Enabling nature-based solutions: Innovating urban climate resilience

Emmanuel Adu Boateng; Michael Osei Asibey; Patrick Brandful Cobbinah; Isaac Osei Adutwum; Daniel Kwame Blija

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.117433

Enabling nature-based solutions: Innovating urban climate resilience

J Environ Manage. 2023 Apr 15:332:117433. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.117433. Epub 2023 Feb 2.

Authors

Emmanuel Adu Boateng¹, Michael Osei Asibey², Patrick Brandful Cobbinah³, Isaac Osei Adutwum⁴, Daniel Kwame Blija⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Planning, College of Art and Built Environment, KNUST, Kumasi, Ghana. Electronic address: emmanuelboateng247@gmail.com.
² Department of Planning, College of Art and Built Environment, KNUST, Kumasi, Ghana. Electronic address: asibeymichael@yahoo.com.
³ Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia. Electronic address: patrick.cobbinah@unimelb.edu.au.
⁴ Department of Planning, College of Art and Built Environment, KNUST, Kumasi, Ghana. Electronic address: isaacoseiadutwum@gmail.com.
⁵ Department of Planning, College of Art and Built Environment, KNUST, Kumasi, Ghana. Electronic address: danielblija3@gmail.com.

PMID: 36738724
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.117433

Abstract

Current conceptualizations of nature-based solutions have so far served to characterize-and reproduce-cost-effective remedies, particularly in cities of the global north. Yet nature-based solutions (NbS) are fundamental to the production of urban resilience. Focusing on Ghana's second largest city, Kumasi, this research (i) examines climate literacy and explores the existing nature-based solutions towards climate change adaption; (ii) examines the perception on existing NbS and the barriers to building climate resilience via NbS; and (iii) explores ways of promoting the implementation of NbS to build climate resilience. It addresses these objectives drawing from secondary data, 367 household surveys and 7 agency interviews. The findings show that about two thirds (63%) of urban residents in the case study area are climate illiterate, and this has affected the slow uptake of nature based solutions as climate management intervention. The urban residents acknowledge the importance of nature based solutions but identify barriers such as poor consideration of the role of natural infrastructure and their incorporation in the planning process, inadequate technical capacity and guidance for incorporating NbS in climate planning, high cost requirements of NbS interventions, disparate interests from various institutions, and a general lack of knowledge, appreciation and interest from urban residents. The study concludes that mainstreaming and upscaling NbS in urban systems will require major investments which should vary from one city to the other depending on perculiar needs.

Keywords: Adaptation; Climate change; Ghana; Kumasi; Nature-based solutions; Resilience.

MeSH terms

Cities
Climate Change*
Knowledge*