Inclusive and Equitable Urban Nature-based Solutions: A Practical Guide

Home to over half the world’s population, cities create both opportunities, and inequalities. Poor and marginalised people are typically more affected by the negative impacts of rapid urbanisation and climate change such as flooding, heat, urban sprawl, congestion, and polluted air and waterways. Consequently, cities working to become more sustainable and climate-resilient must address not only environmental problems, but also social and economic injustice. This guide is developed in the context of the Resilient Urban Centres and Surrounds (RUCaS) which is being implemented across 4 Mekong countries—Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand, and Vietnam. Through local works on ground, the program demonstrates how nature-based solutions (NbS) can act as a catalyst to promote inclusive, climate-resilient urban areas through addressing local environmental, social and economic issues, and building resilient and adaptive capabilities that can be applied across the region. RUCaS is being implemented by Water Sensitive Cities Australia (WSCA) based at Monash University in partnership with the International Centre for Environmental Management (ICEM) and supported by the Australian Government. This guide is designed for a broad range of use cases. It can be used to plan and develop long-term programs for NbS in response to urban challenges that drive system transformation towards equity, fairness, and justice for those most in need. In this framing, GEDSI is not an add-on; it is central to achieving fair, inclusive, equitable, and sustainable urban change. Not every project that integrates GEDSI will deliver system change. Thus, the guide can also be used selectively and ad hoc for projects already underway to make components more GEDSI-sensitive and to improve the likelihood of equitable outcomes (e.g. developing accessible communication materials for people with disabilities). Integrating GEDSI can seem overwhelming, but it can begin with recognising local actors’ rights, diverse needs and languages. For example, involve groups most affected by local flooding in planning and co-design so that solutions respond directly to their priorities; or co-design NbS such as a city park with diverse community groups so the result is a more inclusive public space. With this in mind, the guide is not prescriptive. Rather than a detailed blueprint, it offers suggestions and principles to help NbS projects generate positive responses to urban challenges. The guide draws on examples and experiences from across the Mekong region and shows how diverse stakeholders can co-develop urban NbS designs that address common issues faced by cities in the region. Our approach to mainstreaming GEDSI in NbS-related projects follows 4 interconnected phases. The activities proposed within these phases are indicative, not exhaustive, and should be flexibly adapted to the needs, languages, and context of specific projects.