Attachments
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Ecosystems Protecting Infrastructure and Communities (EPIC) is a global initiative implemented from 2012 to 2017 to promote the use of ecosystem-based approaches and protect communities from disasters and the negative impacts of climate change. It also aimed to have ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction recognised in key global frameworks such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
The project demonstrated the need to invest in ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction, to have more effective climate change adaptation in the targeted sites. This flagship project is funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) through the International Climate Initiative (IKI). It was implemented at global and national levels with pilot sites in six countries from three regions – China, Nepal and Thailand in Asia, Burkina Faso and Senegal in Africa as well as Chile in South America.
Ecosystem-based Disaster Risk Reduction (Eco-DRR) can be defined as the sustainable management, conservation and restoration of ecosystems to reduce disaster risk, with the aim of achieving sustainable and resilient development. While aiming to primarily address disaster risk reduction, it is recognised that Eco-DRR can contribute to climate change adaptation (CCA). Despite increasing recognition of the importance of ecosystem-based approaches for both disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation, implementation remains mostly underdeveloped worldwide. With increasing disaster challenges and climate change threats, there is a sense of urgency to scaleup such approaches, given that ecosystem and the services that they provide can not only mitigate the impacts of natural hazards and climate change but they can also contribute to sustainable livelihoods and thus build resilience.
Recent global policy developments now provide important entry points to not only scale-up these approaches but also to ensure greater coherence through integrated approaches for conservation, disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation. The theme of the 2017 Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, “From commitment to action” sets the tone for the priorities in the Eco-DRR agenda. There are however several questions that act as barriers to the uptake of Eco-DRR actions on the ground: How do such initiatives look like? How are they implemented? Are they effective? What works or not? This publication presents details on Ecosystems Protecting Infrastructure and Communities (EPIC), a pioneer global initiative which promoted the implementation of ecosystembased approaches for disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation through five case studies in six countries. At the time that EPIC was developed, it responded to the need to build experiences and to address the knowledge gaps with regards to the implementation of ecosystem-based measures for disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation. Following the major policy advances that support implementation of such approaches and the demand for technical guidance to support actions on the ground, the diversity of EPIC case studies- covering different types of ecosystems, hazards, countries, regions and ecosystem-based approaches-provide important lessons learned for further actions.
The publication provides a detailed description of the project’s operational approach and draws lessons from the case studies to inform and guide best practices to implement integrated ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction and ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA). It is intended for practitioners worldwide planning to initiate and/or scale-up ecosystembased measures for long-term resilience. It is expected that these practitioners may range from NGOs and government bodies within the communities of practice of conservation, humanitarian aid and disaster risk reduction, sustainable development and climate change adaptation.