate policy processes outside the UNFCCC; 3) support the scaling-up EbA actions in all natural ecosystems; 4) rank EbA alongside other key elements of sustainable development (e.g. agriculture, finance), and 5) incorporate ecosystem services in development planning processes.
Researchers from the natural and social sciences and economists should work together to build a strong evidence base for socio-economic and ecological effectiveness of EbA compared to other adaptation options and facilitate the development of targets and costed plans. To promote consistency and comparability of adaptation planning across the globe, researchers also needs to harmonise methods for evaluating effectiveness of EbA and work with agencies revising the NDCs to ensure information is available in a useful format.
Practitioners should consider increasing implementation of EbA across the globe and share best practice and learning on what makes EbA effective (or otherwise); they should ensure that this knowledge informs the development of robust targets and shapes not only the redrafting of the NDCs in 2020 but climate change planning and policy in general.
Agencies revising NDCs in 2020 are advised to increase transparency and comparability of adaptation plans, and better align them with mitigation plans. With regards to EbA, rigour in the NDCs would be improved by 1) addressing mismatches between visions and actions for EbA; 2) using consistent terminology based on scientific consensus; 3) aligning commitments to EbA in the mitigation component with those in the adaptation component; 4) aligning commitments to community based conservation actions and commitments to EbA; and 5) harmonizing the content of the NDCs with NAPs and other climate and development policy processes.
Leading platforms funding or supporting mitigation and resilience strategies ¾such as UN-REDD Carbon Fund, Green Climate Fund, and associated bilateral initiatives ¾are recommended to adopt a holistic approach by highlighting and promoting EbA and its co-benefits for sustainable development.

Sample of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)
The Paris Agreement has 197 Parties: 195 signatories, plus Syria and Nicaragua which joined the agreement after the deadline for formal signing had passed. Of these Parties, 194 have submitted Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs); Libya, Syria and Nicaragua are yet to do so 1 . One NDC was submitted for the European Union on behalf of all 28 member states. Therefore, there are 166 NDCs available for analysis from Parties, plus one from Taiwan. Although Taiwan is not a party to the UNFCCC and the United States of America has signalled its withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, both nations' NDCs were reviewed and are included in all final figures throughout this paper. NDC submissions were accessed using the official UNFCCC portal 1 , with the exception of Taiwan's NDC 2 .
This dataset is based on an in-depth review of NDCs, and does not include other national adaptation plans (i.e. National Adaptation Plans or National Adaptation Plans of Action) unless these were attached to the NDC or direct links to websites or other documents relating to current adaption projects were provided. Strategies or policies (including NAPs and NAPAs) that were listed in NDCs but without links or specific explanation for what relevant information could be located within such documents were not reviewed in our analysis. We focused our review and analysis on NDC documents as a high-level indicator of interest in EbA and to follow a standardised approach across all countries. While other planning documents such as NAPs and national climate change and biodiversity strategies may provide greater detail on adaptation plans and how commitments are implemented, not all countries have yet written NAPs or detailed national level strategies in the context of adaptation. As such, reviewing these in place of or in addition to NDCs could bias analyses. However, we acknowledge that countries may be doing far more than described in their NDCs, and that consequently for some nations we may underestimate the true extent of adaptation planning.

