FACT SHEET - UNIT 1.

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UNPRECEDENTED CHALLENGES BUT PLENTY OF SOLUTIONS IN
NATURE

Why is this topic important?

The climate and environmental crises are unprecedented. Citizens and grassroot organisations around the world
are requesting that governments, private sector and all consumers take action.
• Extreme weather: Climate change has resulted in a change in frequency and intensity of extreme weather
events. In 2019, extreme weather events (storms, heat/cold waves, droughts, floods, wildfires) affected
more than 100 million people (EM-DAT).
• Disasters: Disasters have increased in the last 20 years (2000-2019). In the period 2000 to 2019, there
were 7,348 major recorded disaster events compared to 4,212 between 1980-1999. Climate-related
disasters have increased the most, accounting for 6,681 events (UNDRR, 2020).
• Biodiversity loss: Natural ecosystems have declined by 47 per cent on average, relative to their earliest
estimated states and approximately 25 per cent of species are already threatened with extinction (IPBES,
2019).
Nature provides many solutions to keeping us healthy and reducing the climate crisis.
• Nature reduces the climate crisis by sequestering and storing carbon in biomass, which reduces the
greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere.
• Nature protects us from hazards by providing barriers against storm surges and stabilizing soils on
slopes, preventing landslides.
• Nature keeps us healthy through fresh air, food, water, and boosts our mood.
This course will provide you with new ideas, knowledge, sources of information and a community of practice for
learning more and getting involved.
• Connect with the Partnership for Environment and Disaster Risk Reduction (PEDRR)
• Connect with the Global Adaptation Network (GAN)
• Connect with the Friends of Ecosystem-based Adaptation (FEBA)

LEARN MORE

Dig in deeper

● Eco-DRR Source book Chapters: 1 & 18

● MOOC videos from Disasters and Ecosystems: Resilience in a Changing Climate
o Unit 1: Course introduction

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 Reports

● World Economic Forum (2020) The Global Risks 2020 Report

● UNDRR (2020) The human cost of disasters: an overview of the last 20 years (2000-2019)
● IPCC (2018) Global Warming of 1.5°C Special Report
● IPCC (2012) Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change
Adaptation
● UNEP (2020) Emissions Gap Report
● IPBES (2019) Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
● Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (2020) Global Biodiversity Outlook

Websites

• United Nations Environment Programme, Ecosystem-based Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction
activities:
o Ecosystem-based Adaptation
o Ecosystem-based Disaster Risk Reduction
• United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction: https://www.undrr.org/
• International Union for Conservation of Nature: https://www.iucn.org/theme/ecosystem-management
• Wetlands International: https://www.wetlands.org/
• United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization:
http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/special-themes/disaster-risk-reduction/disaster-
risk-reduction-in-unesco-designated-sites/
• Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) https://sdgs.un.org/goals
• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC): https://www.ipcc.ch/
• EM-DAT - The international Disaster Database: https://www.emdat.be/database

Videos

● How to save our planet

● Biodiversity highs and lows 2019

GET INVOLVED!

Action for a better future

● Let your city and national governments know that it is important they meet environmental targets
they’ve pledged;
● Join an environmental conservation/climate action/disaster management group;
● Organize events street actions or marches to advocate for governments to reduce nature loss;
● Learn about how you can help fight climate change through the United Nations’ Act Now campaign;
● Look into the Anatomy of Action, which maps out actions that individuals can take to reduce their
carbon footprint;

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● IUCN’s #NatureforAll Discovery Zone offers a range of creative tools – from videos to lesson plans, to
comic books – to help you learn about nature.