Nurturing Nature Through Plant-based Solutions for Long Term Climate Resilience

Mauricio Diazgranados, Eric Sanderson, and collaborators

The world faces increasingly dire challenges that have put significant pressure on ecosystems and the species that inhabit them, resulting in accelerated biodiversity loss, and therefore the decline of nature’s benefits. Plants play a crucial role in building climate resilience by providing essential ecosystem services. For example, plants absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, helping to mitigate the greenhouse effect. They also stabilize soil, prevent erosion, and regulate water flow, reducing the risk of floods and landslides. Additionally, plants provide habitat and food for wildlife, supporting biodiversity and enhancing the overall resilience of ecosystems.

Botanical gardens are a major untapped resource in adaptation and mitigation planning in the face of climate change. They play a crucial role in in-situ and ex-situ conservation, research, and education, serving as living repositories of plant diversity, centers for scientific study and species preservation, and public spaces that raise awareness about environmental issues and the importance of plant life in ecosystem health and climate resilience. The Nurturing Nature project is designed to leverage their expertise and activate a global network of botanical gardens to increase resilience to climate change through the development of an Action Plan that will seek to enhance biodiversity in diverse ecosystems in partnership with representatives of local communities, promoting the establishment of long-term solutions.

The New York Botanical Garden, in partnership with Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI), has established the Climate Resilience Advisory Group to develop the Action Plan as a science-based roadmap for increasing climate resilience through plant-based solutions. With the leadership of a global network of botanical gardens, this project will lay the groundwork for a multi-year and multi-phased initiative that centers plants as the primary driver to effectively increasing resilience to climate change over time.

This project was made possible thanks in part to the generous support of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.