NDC adaptation component: visions, actions and targets
Overview and dataset: We conducted a systematic quantitative content analysis 3 of the text of the adaptation and mitigation components of the NDCs (n=141 NDCs for adaptation and 167 NDCs for mitigation). We classified statements in the adaptation component of the NDCs with respect to whether they described adaptation "visions", "actions" and "targets". We then coded vision and action statements with respect to whether they described EbA or traditional conservation activities in one of five non-mutually exclusive broad habitat types (defined below) and we coded whether actions were "robust" or "basic", current, planned and dependent on external sources of finances. We coded targets with respect to whether they were quantitative and measurable (details below). Two | 18 different observers (authors NS and ED) independently performed the classification and coding process on all 167 NDC documents, while two others (RD and RH) repeated the procedure for approximately half of the documents each. In this way, each NDC was carefully reviewed three times by three different independent observers. The lead observer conducted an audit process of the other two observers' reviews to achieve a degree of repeatability; discrepancies were discussed and resolved. The final dataset comprising coded adaptation plans as described in the current versions of the NDCs is publically available on the Nature-based Solutions Policy Platform (www.nbspolicyplatform.org).
Vision or commitment: A high-level pledge or statement of recognition of the importance of particular adaptation approach such as EbA, either implicitly or explicitly. An explicit EbA vision use the terms "ecosystem-based adaptation", "ecosystem-based approaches to adaptation", "forest-based adaptation", "ecosystem based climate change adaptation", "socio-ecosystem based adaptation" or "ecosystems approach", but does not include "adaptation of ecosystems" as this was assumed to be a commitment to the conservation of ecosystems for their intrinsic value. An implicit EbA vision acknowledges importance of protecting or restoring natural ecosystems for the benefit of human adaptation or resilience without explicitly referring to the foregoing terms. Commitments to the conservation or protection of ecosystems for their intrinsic value were not included; there needed to be an evident link or connection between the protection of ecosystems and the adaptation or resilience benefits for people.
Action: A tangible, locally relevant action or intervention in a particular habitat or the development/implementation of a specific and relevant policy or process. We considered an action to be broadly "ecosystem-based" or "green" if it referred to the protection, restoration or sustainable management of natural ecosystems. We subdivided such actions into two categories, traditional conservation and EbA, based on the presence or absence of evidence of EbA characteristics arising from the CBD definition (Box 1) 4 : a) the explicit provision of socio-economic benefits; b) the use of participatory, community based approaches to natural habitat protection and/or restoration, or agroforestry; and c) actions developed to address adaptation needs.
Characteristic (c) was assumed where an action was stated within the adaptation component of an NDC. Where there was evidence of both characteristics (a) and (b) related to an action it was classified as 'robust EbA' and where evidence was present of only one characteristic it was classified as 'basic EbA', broadly followed the strong-weak EbA assessment framework for EBA quality developed by the Friends of EbA consortium 5 . Actions that evidenced only characteristic (b) could be community based conservation actions (i.e. proposed to meet biodiversity conservation goals as opposed to community resilience goals) but for our purposes were still considered as EbA.

| 19
Agroforestry activities were classified as basic EbA on the assumption that they are always community centric. Where clear evidence existed of the motivation to provide socio-economic benefits from agroforestry activities e.g. improved food security or incomes, the action was marked as strong EbA. Where specific EbA projects were noted, a similar approach was followed. They were assumed to be basic EbA unless additional detail was provided on socio-economic benefits in which case they were classified as strong. Green actions that did not exhibit either of characteristics (a) or (b) were classified as traditional conservation. We define traditional conservation actions that prioritize positive outcomes for nature without explicit regard for climate change impacts; they have no obvious involvement of local communities nor are aimed at the provision of socioeconomic benefits.
We assessed whether actions are currently underway or included as part of future plans. Where actions were stated within future plans, we classified these (where possible) as being either conditional or unconditional on external financing and support from the international community. In a number of cases there was lack of clarity over the temporal nature of actions: in these cases, we assumed actions to be planned (when no evident timescale provided), conditional (when the action appeared to rely on both unconditional and conditional financing) and both conditional and unconditional (when no information was provided regarding financing). Assumptions were made when terms such as "strengthen" or "improve" were used in relation to an action that the stated action was already underway. By classifying actions as current, we recognise that these actions in many cases are also proposed to continue in future. It should be recognised that there is a high degree of variation between what different nations term as 'actions' -some being broader and vision-like and others closely defined with tangible outputs.

Ecosystem types:
In the NDCs, ecosystem-orientated activities, whether EbA or traditional conservation, were described to take place in one or more of five broad, non-mutually exclusive types of ecosystem: (i) Coastal and marine habitats: including mangroves, seagrass meadows, coastal wetlands and saltmarshes but not including references to Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) or equivalent (unless specific reference was made to ecosystem-oriented or based activities).

