The environmental, social and economic impacts of climate change coupled with the unsustainable management of ecosystems, increase the vulnerabilities of people and nature.
Furthermore, the crisis is likely to impact different groups differently and is expected to affect the marginalized (women, children and elderly) disproportionately.
Adaptation serves as an important strategy to cope with a changing climate and its impacts; however, in response to global climate change effects, countries are likely to invest in traditional options such as infrastructure for coastal defences and flood control, and new irrigation facilities and reservoirs for water shortages. These options are likely to be costly and generally do not take the conservation of ecosystems and biodiversity into account.
Healthy, well-functioning ecosystems enhance natural resilience to the adverse impacts of climate change and reduce the vulnerability of people. Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) offers a valuable yet under-utilized approach for climate change adaptation, complementing traditional actions such as infrastructure development. This report will build upon the previous scoping study and will assess the importance of nature
based solutions to address climate risks and identify knowledge gaps in economic data from the field in the Philippines. The purpose of this study is to "increase understanding of the economic effectiveness of ecosystems based approaches and provide additional important information that would assist decision making at the local, national and global levels."