Holistic and integrated approaches to achieving SDG 15

Sonali Senaratna Sellamuttu, Ph.D.

Sustainable Development Goal 15: Progress and ProspectsAn expert group meeting in preparation for HLPF 2018:Transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies14-15 May 2018United Nations Headquarters, New York

“Ecosystem-based adaptation is the use of biodiversity and ecosystem services as part of an overall adaptation strategy for climate change.” (CBD 2009)

Landscape approach: New Ecosystem based adaption landscape approach– Integrate management of all natural resources, including land, trees, water

and people - move away from sectorial management

– Slowing down and storing water in the upland systems will allow communities to have access to water all year –by storage we mean the whole storage continuum.

– Reducing peak discharge will reduce floods downstream

– Management of both surface and groundwater is also important especially in the management of spring systems.

What are good practices in employing these approaches at scale?

TAKE THE STAIRWAYS TO A BRIGHT FUTURE

WITH RELIABLE WATER RESOURCES

Trace natural water resources

to build irrigation ponds

Irrigate your land to grow

fruits and vegetables

Increase your family income

with your profit

a

bl e yi el ds

The Building Climate Resilience of Watersheds in Mountain Eco RegionsProject (BCRWME) builds reliable water resources in support of

45,000 households in the Far Western Development Region of NepalThe BCRWME project is executed by the Department of Soil Conservation and W atershed Management (DSCWM)

Project Offic

e

: Tufandada, Amargadhi-5, Dadeldhura Phone: 096-410236 Fax: 096-410356

Email: info@bcrwme.gov.np Website: www.bcrwme.gov.np

Liaison Offic

e

: DSCWM, Babarmahal, Kathmandu Phone: 01-4241487

Treat natural gullies and landslides

eroding your hillsides

Brush layering is one technique

preventing erosion and landslides

Feel safe together with your

family and your community

Trace natural spring water

near your community

Improve the condition of the spring

water and collect it into intake

Pipe it towards a water tap for

everyone in your community

CLEAN WATER FOR ALL

A SAFE COMMUNITY

A BETTER LIVING

WAT E R l I N F R A ST R U C T U R E l E C O SYST E M S

A landscape approach with the “entry point” being portfolios of natural and built infrastructure and their interaction with and through ecosystem services.

What are good practices in employing these approaches at scale?

How can we achieve a more holistic accounting of the value of nature and

its ecosystems, and what role can governments play?

https://www.ipbes.net/outcomes

• Regulating services are also significantly valued and acknowledged. • Contributions estimated to differing extents through non-monetary and

economic valuation studies, but valuations also vary (different contexts and valuation methodologies used).

• Caution when using, transferring and generalizing economic values of nature’s contributions to people for decisions in contexts outside original value.

• Further research required as data is in general sparse and limited to some ecosystem types and geographic regions.

• Application of natural capital accounting by governments assist in internalization of value of nature’s contributions to people within development programs, generating options for enhancing revenue for financing conservation.

Imbalanced distribution ofstudies on economic valuation of ecosystem services across the five subregions in the Asia-Pacific

What changes are needed in governance institutions and structures at all levels to enable greater efficiency and effectiveness in achieving SDG 15?

• Involve local communities in decision making for biodiversity conservation

• Integrate biodiversity conservation into key development sectors

• Take on board interlinkages between SDG 15 and other SDGs and potential trade-offs.

• Promote transboundary regional corporation

Source: Sanjiv de Silva

Thank youGratefully acknowledge all the contributions made by IWMI colleagues

Matthew McCartney, Luna Bharati, Chris Dickens, Guillaume Lacombe, Mark Smith and Alan Nicol