(ii)
Terrestrial forests or woodlands: includes references to assisted natural regeneration; excludes mangroves.

(iii)
River catchments: includes wetlands and rivers; lake management or preservation and any fluvial measures, watershed and wetland management; measures to protect or preserve large water bodies (including internal seas).
Where natural resource management is discussed in relation to watersheds or wetlands, this measure is assumed to be an ecosystem-based. Does not include riverbank protection projects (this may be through engineered or soft | 20 approaches), water conservation or management outside watersheds (iv) Grasslands and rangelands (including savanna); and (v) Montane habitats Agroforestry (a sixth category of EbA) included conservation agriculture and permaculture activities, "agricultural and forestry systems", "silvopasture" and the planting of trees in agricultural areas to reduce soil erosion.
NDCs do not use common, standardised terminology for ecosystem types. As such, some actions were classified across multiple classes, for example the protection of coastal wetlands was classified as both a coastal and marine action and a catchment action. Common overlaps were noted between terrestrial forest actions and other categories, predominantly catchments, montane and agroforestry. Forest conservation and protection was noted as an action in catchment and montane landscapes as well as alongside agroforestry activities. Where a specific habitat or ecosystem type was not specified for a particular action, that action was considered as a 'general' nature based action and was not assigned one of the six broad categories listed above.
Climate smart agriculture (CSA) activities were not classified as EbA as they can include both hard and soft approaches such as the introduction of irrigation systems, drought resistant crop varieties, integrated agriculture and aquaculture systems or the use of seasonal rainfall forecasts in agricultural planning 7 . As such we consider CSA activities to be a hybrid adaptation measure unless further detail is stated.
Research and monitoring: An assessment of the presence of research and monitoring actions/measures in the adaptation component of NDCs was conducted. Research and monitoring activities included within cross-cutting components of the NDC but which evidently referred to supporting adaptation rather than mitigation plans were also considered. For this review, research or monitoring measures were considered as those that seek to build and strengthen the climate science on which adaptation actions are based, namely: Targets: For actions that were categorised as EbA (either basic or robust), we assessed stated targets. We refer to a target as either a time-bound or quantitative target linked to an action. Broad goals or commitments (often linked to visions) are not classified as targets. For stated targets linked to actions we assessed whether such targets are measurable and long-term/strategic. We considered a target 'measurable' if the activity appeared sufficiently precise or focused to be monitored. Targets outlined for 2020 and beyond, and those not related to specific funded projects, were considered as strategic/long-term targets. Note that the assessment of targets was based on the limited information available in NDCs and an element of subjectivity exists in denoting targets as measurable or more difficult to measure.

NDC mitigation component
Within each NDC mitigation component, we identified whether EbA-like approaches or traditional conservation were proposed. We did not differentiate between high-level visions/commitments and actions, instead accepting either as evidence from the mitigation component. Visions/commitments to EbA were accepted as well as actions that exhibited one or more EbA characteristics or attributes (see earlier: the explicit provision of socio-economic benefits, the use of participatory, community based approaches to conservation, restoration, or agroforestry and addressing adaptation needs). We refer to these actions as 'EbA-like' as they have not been designed to explicitly address adaptation needs and so cannot be considered as true EbA. They do however exhibit other characteristics of EbA and we therefore deemed them to resemble EbA approaches. Within mitigation components we considered ecosystem-based actions to be habitat protection or restoration activities such as afforestation, reforestation, wetland and peatland management. REDD (reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries) readiness activities 6 and other policy and institutional strengthening measures were not considered in our review. Agroforestry activities were classified as EbA-like on the assumption that these activities are always community based in nature.

