From Roadmap to Resilience: EbA Knowledge Day Charts the Path from Synergies to Implementation

That question brought together policymakers, practitioners, researchers, funders and local implementation experts at the 12th EbA Knowledge Day, held on the sidelines of the UN Climate Change Subsidiary Bodies (SB64) in Bonn.

Centered on the theme “From Roadmap to Resilience: Operationalizing EbA Synergies for the 2028 Global Stocktake,” the event explored not just why ecosystem-based adaptation matters, but how it can be embedded into finance, governance, monitoring systems, and decision-making to deliver tangible outcomes for people and nature.

Breaking silos means aligning policy, action and investment

Opening the day, Ali Raza Rizvi, Director of the IUCN Climate Change and Energy Transition Team, argued that genuine integration requires more than policy coherence alone. “We are discussing policy alignment and action alignment. But this cannot be reached without investment alignment.” He stressed that biodiversity, climate resilience and poverty reduction cannot be treated as separate objectives but must be pursued concurrently through dynamic approaches that evolve alongside a changing climate.

Welcoming participants, Boris Erg, Director of the IUCN European Regional Office (EURO), highlighted the strength of the EbA community itself: “This is a community of practice, bringing together people from different sectors and places to address shared challenges.”

@Mariana Dominguez / IUCN – Dr. Ulf Jaeckel, BMUKN

Representing Germany’s Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN), Dr. Ulf Jaeckel reflected on Germany’s long-standing commitment to EbA. As such, they have supported more than 70 EbA projects since 2008, while calling for stronger political commitment, increased adaptation finance, and deeper engagement at the local level, noting that governments cannot deliver implementation alone.

@Mariana Dominguez / IUCN – Yabanex Batista, UNCDF; Mark Schauer, GIZ; Neha Sharma, Adaptation Fund

Financing resilience requires speaking multiple languages

A central theme throughout the first panel was that adaptation finance must become more accessible, more integrated and more responsive to local realities.

Yabanex Batista from UNCDF emphasised that EbA is not confined to climate negotiations but contributes across multiple international agendas, arguing that financing systems themselves need reshaping to improve access for developing countries and better connect climate and biodiversity priorities.

Mark Schauer from GIZ highlighted that sustainable land management and ecosystem restoration generate significant long-term returns but also need to demonstrate near-term livelihood benefits. “We have to show actors that it pays off to invest.” He stressed the importance of translating ecological benefits into economic language while bringing together quantitative and qualitative values into a coherent narrative that resonates with investors and policymakers alike.

From the Adaptation Fund, Neha Sharma underlined that adaptation pathways should be firmly linked to ecosystem-based approaches, supported by robust monitoring systems and stronger institutional capacity. She also highlighted the importance of recognising values often overlooked in conventional economics—including traditional knowledge, ecosystem integrity, cultural heritage and community wellbeing.

Anke Wolff from BMUKN noted that perceived investment risks often exceed actual risks, making stronger evidence, research and proof-of-concept pilots essential for attracting private finance. She also pointed to broader structural challenges within climate finance architecture and the need to improve not only funding volumes but also the way resources reach local actors.

From the negotiation perspective, Jeffrey Qi from IISD reflected on the difficulty of demonstrating returns on adaptation investments when many EbA benefits emerge over long timeframes or function as global public goods. He argued for stronger monitoring and evaluation systems, better communication across disciplines and framing resilience as protection against future losses. “We must speak the language of finance ministries and the private sector.”

From pilots to practical implementation

The discussion returned to scaling implementation. While participants recognised the continued value of pilots for building evidence and reducing risk, there was also a strong call to accelerate beyond demonstration projects.

Yabanex Batista challenged participants to recognise that “the time for demonstration is over.”

Other speakers emphasised locally led adaptation, stronger governance arrangements and ensuring decision-making power reaches the lowest appropriate level.

Neha Sharma highlighted the Adaptation Fund’s locally led adaptation window as one example of empowering local governance while supporting long-term scaling pathways from the outset.

Throughout the discussion, participants also stressed that EbA should be valued not only through financial metrics but through its contribution to livelihoods, natural heritage, cultural identity and community resilience.

@Mariana Dominguez / IUCN – Dr. Yvonne Walz, UNU-EHS; Dr. Valerie Kapos, UNEP-WCMC; Prof. Barron Joseph Orr, UNCCD

Making synergies measurable

The second panel shifted attention to one of the biggest challenges ahead: operationalising synergies across the Rio Conventions.

