NBS BENEFIT #39: INCREASED INCOME

Economic benefits of nature-based solutions (NBS) come from energy savings, green jobs, increased productivity, improved health and happiness, and increased incomes, especially in agriculture. NBS help the environment and people. A 25-year reforestation project in the Poyang Lake watershed in China not only decreased erosion and increased carbon sequestration, it also increased the incomes of local farmers to about six times the amount of nearby farmers’ incomes in degraded areas.

There have been other, similar experiences around the world. In Mexico, where higher temperatures and pests let to a reduction in coffee production, sustainable agriculture practices, such as using efficient water technologies and shade trees, have resulted in higher incomes. In South Africa, where drought and invasive species caused a decrease livestock production, grassland restoration and conservation techniques, and improved management, also increased farmers’ incomes. My research was in Thailand, in an area that traditionally grew rice, but converted to a variety of crops (palm oil, banana, corn, flowers, vegetables, among others) due to issues of flooding and drought. Their NBS is called furrows, a network of canals around the fields that store water year-round.  These Thai farmers experience many benefits from the NBS, including flood mitigation, improved agricultural productivity, increased water storage and reuse potential, groundwater recharge, higher biodiversity, improved water quality, more educational and recreational opportunities, and increased income.

A farmer in Peru

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