Other datasets
We organised NDC data with respect to income, UNFCCC grouping, region, and vulnerability to climate change. Official World Bank classifications and data were used for income and region groupings 8 . UNFCCC groupings including the list of countries classified as Annex 1, non-Annex 1 and part of the LDC group were obtained from the official UNFCCC website 9,10 . The Global Climate Risk Index 2017 11 was used as a measure of country level climate vulnerability to extreme weather events. This metric was selected as providing the most recent, open access data on country level vulnerability. The Global Climate Risk Index rank was converted into five categories of risk (low, medium-low,

| 22
medium, medium-high and high) using the same method as stated in the Germanwatch report 11 .  The promotion of biodiversity conservation and adaptation based on ecosystems Armenia

Supplementary References
Apply an ecosystem-based approach to mitigation and adaptation actions, giving preference to balanced and combined actions. The Republic of Armenia embraces the ecosystem approach for adapting to climate change. The approach is in harmony with the environmental policy of the country, can ensure synergy with other international environmental conventions and treaties, will lay the ground for inter-sectoral coordination, and will support establishment of cross-border cooperation and solidarity environment. Bangladesh Key areas to address adverse impacts of climate change: Ecosystem based adaptation (including forestry co-management) Community based conservation of wetlands and coastal areas Belize The proposed interventions to mainstream adaptation and mitigation to Climate Change will be achieved by providing guidance for actions that concerns the direct and indirect threats posed by global Climate Change on forests and forest dependent people in order to reduce their vulnerability, increase their resilience and adaptation to Climate Change.

Bolivia
The fight against climate change for sustainable and harmonious development with nature on the basis of management systems life is present in this vision. Construction of a climate system based on responsibility to Mother Earth, the culture of life and the full realization of humanity in their holistic development, humanizing the economy, surpassing the simplistic approach to decarbonization of the economy. Brazil Brazil considers adaptation to be a fundamental element of the global effort to tackle climate change and its effects. The implementation of policies and measures to adapt to climate change contributes to building resilience of populations, ecosystems, infrastructure and production systems, by reducing vulnerability and through the provision of ecosystem services.

Burkina Faso
Sustainable rural production systems which, by taking into consideration local knowledge and know-how… (iii) improve the well-being of the people living on the land and (iv) restore preserve the integrity and functioning of ecosystems."

| 24
Cabo Verde Increasing adaptive capacities of the agro-silvo-pastoral production systems in order to ensure and improve national food production, and promoting Cabo Verde´s blue economy; Cambodia Promoting and improving the adaptive capacity of communities, especially through community based adaptation actions, and restoring the natural ecology system to respond to climate change Central African Republic Adaptation option 3: Sustainable management of the agricultural, forestry and animal husbandry systems Objective 10. Promote agricultural and forestry systems and sustainable soil management. Objective 11. Promote urban, suburban and community forestry. Objective 12. Restore degraded forest landscapes. Chile The National Forestry Corporation (CONAF) is implementing the National Climate Change and Vegetation Resource Strategy. This plan, proposes climate change mitigation and adaptation measures aimed at supporting the recovery and protection of native lands and xerophytes. In addition, it promotes the plantation of vegetation in apt soils belonging to small and medium-sized producers. A state mechanism will be designed and implemented to facilitate access by communities and owners to the benefits associated with the environmental services generated by these recovered ecosystems.

Colombia
Strategic lines: Socio-ecosystem based adaptation with a view to move towards economies, societies and ecosystems resilient to climate change impacts Costa Rica The country will continue with its Green and Inclusive Development policy through local actions in adaptation, such as, inter alia, the strengthening of conservation programs and expanding the environmental services payments program to include Ecosystem based Adaptation. Costa Rica is committed to develop its adaptation practice from an ecosystem based adaptation focus, building on the commitment to increase forest coverage to 60%. Djibouti As the country contains a number of already weakened ecosystems, any work done to improve food security and water resources management will need to endeavour to preserve the environment from a perspective of sustainable development Dominican Republic The elements of the strategic planning approach to adaptation are: -Ecosystem-Based Adaptation /Resilience of Ecosystems

