Philanthropy Asia Summit 2024
Photo credit: Philanthropy Asia Summit 2024

SINGAPORE – In an effort to promote nature-based solutions (NbS) initiatives, the World Resources Institute (WRI) Indonesia had the opportunity to introduce the NbS Tool at the Philanthropy Asia Summit (PAS) 2024: Partners in Action in Singapore on Tuesday, April 16. PAS 2024 is an annual event that gathers and connects global and regional philanthropists to drive cross-sector climate action.

“We are very proud to introduce the NbS Tool to climate advocates across Southeast Asia. The immense NbS potential in this region requires support from various sectors to maximize its development, including governments, the private sector, philanthropy, local NGOs, and communities. Support from philanthropies is also crucial to accelerate the emergence of high-quality NbS projects,” said Dewi R. Sari, NbS Manager at WRI Indonesia and NbS Tool Lead, speaking at a session on ‘Driving Action Towards a Climate-positive World’. In addition to WRI Indonesia, the session highlighting nature-based climate actions and solutions also featured speakers from Mandai Nature, The Nature Conservancy, UBS Group, Conservation International, and the Wildlife Conservation Society.

Philanthropy Asia Summit 2024
Some speakers and participants from the ‘Driving Action Towards a Climate-positive World’ session organized by the SCeNe Coalition at the Philanthropy Asia Summit 2024. Photo Credit: Sakinah Ummu Haniy/WRI Indonesia

The NbS Tool is a web-based tool developed to accelerate the creation of high-quality nature-based solution projects that can deliver threefold benefits: for people, climate, and nature. Supported by Google.org, the NbS Tool includes features that provide essential analysis and data for project development by frontline organizations (FOs) and showcases high-quality projects to attract potential climate funding.

The NbS Tool platform was developed by WRI Indonesia as part of the Southeast Asia Climate and Nature-based Solutions (SCeNe) Coalition, a collaboration between eight civil society organizations in Southeast Asia aimed at accelerating and enhancing the implementation and investment in nature-based solutions in the region.

Currently, the SCeNe Coalition is also developing the NbS Portfolio and NbS Incubator, which will be integrated into the NbS Tool system. It is hoped that users, including potential investors and organizations, will be able to easily create, enhance, monitor, and evaluate NbS projects in Southeast Asia.