Supporting more and better jobs by investing in nature-based solutions

Investments in nature can restore biodiversity, reduce the impacts of disasters, and revitalize cities. Integrating nature-based solutions (NBS) into public infrastructure and disaster-risk-reduction efforts can also create job opportunities, both during project implementation and over the long term.

These investments, ranging from urban parks that reduce flooding, to coastal wetlands that protect shorelines, to mountain forests that prevent landslides, must be designed to support local livelihoods while leveraging synergies between environmental and economic benefits.

The World Bank and Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) have been increasingly supporting countries in their investments in NBS, with financing exceeding $10 billion over the past decade. The private sector is joining in too, with a growing  number of interventions and business models being piloted across the world. The implementation and operation of these publicly and privately financed investments create a diverse range of employment opportunities.  

Up to 63 million people will be engaged in NBS activities worldwide by 2030, primarily in Asia and the Pacific, according to new International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates. A broad set of occupations is needed in the planning, design, implementation, and maintenance of NBS, well beyond short-term opportunities like planting trees (Figure 1).

These  include the construction and longer-term maintenance of the interventions; jobs linked to tourism in restored landscapes; employment in urban green spaces that provide recreation and community engagement; and increased revenues for local fisheries and agriculture in coastal and rural areas as ecosystems are restored and thrive.

Country Cases

• In Indonesia the Mangroves for Coastal Resilience Project creates jobs for local communities to plant mangroves through a cash-for-work program. It also supports sustainable livelihoods by strengthening micro and small businesses in mangrove areas, facilitating access to finance technology for activities such as fishing, aquaculture, tourism, and non-timber forest products.  So far, the program has had a positive impact on fishing incomes by increasing fish farm yields and decreasing costs, and has empowered women by providing opportunities to sell mangrove toffee product.

• In Freetown, Sierra Leone, the Sierra Leone Urban Resilience Project helped create more than 900 jobs to grow, plant, and nurture close to a million trees that help address flooding, landslides, and urban heat. A geospatial platform is used to track tree planting and facilitate payments, with potential for carbon financing to enable longer term, sustainable jobs.

• In Tanzania, the Tanzania Productive Social Safety Net Project II provided cash grants to over 660,000 households for resilience building public works, including terracing and afforestation. These temporary jobs help communities during the agricultural lean season and specific public work projects are selected through a participatory community-based planning approach.

• In Burkina Faso, the Green Works Using Traditional Local Technologies project employed 300 internally displaced persons and local community members across three villages to restore drought-affected land using traditional techniques that help the soil retain nutrients and rainfall. These efforts improved yields of crops grown on the restored land, including white sorghum and small millet, from 0.6 to 1 ton per hectare, improving local incomes and inspiring wider adoption by other farmers.

Enabling Impact 

We are only beginning to realize the full employment potential of NBS. But for these solutions to foster sustainable income opportunities, key enablers need to be deliberately put in place.

Projects should be designed with short- and long-term job creation in mind, aligning with social protection systems and considering the specific operational requirements and benefits of each intervention. Policies that promote public and private investment in areas with high NBS potential, as well as efforts to enhance the productivity of workers are needed. This includes fostering skills and expertise related to the development, rehabilitation, and maintenance of natural areas.

Building this capacity and expertise will enable better project design that benefits both nature and economic development. Sectors such as agriculture, forestry, marine ecosystems, and construction stand to gain significantly from NBS investments. There is ample potential to engage rural youth, particularly in Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean, in income-generating opportunities that support the increased use of NBS.

Developing these skills requires further documentation of good practices, exchange of knowledge, and support on the development of business models and approaches for optimizing employment creation. The World Bank and the ILO have already started collaborating on this through capacity building workshops.  

For example, in Ethiopia, these workshops have helped government and partners create quality jobs through NBS, with similar initiatives targeting governments, employers, and worker organizations in Somalia, Sudan, and Uganda. The aim is to expand such efforts to other regions.

Maximizing the job creation potential of NBS requires targeted investments, policy support, and building capacity to ensure long-term economic benefits. By doing so, countries can ensure that investments in nature and its services provide a cost-effective approach not only to environmental restoration but also to expanding livelihood opportunities and incomes.