| 25
Ecuador These articles determine that Nature, or "Pacha Mama", where life transpires and is reproduced, has the right to integral respect for its existence, maintenance and regeneration of its life cycles, structure, functions and evolutionary processes; and that is has the right to restoration, apart from the obligation of the State and natural persons or legal entities to compensate individuals and communities that depend on affected natural systems. Objective 7: To guarantee the rights of nature and promote environmental, sustainability globally. 7.6: To manage water heritage sustainably and taking into account participation of people, using a watershed and ecological flow approach to ensure the human right to water. Ecosystem and forest protection as well as the strengthening of the national protected areas systems play a crucial role for the combat of climate change. Eritrea Being the most critical resources upon which the livelihoods for the rural population of Eritrea depends, its conservation from all forms of degradation is the priority of the government. Ethiopia Enhance the adaptive capacity of ecosystems, communities and infrastructure through an ecosystem rehabilitation approach in the highlands of Ethiopia.

Rehabilitation of degraded lands/forests will also increase resilience of communities, infrastructures and ecosystems to droughts and floods. Grenada
Maintaining a healthy natural environment is also imperative as part of Grenada's efforts to reduce vulnerability to climate change and ecosystem based adaptation is a priority for Grenada Guatemala* Relevant actions include the implementation of the national biodiversity strategy and its 2012-2022 action plan, which will allow the integration of biodiversity into adaptation and mitigation to climate change and the assessment of people's ancestral (indigenous) knowledge, recognizing the role of farmer and indigenous economic models, culturally relevant in adapting to climate change Guinea Put in place the measures needed to protect, conserve and manage ecosystems, revive economic activities and boost the resilience of communities in its coastal zone. Guinea Bissau It is therefore necessary and urgent that the Guinea-Bissau Government take initiatives such as the development of new, more resistant , crops and changes in agricultural systems in order to increase the resilience of its agriculture to climate change, the protection of coastal ecosystems and adopt measures to reduce long term risks, like the integration of climate change into local development plans, forest management plans and soil occupancy and, generally speaking, in development policies and strategies. These changes are intended primarily to increase the food security of populations of rural areas in order to enhance their adaptation | 26 capacity, reducing pressure on forest and fishery resources and improving access to safe water for human consumption and livestock Honduras* Because of the economic importance they represent for the country, as the main source of livelihood for indigenous and Afro-Honduran groups and other coastal communities, and because of their high vulnerability, it is essential to implement strategies that promote / Maintain the integrity and functioning of these ecosystems.

Indonesia
Promoting climate resilience in food, water and energy: Recognising the need to fulfil the needs of a growing young population for food, water and energy, Indonesia will improve its management of natural resources to enhance climate resilience by protecting and restoring key terrestrial, coastal and marine ecosystems.

Lao PDR
The forestry sector contributes to both national economy and also livelihoods of many Laotians for example. Sustainable forest management therefore improves the resilience of communities and ecosystems and at the same time reduces GHG emissions by absorbing carbon dioxide. Lebanon Overarching objective: Towards sustainably managed forest resources, safeguarded ecological integrity, and economic and social development for the benefit of present and future generations. Madagascar Moreover, the choice of the identified adaptation sectors (agriculture, coastal zone management, human health), as well as ecosystem based adaptation approach (forests, mangroves, biodiversity, water resources) can have significant benefits on the mitigation.

Malawi
Climate change also requires farmers to adapt to new agronomic practices such as conservation agriculture, growing of drought tolerant crops, precision agriculture (which in turn also requires a better access to input for seeds and fertilizers) and agro-forestry amongst others in order to improve productivity.

