This scoping study was executed by WWF and the Delta Alliance under the Resilient Asian Deltas initiative and explores how Asian deltas could benefit from an integrated system approach for Nature-based Solutions (NbS), addressing bio-physical/natural, institutional/governance and socio-economic (finance/investment) aspects. 

Aims of the study were to:

1. demonstrate the added value and trade-offs of NbS
2. raise awareness for NbS at a delta scale to attract and coordinate investments beyond the scale of individual projects, and to
3. provide guidance for selection of NbS in Asian deltas.

To better illustrate how NbS can be scaled up, a comparison was made between the Mekong, Ganges-Meghna-Brahmaputra (GBM) and Ayeyarwady deltas. This resulted in delta specific conclusions and recommendations and an indicative comparative assessment of their current status (by ‘traffic-light’ tables). This reveals that especially the human and institutional challenges needing to be addressed alongside any technical or natural system intervention, that will finally enable transformation of management approaches in Asian deltas and beyond.

Moreover, generic conclusions and recommendation are made, regarding the implementation and upscaling of NbS, addressing current pitfalls in governance, institutional, financial and bio-physical settings. This makes clear that amplifying NbS projects on much larger spatial scales will require a landscape approach and a system perspective, addressing both upstream-downstream linkages, channel-floodplains processes and the entire zonation of delta ecosystems.

Download report (pdf) here.

Based on this study, WWF made a synthesis report that was announced and made accessible here.
A policy brief was published as well, made accessible through the GCA - Delta Community of Practice (direct download here).

For more information, please contact: Tom Bucx (tom.bucx(at)deltares.nl) en Bregje van Wesenbeeck (Bregje.vanWesenbeeck(at)deltares.nl).