Cities around the world are increasingly exposed to climate risks, including flooding and extreme heat, that threaten lives and livelihoods. In Indonesia’s city Manado, damages from flooding caused by rainfall surpassed $13 million in 2016, with projections that it will increase to nearly $20 million annually by 2055. In Mombasa, Kenya, the number of days per year with high heat stress is expected to triple by 2050.

Nature-based solutions (NBS) offer an approach to address these challenges while enhancing urban living conditions and biodiversity. Urban forests, wetlands, and multifunctional parks not only help manage floods and reduce the urban heat, but also create healthier, more resilient cities. In urban contexts, such NBS are often most cost-effective than grey infrastructure.

Through the Global Program for Nature-Based Solutions for Climate Resilience, a thematic area of the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), the World Bank is working with communities and countries to integrate NBS into urban operations and planning. 

Impact to date

To help put this into practice, GFDRR developed the NBS Opportunity Scan, a transformative tool for identifying investment opportunities in urban and coastal resilience using nature-based approaches. In just six weeks, and applicable in any city or coastal landscape in the world, the NBS Opportunity Scan uses geospatial analysis to identify the types and locations of NBS where climate resilience benefits are greatest.  

Since its launch, the NBS Opportunity Scan has been applied in 100 cities and across 5,000 kilometers of coastal landscapes in 40 countries. Its insights have helped shape an estimated $1.8 billion in project components containing NBS.

Critically, the tool played a role in identifying investments for 11 out of the 40 World Bank lending operations with urban or coastal NBS components approved in 2023 and 2024, accounting for 28% of such projects during that period.

A recent survey of project team leaders confirmed the tool’s practical value throughout the project cycle. Four out of five respondents said the NBS Opportunity Scan helped raise awareness and start early discussions with clients and stakeholders. An equal number reported using the tool to identify NBS investments, including the types and locations of interventions during project preparation. More than two-thirds used the results to inform pre-feasibility studies, while two out of five noted the tool’s value in supporting design review and ongoing implementation.

Making a difference on the ground

In Indonesia, the NBS Opportunity Scan is helping shape a major effort to reduce urban flooding. The $400 million Indonesia: National Urban Resilience Project, is combining traditional infrastructure with nature-based approaches to better manage stormwaters in cities including Banjarmasin, Bima, Manado, Medan, and Semarang. By using the NBS Opportunity Scan early in project design, teams were able to rethink existing flood infrastructure designs and develop more integrated urban flood resilience action plans.  

As pictured below, in Manado, these solutions include open green spaces, retention areas and parks to increase water storage capacity. Green corridors and urban forest can reduce urban heat, while protecting and widening river floodplains will not only limit flooding but will also provide recreational spaces for the community. 

In Mombasa, Kenya, the NBS Opportunity Scan is supporting efforts to reduce flooding and extreme heat. The World Bank is working with the government on a resilience program supported by GFDRR, PROBLUE and the City Climate Finance Gap Fund. As a starting point, the NBS Opportunity Scan identified investment opportunities,  including bioretention areas, green corridors, urban forests, and open green spaces, that can improve drainage, lower urban temperatures, and provide recreational benefits. Additionally, the tool identified coastal resilience investment opportunities such as mangrove restorations and beach protection that offer multiple benefits from buffering storm surges to supporting fisheries, tourism and carbon storage. The NBS Opportunity Scan also helped initiate the dialogue with Mombasa city authorities and laid the foundation for pre-feasibility studies.

A tool in development

The NBS Opportunity Scan continues to evolve with support from PROBLUE, the government of Japan, European Space Agency, and NBS Invest. The accompanying Catalogue of Nature-based Solutions for Urban Resilience helps guide users on the most effective types of measures. Recent development includes a module to estimate biodiversity benefits of NBS in cities by assessing how proposed measures contribute to ecological connectivity, as well as piloting the use of the tool by development partners and humanitarian organizations jointly with the European Space Agency and the Gates Foundation.

By leveraging innovative tools like the NBS Opportunity Scan and fostering global partnerships, the World Bank is paving the way for resilient, sustainable urban development that harmonizes with nature and benefits communities worldwide.