Dr. Valerie Kapos from UNEP-WCMC observed that momentum around EbA and nature-based solutions in Bonn has never been stronger.

UNCCD Chief Scientist Prof. Barron Joseph Orr reminded participants that success ultimately depends not on reporting systems, but on what happens on the ground.

He highlighted land degradation neutrality indicators as practical examples of measurable outcomes while calling for stronger integration between municipal planners, agricultural authorities and conservation actors.

@Mariana Dominguez / IUCN – Eva Axthelm, GIZ

Drawing on lessons from an International Climate Initiative-funded EbA-LAC project, Eva Axthelm from GIZ emphasised that countries do not need entirely new monitoring systems.

Instead, EbA should be embedded within existing governance structures and national processes, supported by accessible data and stronger monitoring, evaluation and learning capacities.

Presenting insights from the “From Silos to Synergies” white paper, Mirey Atallah from UNEP described EbA and landscapes as practical organising frameworks capable of connecting reporting, planning and implementation across multiple global agreements while reducing duplication and improving interoperability.

For Dr. Yvonne Walz from UNU-EHS, scientific evidence must be grounded in local realities.

She argued that alongside quantitative indicators, qualitative stories and ecosystem values are essential to understanding what resilience means in practice. Effective monitoring should begin from project inception, remain flexible over time, and ensure that restoration efforts are informed by local ecological conditions rather than simply increasing tree-planting numbers.

Turning Synergies into Practice

A key milestone of the day was the launch of the FEBA Working Group Nature for Peace, co-chaired by Dennis Tänzler from adelphi Global, during the dedicated “FEBA in Focus” segment. Recognising that climate impacts and instability are deeply interconnected, the group will help bridge climate adaptation and peacebuilding by developing practical guidance and conflict-sensitive approaches for nature-based solutions. Its work will support practitioners in designing and implementing projects that strengthen not only ecological resilience, but also community stability and social cohesion in vulnerable contexts.

From Dialogue to Delivery: Action Labs Shape the Next Phase

The conversations didn’t end with the plenary sessions. In the afternoon, participants rolled up their sleeves for a series of interactive Action Labs focused on translating ideas into concrete pathways for implementation.

Building on the Plan to Accelerate Solutions for Biodiversity, Adaptation and Resilience (BAR PAS) under the Global Climate Action Agenda, the sessions explored practical opportunities to strengthen the climate–nature nexus ahead of COP31 and throughout the 2026 Triple COP year. Participants worked collaboratively to identify tangible actions that can accelerate EbA, strengthen policy coherence across the Rio Conventions, mobilise finance and capacity where they are needed most, and embed inclusive, participatory approaches in adaptation planning and implementation.

The Action Labs also served as a platform to expand engagement with the Global Climate Action Agenda, inviting organisations and initiatives to contribute to the delivery of the BAR PAS while identifying concrete entry points for connecting climate, biodiversity and land agendas in practice.

Led by Dr. Valerie Kapos from UNEP-WCMC, Karen Podvin from IUCN, Norah Ng’eny from UNEP, Renée Brunelle from Socodevi, Lisa McNamara from SouthSouthNorth, and Amy Duchelle from FAO, each group concluded with a “Solutions Pitch”, presenting priority actions and collaborative opportunities that can be advanced in the lead-up to COP31. The insights generated during these sessions will help inform future iterations of the BAR PAS and will be distilled into a dedicated policy brief, ensuring that the collaborative spirit and practical ideas developed in Bonn continue to support implementation well beyond EbA Knowledge Day.

A policy brief synthesising the breakout sessions and detailed recommendations from the day will be released in the coming months.

Looking ahead

Across every session, one message consistently emerged: the synergies already exist on the ground. The challenge now is making institutions, finance systems, monitoring frameworks and governance structures work together just as effectively.

The conversations in Bonn demonstrated growing consensus that EbA can serve as a practical bridge across climate, biodiversity and land agendas—but only if implementation is backed by coordinated investment, stronger evidence, inclusive governance and collaboration across sectors and scales.

As work progresses toward the 2028 Global Stocktake, the insights shared during EbA Knowledge Day provide an important foundation for translating ambition into measurable resilience for both people and nature.

Watching the recording of the day here.