Nature-Based Solutions target major challenges like climate change, biodiversity loss, disaster risk reduction, food and water security, and human health, and are critical for sustainable development. For example, mangrove forests in the tropics and subtropics protect coastal communities from flooding, erosion, and storms, as well as being excellent at sequestering carbon and providing habitat for wildlife. It’s estimated that one third of climate mitigation needed to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement can be provided by Nature-Based Solutions (IUCN).
Through the ‘Wye Adapt to Climate Change?’ project, we are working with local communities, landowners, and farmers to implement Nature-Based Solutions to help tackle and adapt to climate change and recover nature in the Wye catchment. One example of a Nature-Based Solution that we are implementing through the project is the restoration of wildflower meadows (also referred to as species-rich grasslands).
Wildflower meadows can host hundreds of wildlife species by providing food and shelter for invertebrates, mammals, bats, and birds[1]. They can also store huge amounts of carbon and help us tackle floods. This is because the plants have complex, deep roots (some up to 2 metres long!) which stabilise the soil, allow water infiltration[2], and sequester carbon in the soil. Additionally, permanent meadows can sequester 30% of our terrestrial carbon[3], which is incredibly important for mitigating against climate change.
Meadows have significantly declined[4]: according to the WWF, 97% of the UK’s wildflower meadows have been destroyed in the space of 100 years and a third of wild pollinator species decreased in the years between 1980 and 2013. Restoring meadows is crucial for supporting the recovery of pollinators and other insects, which are a vital part of the food web, but also for the benefits they bring for carbon sequestration and flood risk reduction.
