Please join us for a special seminar presented by Pamela McElwee, Ph.D. The seminar will help build the research community in Nature-Based Climate Solutions in the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability.

Pamela McElwee, Ph.D.

Professor

Department of Human Ecology

School of Environmental and Biological Sciences

Rutgers University

Thursday, February 22

10:30 AM – 12:00 PM

Hartley Conference Room

Integrative and equity-driven nature-based solutions to the climate and biodiversity crises

Nature-based solutions (NbS), natural climate solutions, and related approaches like “nature positive” are at the heart of current sustainability discussions. NbS have been proposed to address multiple societal challenges through the protection, management and sustainable use of natural ecosystems: for example, using enhanced land-based carbon sequestration to mitigate climate change or green infrastructure designed to provide ecosystem services alongside adaptation benefits. Yet globally, negotiators at the Convention on Biological Diversity in late 2022 failed to come to a side agreement on biodiversity and climate in large part due to perceived controversies over NbS, including over-stated climate benefits and inequities between the global North and South in how NbS is deployed and financed. This impasse at the international level means that research on governance is crucial, as is attention to the justice implications of NbS. In this talk, Dr. McElwee will discuss her recent research focused on ensuring integrative approaches and equity in NbS design and policy. Integration aims to produce multiple co-benefits that enlarge social support as well as manage for trade-offs, while equity-driven NbS pays attention to different facets of justice, including gender equity and recognition justice, particularly for Indigenous communities. Through attention to these issues, we can better ensure that NbS are seen as crucial approaches to shift towards sustainability, rather than a distraction.