Indicators to measure the climate change adaptation outcomes of ecosystem-based adaptation

Abstract

Ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) is the use of biodiversity and ecosystem services as part of a strategy to help people adapt to climate change. Despite the potential of EbA to provide adaptation benefits, there is a lack of consensus on how to measure the success of this approach. This paper reviews the intended adaptation outcomes and indicators used by ongoing and completed EbA projects and addresses the following questions: (a) where have EbA projects been implemented? (b) what activities have been conducted by EbA projects? (c) what adaptation outcomes are EbA projects seeking to achieve? (d) how have the impacts of EbA projects been measured and evaluated? and (e) what is the set of indicators that can capture the diversity of adaptation outcomes achieved by EbA? To identify the adaptation outcomes provided by EbA and the indicators that could be used to measure such outcomes, we reviewed 58 EbA projects implemented globally, and obtained recommendations from experts on what indicators should be measured. We identified 13 adaptation outcomes that could be achieved through EbA, such as reducing the loss of assets of coastal communities due to extreme events. We identified seven indicators to monitor the success of EbA in achieving adaptation outcomes. Our review suggests that there is a strong need to better articulate the adaptation outcomes that EbA projects seek to achieve, to use a common set of specific indicators to track these outcomes, and to fund the monitoring of long-term EbA projects.