Forest regeneration could spur bee-keeping and indigenous mushroom harvesting thereby taking people-off from forest extractive activities Maldives
Coral reefs are an important contributor the economy supporting tourism and fisheries. The reefs support rich biodiversity providing food and livelihoods to island communities. Coral reefs conservation through ecosystem approach as an adaptation measure to increase the resilience of the coral reef ecosystem Mexico Ecosystem-Based Adaptation: Ecosystem-based adaptation consists of the conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services as part of an integral adaptation strategy to assist human communities to adapt to the adverse effects of climate change.

| 27
Morocco The protection of natural heritage, biodiversity, forestry and fishery resources through an ecosystembased adaptation approach. Myanmar Eco-system based approaches to adaptation at township level will be tested during the course of 2016-18, including a vulnerability analysis of the following elements: urban planning, infrastructure development, environmental risk and livelihood patterns. Nepal It also aims to put in place forest carbon trade and payment mechanism and mainstream community/ecosystem-based adaptation by 2025.

Niue
In Enhancing the adaptive capacity of rural economies and natural resources to climate change through the management and protection of land based natural resources and agricultural production systems.

Saudi Arabia
Develop and enhance arid and semi-arid rural areas through various natural resource conservation activities, biodiversity and eco-system based adaptation efforts.

Seychelles
Also recently, the Seychelles Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (2015-2020) has been launched, and includes many cross-sectoral projects with climate change adaptation implications. Projects address issues such as sustainable tourism, watershed management, sustainable agriculture and fisheries, disaster planning, research and a shift toward ecosystem-based adaptation approaches to biodiversity conservation Singapore Safeguarding biodiversity: Enriching Singapore's urban biodiversity and extensive greenery is part of the national vision for a "City in a Garden". Extensive roadside tree planting contributes to moderating temperatures in the heart of the city. Over 300 parks and a network of park connectors provide relief from the hot urban tropical climate.

| 28
Large freshwater bodies surrounded by forested catchments help to ameliorate the urban island heat effect and conserve our rich natural heritage of flora and fauna. Singapore recognises the need to track its rich urban biodiversity in a manner which can integrate conservation and adaptation actions.

Solomon Islands
In the area around the capital city of Honiara a general decline per decade is occurring while the population is growing at a rate of approximately 6% per annum. To ensure adequate water supply for the growing population of the city a robust and well enforced Integrated Water Resource Management strategy and programme needs to be put in place. Conservation and effective management of the forests surrounding Honiara is essential South Sudan Ecosystem-based adaptation consists of the conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services as part of an integrated adaptation strategy to assist human communities to adapt to the adverse effects of climate change Swaziland Enhance biodiversity and promote ecotourism with benefit sharing for the surrounding communities. Thailand Safeguard food security through the guidance of Sufficiency Economy Philosophy e.g. an application of the New Theory in agriculture and land management to promote appropriate resource allocation and economic diversification at the household level and sustainable management of community forests to promote food security at the community level, for instance. Tonga Promoting reforestation and rehabilitation of cleared and degraded forests with climate change resilient, and ecologically and socially appropriate tree species; United Arab Emirates The UAE is also undergoing significant restoration and plantation efforts of both mangroves and sea-grass, supporting ecosystembased adaptation as well.

Uruguay
Promote ecosystem-based adaptation, strengthening ecosystem and biodiversity conservation strategies. Vanuatu These strategic priorities from 2015 to 2020 include the need for: … Ecosystem based approaches Venezuela* These instruments represent the methodological, conceptual and policy framework aligned country project for the sovereign exercise of resources, species at risk of extinction, and important ecosystems Yemen Additional support will also needed on issues relating to Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) as well as Ecosystem-Based Adaptation (EBA) including on sustainable management of natural resource Zimbabwe Promoting non-timber forest products and sustainable agro-forestry practices to enhance forest-based adaptation. Strengthening biodiversity conservation management and integrity of natural ecosystems to adapt to climate change. *Denotes a translation by the authors from the native language in the NDC to English | 30 The following are the specific prioritized actions by 2030 in Colombia: Increase of more than 2.5 million hectares in coverage of newly protected areas in the National System of Protected Areas (SINAP), in coordination with local and regional stakeholders

Congo, Rep Robust
Coastal and marine habitats

Planned
The promotion of income-generating activities related to marine and coastal ecosystems.
A scheme including mangrove conservation projects for coastal protection, protection of species, establishment of specific facilities for the reception and management of waste, monitoring of nesting turtles Creation of a coastal and marine environment observatory.

