COS 17-2 - CANCELLED - Bridging the Gap Between Research and Practice: Capturing the Social Dimensions of Natural Climate Solutions

Abstract: Nature-based solutions (NbS) “leverage nature and the power of healthy ecosystems to protect people, optimize infrastructure, and safeguard a stable and biodiversity future.” When applied to climate mitigation and adaptation activities, this approach is called natural climate solutions. IUCN proposes nine criteria for its Global Standard for Nature-based Solutions, including effectively addressing societal challenges by identifying and assessing human well-being outcomes. Social dimensions are also included in a variety of standards, including environmental, social, and governance (ESG), and in some standards for forest carbon mitigation programs, like the Verra Climate, Community, and Biodiversity Standards. However, the existing approaches for assessing human well-being are weak. Such approaches are overwhelmingly top-down, failing as they do to ascribe agency and self-determination to affected communities. A successful measure of social impacts could change the way natural climate solutions are measured and could produce a significant shift in the roles of and approaches to affected communities.

To address this shortcoming, we review current social assessment methods in natural climate solutions projects, identify gaps in current practice, and propose a social impact measurement system that incorporates the best of well-being research and measurement, including subjective wellbeing assessment tools. This proposed measurement system will provide an increased understanding of how affected communities view projects, project impacts, and project relevance from the impacted community's perspective. We argue that this approach will better calibrate local needs and interests and promote long-term sustainability of programs.