Liette Vasseur,Professor of Biological Sciences at Brock University, and Jocelyn Baker, Biological Sciences Research Assistant at Brock University, recently co-wrote a brief for iPOLITICS about the benefits of using nature-based solutions to address ecosystem degradation, human well-being and sustainable development in the post-COVID-19 recovery.

They write:

“Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, many experts and organizations have called on governments across the world to move towards a greener economy and infrastructure to reduce ecosystem degradation, biodiversity loss, and the likelihood of future pandemics and disasters. It has become clear that business as usual is no longer an option. Developing a circular economy and regreening our lives are essential actions to improve community resilience and promote and secure a healthy and sustainable planet. In Investing in ecosystems: the cornerstone for sustainable renewal of the Canadian economy, another brief in this series, we demonstrated that nature provides substantial benefits that we generally forget about but which are crucial to our survival.

 Considering the levels of land degradation, land and water pollution, and loss of biodiversity, the good of our planet and our societies requires solutions to improve our environment. To be sustainable, these solutions must address societal challenges while simultaneously protecting and restoring biodiversity and natural ecosystems. One cannot happen without the other. These actions are called Nature-based Solutions (NbS).

 Nature-based solutions (NbS) are actions that address societal challenges that by protecting, sustainably managing, and restoring natural or modified ecosystems. These challenges can stem from environmental or climate changes and usually lead to threats in the sustainability of the human communities as well as their natural environment and biodiversity.”

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