Costa Rica Basic
Agroforestry, River catchments

Current
Integral environment management through agro-forestry systems and watershed management, the adaptive comanagement at the watershed level

Costa Rica Basic
Terrestrial forests or woodlands Planned Costa Rica is committed to develop its adaptation practice from an ecosystem based adaptation focus, building on the commitment to increase forest coverage to 60%.

Costa Rica Basic
Terrestrial forests or woodlands, River catchments Planned There are opportunities for exploring synergies between adaptation practices and the reduction of emissions through avoided deforestation. These include, inter alia, the consolidation of FONAFIFO's Environmental Services Payments program and the Forest Certification program as a mechanism to promote the sustainable development forest resources and effective protection of water sources for all 81 counties of Costa Rica; the promotion of the National Biological Corridor System and the National Protected Areas System (SINAC). The programme's overarching objective is to support the populations in rural coastal zones affected by climate change in order to improve their resilience, reduce their vulnerability to such changes and promote the co-management of marine resources. The rehabilitation of mangroves will enhance their role as a shield for coastal protection against the tides and erosion. In addition, the restoration of coral reefs and mangroves will generate additional revenue through the development of ecotourism activities.

Djibouti Basic
Coastal and marine habitats Current Implementation of priority NAPA actions to strengthen resilience in Djibouti's most vulnerable coastal zones The project will adopt an integrated approach that combines local actions to improve the resilience of the communities and the ecosystems with central actions to remove any key political and institutional obstacles. The project includes activities grouped together into three components, corresponding to the priorities defined in the National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA): i) policy; ii) ecosystem rehabilitation; and iii) climate forecasts and the prevention of catastrophes. Launched in 2011, this project focuses on two rural coastal communities, Khor Angar and Damerjog.

Basic Agroforestry Current
Measures including the application of silvopasture systems; the incorporation of climate change adaptation systems in the zoning of rural areas; the creation of germoplasm banks, the use of species that contribute to decreasing erosion; diversification of species more resistant to climate change; among others.

El Salvador Basic Agroforestry Planned
By 2030, El Salvador will establish and manage one million hectares through "Sustainable Landscapes Resilient to Climate Change". This is an integrated approach to landscape restoration, where forest areas will be rehabilitated and conserved, biological corridors will be established through the adoption of resilient agroforestry systems and transformation of agricultural areas with low carbon sustainable practices, and seeking Neutrality in Degradation of the Lands. In this framework, the current tree cover -27% of the territory -will be conserved -maintaining natural areas, including mangroves, agroforestry systems and existing forest plantations. In addition, forest carbon stocks will be improved, increasing coverage in 25% of the territory, with agroforestry systems and reforestation activities in critical areas such as gallery forests, water recharge areas, and landslide areas. Enhance the adaptive capacity of ecosystems, communities and infrastructure through an ecosystem rehabilitation approach in the highlands of Ethiopia. Rehabilitation of degraded lands/forests will also increase resilience of communities, infrastructures and ecosystems to droughts and floods.

Gabon Basic
Coastal and marine habitats

Planned
In addition, the general orientations of this strategy call for the implementation of a management plan for the coastal urban environment and the promotion of income-generating activities linked to marine and coastal ecosystems. To this must be added a scheme including mangrove conservation projects for coastal protection, protection of species, establishment of specific facilities for the reception and management of waste, monitoring of nesting of turtles and the creation of a coastal and marine environment observatory.

