This webinar was organized by BirdLife Europe & Central Asia and Vertigo Lab, in the framework of the ‘Wetland-based Solutions’ project on April 5th, 2022.

During the second webinar of this series, the methodology to perform a cost-benefit analysis was detailed. This includes how to assess ecosystem services aiming at providing the economic return on Nature-based Solutions implementation. In addition, relevant case studies of restoration projects were also presented and the way to communicate results to policy-makers was discussed.

Coastal wetlands provide a range of benefits -ecosystem services- to our daily lives and protect biodiversity. For example, they enable fish and salt production, support bird habitats, and contribute to improve water and soil quality and capture and sequester carbon. Yet, they remain largely misunderstood, especially when it comes to their contribution to local economies and social development. With the new targets currently being defined at global level such as the SDGs, the Aichi targets, the EU Green Deal as well as the post-2020 Biodiversity framework, governments will be urged to apply measures that recreate resilience and increase benefits to people. In this context, Nature-based Solutions (NbS) in coastal wetlands offer a perfect example of economic development based on natural resources which can be preserved in the long term. Still, today, no common framework exists to highlight and assess the multiple interests of such solutions.

In order to help coastal wetland managers, practitioners and decision-makers to understand and implement solutions where nature and socio-economic aspects can live in harmony, a series of webinars between this autumn and next spring is being organized. The webinars will be based on pragmatic approaches with the right tools that will help you to:

1) Integrate NbS, based on cost-benefit analysis, in your management plans and land use planning;

2) Connect and build dialogues between the different local actors and sectors that take into account needs and benefits for all;

3) (Re-)Create a sustainable balance between human needs and natural resources availabilities in your country/region.