Launched by the Global Labour Organization ( ILO ), EL Environment Programme (UNEP) and International Union for Conservation of Nature at the UN’s Biodiversity Conference (COP15) within Montreal, the Good Work in Nature-based Solutions report underscores the advantages of greening the economy in a manner that is fair and comprehensive, creating meaningful work opportunities for all. Nevertheless , the report cautions that there are challenges in measuring NbS employment and that the statistics do not capture job loss and displacements that may take place while implementing Nature-based Options. “We welcome the emphasis given to Nature-based Solutions from COP27 in Sharm este Sheikh. Not only are NbS a critical part of the mitigation formula – they host several co-benefits, including buffering the impacts of climate change”, said Susan Gardner, Movie director of UNEP’s Ecosystems Department.
Working in nature
Presently, NbS employs nearly seventy five million people, 96 % of whom live in Asia and the Pacific and decrease middle income countries – despite the fact that most global NbS expenditure occurs in high income countries. However , the report warns there is currently no guarantee that NbS employment will satisfy ILO’s standards for eco-friendly jobs in the environmental industry, nor compensate workers fairly in conditions of independence, equity, security and individual dignity. Nearly all NbS work in low and lower-middle income countries – 98 and 99 per cent respectively – is in the farming and forestry sectors. ILO/Marcel Crozet
Jobs break down
In industrialized countries, exactly where agricultural productivity is higher, NbS spending is concentrated within ecosystem restoration and organic resource management. “What this statement brings to light is steps to make NbS work for people as well as the economy, and this will be a crucial success factor. A broad-based coalition with youth on the fore, is needed to achieve this”. Public services contribute 37 per cent of NbS work in high income countries. This falls to forty two per cent for upper-middle revenue nations, and 25 per cent for high income. “It is critical that as we scale up the use of Nature-based Options (NbS) we make sure all of us do not also scale upward decent work deficits, like the informal work, low-pay and low productivity conditions that many workers in NbS presently face”, said Vic vehicle Vuuren, Director, ILO Businesses Department.
Green work standards
“The ILO’s Just Changeover Guidelines provide a platform to help us do this”.
Nature-based solutions aim to protect, restore, and sustainably manage waters and ocean ecosystems while also provide individual well-being, ecosystem resilience and biodiversity benefits.
An additional 20 million jobs could be generated worldwide if expense in NbS were tripled by 2030 – a vital step toward achieving biodiversity, land restoration and climate goals like those decide in the UN State of Finance for Nature 2021 Report . Upkeep of solar panels in Zambia.