Basic Agroforestry Planned
Modified community-based conservation agriculture adopted in 43 administrative districts

Grenada Robust
Coastal and marine habitats Current Grenada is in the advanced stages of developing its integrated coastal zone management policy and management system with the aim of facilitating integrative planning and management processes with the view to preserving and enhancing coastal ecosystems and ecosystem services while enabling social and economic development. As part of the policy development Grenada is also undertaking several community ecosystem based adaptation actions including coral restoration, mangrove rehabilitation, all with alternative livelihood implications | 38

Robust Agroforestry Planned
Support the adaptation efforts of rural communities to develop agro-sylvopastoral techniques enabling them both to continue their activities and preserve the resources on which they rely Development of techniques to conserve and process agricultural, forestry and fishfarming products; Better management of pastoralism, especially transnational pastoralism, so as to limit degradation of grazing and soil and reduce the risks of usage conflicts.

Guinea-Bissau
Basic Agroforestry Planned Develop a national reforestation and sustainable management of forest and agro forestry ecosystems programme by 2025;

Haiti Basic
Coastal and marine habitats Planned Support to community management of marine protected areas.

Robust River catchments Planned
Development of payment initiatives for Ecosystems services in watersheds. Regulation of water flow, protection and restoration of soils. Development of 15 strategic watersheds from Co-management.

Basic Agroforestry Planned
Agroforestry Law for Rural Development Change in agricultural practices: implementation of agroforestry systems "Quesungual"; measures to combat erosion; development of sustainable systems based on agroecology.

Basic Agroforestry Current
National Agroforestry Policy (NAP) of India aims at encouraging and expanding tree plantation in complementarity and integrated manner with crops and livestock. It will help protect and stabilize ecosystems, and promote resilient cropping and farming systems to | 39 minimize the risk during extreme climatic events. It will also complement achieving the target of increasing forest/ tree cover.

India Robust
Coastal and marine habitats

Current
The Government notified the Island Protection Zone (IPZ) in 2011 with the objective of ensuring livelihood security to the local communities, conserving and protecting coastal stretches, and promoting development in a sustainable manner. The IPZ focuses on disaster risk reduction through bioshields with local vegetation (mangroves) and other soft protection measures, and the conservation of beaches and sand dunes. The country has also prepared, in collaboration with other regional governments and the UNEP, a proposal to support the implementation of an Urban Ecosystem-Based Adaptation project in the capital city of Kingston. This Project will increase the resilience of Kingston using ecosystem based approaches.

Robust General Planned
Conserve and restore ecosystems in order to increase ecological connectivity of all Natural Protected Areas and other conservation schemes, through biological corridors and sustainable productive activities. This approach will take into account the equitable participation of the population and will have a territorial approach. Rehabilitation and reinstatement of degraded ecosystems, in particular rangeland areas, forests and areas with a high potential for cultivation, to provide sustainable grazing, forestry products, and agriculturally productive zones.

South Sudan
Robust Agroforestry Planned i. Promote agro-forestry practices as a way of diversifying land production systems and promoting alternative livelihood options.

South Sudan Robust
Terrestrial forests or woodlands, River catchments Planned ii. Promote afforestation of degraded landscapes/watersheds using multiuse forest species to increase community safety-nets and diversify livelihoods.

Sri Lanka Basic Agroforestry Planned
Promote traditional methods of biodiversity conservation for increased resilience in agro-ecosystems. The UAE is also undergoing significant restoration and plantation efforts of both mangroves and sea-grass, supporting ecosystem-based adaptation as well.

United republic of Tanzania
Basic Grasslands and rangelands

Planned
Promoting climate change resilient traditional and modern knowledge on sustainable pasture and range management systems.

United republic of Tanzania
Basic Terrestrial forests or woodlands Planned b) Enhancing participatory fire management. c) Enhancing forest governance and protection of forest resources. d) Enhancing Sustainable forest management.

Uruguay Basic
Coastal and marine habitats

Current
Restoration and maintenance of coastal ecosystems services that provide protection against extreme events and of ecosystems services that protect drinking water sources.

Basic General Planned
Adaptation action building on and incorporating taboos, conservation areas and locally managed areas and protects vulnerable habitats and ecosystems and carbon sinks will be prioritized Promoting non-timber forest products and sustainable agro-forestry practices to enhance forest-based adaptation.