CoP30 - November 12, 2025
A side event entitled “Nature-based Solutions for climate adaptation in river and lake basins” brought together a broad community of experts and institutional stakeholders at the Conference of the Parties (CoP30). Co-organized by the Sahara and Sahel Observatory (OSS), the International Network of Basin Organizations (INBO), and the World Water Council (WWC), this event highlighted a shared conviction: climate adaptation in basins is going nowhere without Nature-based Solutions (NbS).
Mr. Éric Tardieu, Vice-President of the WWC and Secretary General of the International Network of Basin Organizations (INBO), emphasized that watersheds are strategic areas where human needs, economic imperatives, and ecological balances converge.
Here is exactly where the major challenges related to water, energy, agriculture, and biodiversity intertwine. Through their role in long-term planning and coordination, river basin organizations thus emerge as key players in integrating NbS into water resource management.
Moderated by Ms. Khaoula Jaoui, OSS Climate Department Director and Technical Departments Coordinator, discussions highlighted the significant pressure exerted on river basin ecosystems and their balance threatened by irregular rainfall, increased frequency of droughts and floods, soil erosion, and population growth. In this context, SfN prove to be a true lever for resilience, and not merely a complementary accessory. Restoring riverbanks, rehabilitating wetlands, reforesting headwaters, and restoring space to rivers are all actions that protect populations, support agriculture, preserve biodiversity, and store carbon.
Calling for a “CoP of truth,” Mr. Juan Carlos Monterrey, Special Representative for Climate Change of Panama, delivered a powerful message, addressing the realities on the ground - destroyed crops, water scarcity, rising sea levels - and denounced the gap between international commitments and the needs of local communities. Climate adaptation must be based on a new global funding target, more accessible funding, and stronger integration of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), ensuring that the most vulnerable communities are reached and that gender considerations are integrated, he said.
Besides, discussions highlighted concrete and inspiring experiences. Dr. Callist Tindimugaya, from the Ugandan Ministry of Water and Environment, presented the Adaptation Fund-financed (Enhancing Resilience of Communities to Climate Change through Catchment-Based Integrated Management of Water and Related Resources) EURECCCA project, which focuses on strengthening community resilience in wetlands through the creation of Water Environment Cooperatives (WECs). According to him, sustainability depends on the ability of communities to derive economic benefits from Nature-based Solutions, particularly through alternative livelihoods.
Similarly, Ms. Hilda Pius Luoga, representative of the Lake Victoria Basin Commission, explained how NbS are now integrated from the initial design phase of investment projects. This regional approach ensures coherence between physical infrastructure, ecosystem preservation, and community resilience, while relying on strong regional partnerships to mobilize the necessary funding.
The role of international legal frameworks was also stressed by Ms. Lucia de Strasser, from the Secretariat of the United Nations Water Convention (UNECE), who emphasized that transboundary cooperation allows for the NbS sustainable integration into the shared management of river basins, through wetland restoration, flood risk reduction, and the protection of shared river ecosystems.
Another striking example was presented by Mr. Niokhour Ndour, Secretary General of the Senegal River Basin Development Organization (OMVS), illustrating the evolution of the institution. After decades of large-scale hydraulic engineering projects, the OMVS is now integrating NbS into its climate investment plan, demonstrating that development and ecological restoration can go hand in hand.
Finally, Ms. Maria Aparecida Vargas, from the Committee for the Integration of River Basins of Paraíba do Sul (CEIVAP), shared an inspiring South American experience where Brazilian river basin committees are integrating NbS into their management plans and linking them to innovative financing mechanisms, thus moving from pilot projects to sustainable and structured governance.
In conclusion, Ms. Barbara Pompili, French Ambassador for the Environment, commended the quality of the discussions and the convergence of all approaches. She noted that NbS are already being implemented in many river basins, but that scaling them up requires robust cooperation frameworks, strengthened technical and institutional capacities, besides dedicated and accessible funding. Finally, she emphasized the need to structure an international network of expertise on NbS in river basins, to map existing initiatives, and to mobilize specific funds to accelerate the deployment thereof and make them a central pillar of global climate action.