Integration of urban ecosystem-based adaptation in Nepal: A policy landscape analysis

Ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) is an ecologically sensitive, cost-effective, and locally adaptive climate adaptation strategy to strengthen the climate resilience of vulnerable communities. While many studies on EbA have been conducted in rural and mountainous regions or within the natural sciences realm, there is a lack of comprehensive research that assesses how urban EbA measures have been incorporated into existing policies and plans in Global South, including in Nepal. Ecosystem-based adaptation is in the early stages of its establishment as a fundamental component to address climate adaptation and sustainable development in urban environments. Accordingly, effective integration strategies, challenges, potential focal areas, and entry points have yet to be extensively studied. To address the literature gap, this paper analyses the types of EbA interventions and the extent of urban EbA integration within Nepal's climate, urban, and sectoral policies and plans. Direct content analysis and a qualitative scoring system were used to evaluate the plan components and assess the level of EbA integration. The findings indicate that the policies and plans recognise the importance of conserving, enhancing, and managing ecosystems for climate change adaptation, and EbA measures are mainly included in action-oriented sections. However, the results also reveal inadequate EbA integration, particularly in the information base, vision and objectives, and implementation aspects. The implementation component notably lacks comprehensive provisions for budget allocation, responsible authorities, definite timelines, and clear roadmaps. The breakdown of EbA integration in the policies and plans suggests that climate and urban plans substantially integrate urban EbA measures, but discrepancies exist with climate and urban policies and sectoral policies and plans. These findings collectively emphasise a pressing need to enhance the recognition and integration of urban EbA measures within policy frameworks with a view towards strengthening climate resilience and mitigating climate-related hazards in urban environments.