NAbSA Operational Framework

This proposed Operational Framework provides a structured, inclusive and evidence-based approach to designing and implementing nature-climate actions for adaptation and resilience. It builds on and integrates existing tools and methods. By embedding co-creation, gender responsiveness, and social inclusion as core principles, the framework ensures equitably distribution of benefits and actively addresses power imbalances. It also intentionally and meaningfully incorporates the voices, knowledge and leadership of marginalized groups—including women, youth, persons with disabilities, and Indigenous Peoples—throughout the process.

The goal of this framework is to provide step-by-step, practical guidance on how to design and implement adaptation and resilience actions. It builds upon existing guidance, such as the Friends of Ecosystem-based Adaptation Criteria (EbA), and translates them into more granular, action-oriented perspective and concrete steps that practitioners can easily implement in diverse contexts.