This assignment was commissioned under the Climate Resilient by Nature (CRxN) Mekong Expansion Project. The CRxN Mekong Project focuses on the protection and restoration of the Upper Mekong River and floodplain ecosystem through the implementation of nature-based solutions projects in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.

The project also aims to showcase how local communities and economies across the Mekong subregion can leverage economic and social resilience – including gender, disability, and social inclusion - through the adaptation services provided by nature.

Mekong River Basin 

The Mekong River Basin is one of the most productive and diverse global ecosystems in the world. The river's floodplains, wetlands, and forests provide essential ecosystem services such as nutrient cycling, water purification, and habitat for countless species. Fisheries in rivers, lakes, and wetlands benefit from abundant freshwater and nutrients supplied by seasonal flood surges, while crops were grown on rich soils timed with plentiful seasonal rainfall. Together these ecosystem services supported millions of people to sustain their livelihoods in the region for generations.

Despite its importance, the Mekong River faces various threats from the increased construction of hydropower dams, land use changes, and unsustainable livelihood practices that disturb biodiversity and riverine ecosystem. Additionally, climate change has impacted the Asian monsoon, leading to more frequent and severe floods and droughts. These events devastate crops and aquatic ecosystems, causing significant disruptions to rural livelihoods.

To address these issues, there is a growing emphasis on nature-based solutions (NbS), which utilize natural or modified ecosystems to manage floodwaters and runoff. Implementing NbS in the region could serve as a risk management strategy while supporting the protection and restoration of riverine ecosystems and their social and environmental benefits.

'Nature-based solutions' (NBS) is an approach that uses the power of natural processes in innovative ways to tackle socio-ecological challenges such as climate change and flood risk.

Incorporating natural processes into design and construction leads to resilient and sustainable solutions that can adapt to changes in the environment. This results in integrated solutions which benefit society, biodiversity and the economy

Objectives

The objective of the assignment is aid in moving forward in scaling up nature-based solutions for climate change approaches that focus on the protection, restoration and/or management of freshwater ecosystems in the Mekong subregion. This is done in the following manner, by:

1. Showing the potential improvements in climate resilience that could be gained from investment in nature-based solutions at scale and the cost-effectiveness of such an approach compared to taking no action or deploying non-nature-based solutions;

2. Quantifying the returns that could be realized from public and private sector investment in nature-based solutions, and the modalities that would be needed to implement such investments; à link financial

3. Describing the likely co-benefits of investment in nature-based solutions at scale

4. Investigating the barriers to the feasibility of scaling up nature-based solutions in the Mekong region, including their viability for public and private sector financial investment. à link barriers investment

The CRxN-Mekong learning program will draw on a literature review, case studies, and a series of workshops to explore the question: How can Nature-based Solutions be scaled up in the Greater Mekong to benefit freshwater habitats and rural communities that rely on them?

Approach

We created a preliminary long list of freshwater NbS in rural contexts for the Mekong Sub-region based on our experience in the basin and the supportive information and literature collected. we then shortlisted high potential nature-based solutions based on the goals per country and high priority areas if available (Rationale). Together with WWF we have selected a set of preferred NbS types that have a high potential to address the five societal challenges that can be addressed by nature-based solutions:

• Protecting human health

• Disaster risk reduction

• Safeguarding access to clean water

• Ensuring food security

• Climate change resilience

Selected NbS and case studies